Homemade Organic Yogurt, is one of the reasons why we decided to buy our Instant Pot with a yogurt function. Making organic yogurt using the Instant Pot simply became an amazing, healthy cheap snack, dessert and dressing for the whole family. We have been making organic yogurt for a few years now and using the instant pot, just made every bit easier. We add yogurt in several of our recipes to make the sauce thick and smooth and we love to add it into our salads as well as our vegetables. For us, it was a big deal having the Instant Pot with the yogurt function.
What you will need to make Organic Yogurt
⦁ Instant Pot with a yogurt button
⦁ 1/2 gallon of whole milk
⦁ 1/4 cup starter culture, which may be a bought starter culture or yogurt from previous batch or plain bought yogurt
If you decide to make yogurt regularly, save a bit of yogurt from a previous batch and that can be your starter culture. It may happen that you don’t have a starter culture package in the pantry or yogurt from a previous batch, then in that case, simply buy plain yogurt. I have done that before and it worked just fine.
Yogurt starter culture
To get the yogurt-making process going, you will need to inoculate your milk with some starter bacteria. You can either use premade plain yogurt with active cultures (either store bought or from a previous batch of homemade yogurt) or you can use a yogurt starter culture. Both work relatively the same, with one important difference. It will depend on if you are fighting any sort of illness or disorder, you might want to be more careful with the bacteria you are introducing into your body. In this case, stick with a yogurt starter culture and not a premade one. When using premade yogurt as your starter culture, you run the risk of inoculating your new batch of yogurt with a bacteria that you didn’t intend to put in. This because, when yogurt is fermenting for such a long period of time, you give the bacteria all the time they need to go wild. Which is of no importance if your gut is in good shape.
I figured this out after the first few times making home made yogurt. We make 24 hour ferment yogurt because my son is lactose intolerant and because we enjoy the thickness of the yogurt. The difference is all about the starter. My gut feels really upset, if using a premade starter from a previous batch or a bought plain yogurt. I gut has no problem when using a yogurt starter culture. So it’s up to you to try and figure out which works better for you.
Recommended yogurt starter culture:
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE INSTANT POT YOGURT
- The first thing you want to do is kill any competing bacteria that is already in the milk by heating it up to 180F. In this case I use a pocket thermometer to often check the temperature.
- Then we want to cool the milk back down to 115F to then add the starter culture. It is very important to note that you only add the starter culture after the milk has cooled down to 115F, before that, the milk will simply kill the bacteria existing in the starter.
- Now, the Instant Pot does the rest. But before closing the lid and pressing the yogurt button, I would recommend to remove the Silicone Sealing Ring. Yogurt doesn’t need to come to a pressure, it just needs to stay at 115F for the designated amount of time. Another reason why you don’t want to use the Silicone Ring is because it will give a meat flavour to the yogurt, and that’s not a good taste.
- Allow to ferment 8, 16 or 24 hours. The longer it ferments, the more sour it gets and it becomes gut healthy promoting good bacteria that consume the sugar in the milk (lactose). In this case, 24 hour fermented yogurt can be tolerated even by people who are lactose intolerant.
HOW TO MAKE Greek YOGURT
The long fermentation time gives the yogurt a Greek yogurt-style tart and tangy flavor, which makes it perfect for both sweet and savory uses. Long fermentation also means the yogurt is naturally thick. I like a really thick yogurt, so I still drain it using a strainer, right out of the pot, for 8 hours in the fridge.
HOMEMADE FLAVOURED YOGURT
Before ladling yogurt into glass jars, mix in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract into prepared yogurt. If you like your yogurt to be sweet, you can add in honey, maple syrup to your desired level of sweetness. I would start with no more than 1/4 cup, and increase by a tablespoon at a time.
Instant Pot Organic Yogurt
Making organic yogurt using the Instant Pot simply becomes an amazing, healthy cheap snack, dessert and dressing for the whole family.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon of whole milk
- 1/4 cup starter culture or 1/4 cup of plain premade yogurt
Directions
- Step 1 Pour a half gallon of milk into the Instant Pot, and press the “sauté” button.
- Step 2 Constantly, whisk the milk until it reaches up to 180°F. Use a pocket thermometer to often check the temperature. Press “cancel” once it reaches the designated temperature.
- Step 3 Remove inner pot and allow the milk to cool back down to 115F. Once the milk has reached 115F, add and stir in the starter culture.
- Step 4 Put inner pot back into the instant pot and before placing the lid on, remember to remove the Silicone Sealing Ring.
- Step 5 Close the lid. Push the Yogurt button. Add time using the (+) key to do the 8, 16 or 24 hour ferment.
- Step 6 Once yogurt is prepared, ladle into clean containers or jars and refrigerate for several hours before enjoying or allow the yogurt to drain in the strainer over a large mixing bowl for 8 hours in the fridge before storing it away.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...MORE SIMPLE RECIPES TO ENJOY!
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Tag me @familyfoodaroundtheclock on Instagram and include the hashtag #family14grams . I would love to see your tasty creations!
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the link and end up buying this product, I make a percentage of the sale! The products that I mention on my post I truly recommend them.
I just got an IP for Christmas and really want to make yogurt! Thanks for the recipe and tips, I’ll be back!
How creamy does this look? Nothing like homemade! Love a big bowl for my breakfast with lots and lots of berries 🙂
I have an Instant Pot with the yogurt function but I’ve never used it. I really didn’t know where to begin with making yogurt. Thanks for this detailed post. I’ll definitely give it a try some time!
I just checked and my Instant Pot has a yogurt button. (I wasn’t sure!) This would be a fun thing to make with the kids – maybe it would encourage more yogurt eating.
wow its great recipe for organic yogurt and i was looking for this really i got from you will try on this weekend and will share my experience how it was thanks
Hello James, I was wondering, did you get an opportunity in making homemade yogurt! I’m sure you are going to love it!