Homemade Yogurt
Yogurt is one of the most versatile foods to have in your fridge. It's incredibly simple to make at home using an Instant Pot, and it can be used in a wide variety of dishes.
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Real Yogurt or 1 frozen yogurt puck
- 1 Gallon Milk
Instructions
- Heat the Milk: Pour 1 gallon of milk into your Instant Pot and press the “Yogurt” setting until it says “BOIL”. Heat the milk to 85-90°C (185-194°F), stirring often to prevent burning on the bottom. Note: the Instant Pot BOIL function should turn the heat off once it hits the right temperature but keep an eye on it.
- Cool the Milk: Once the milk has reached the proper temperature, let it cool down uncovered but protected from contamination (like other food, dust or insects) until it reaches 40-45°C (104-113°F). This is the ideal temperature for adding your yogurt starter culture.
- Add the Starter Culture: Once the milk has cooled to the appropriate temperature, add a 1/4 cup of store-bought plain yogurt or a frozen yogurt puck. Mix well to ensure the yogurt is fully incorporated into the milk.
- Incubate the Yogurt: Cover with the lid, set the valve to venting, and press the “Yogurt'” button. Let the yogurt incubate for 8-24 hours, depending on how tangy you want your yogurt. The longer it ferments, the tangier it becomes. (I end up fermenting between 12-18 hours).
- Cool and Set: After the incubation period, remove the insert from the Instant Pot, cover it, and place it in the fridge for 12 hours. This resting time allows the yogurt to cool, set, and thicken further.
- Store Your Yogurt: Once your yogurt has set and thickened to your liking, portion it into jars or containers for storage. Keep the yogurt in the fridge, where it will stay fresh for about 1-2 weeks!
- Optional Step for Future Batches: For future yogurt-making, make frozen yogurt pucks by filling silicone muffin molds or ice cube trays with yogurt and freezing them. These yogurt pucks can be used as the starter culture for your next batch, saving you from buying store-bought yogurt every time!
Notes
Some people like to add warm milk to the yogurt starter before adding it to the pot of milk to make it thinner and easier to incorporate. I skip this step and just add the yogurt or yogurt puck directly to the milk, mixing it well. Feel free to try whichever way aligns with you!
I usually incubate the yogurt for about 12-18 hours. This gives me a nice consistency and flavour—not too sour, but still tangy and creamy!