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Instant Pot Yogurt

Chiliwist & Raw
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 hours
Chill Time 4 hours
Total Time 16 hours 20 minutes
Course Breakfast

Equipment

  • 1 Instant Pot
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 Digital thermometer optional (see notes)
  • 1 Large Cheese Cloth optional
  • 1 Mesh Strainer optional
  • 1 large bowl optional

Ingredients
  

  • 1 gallon milk
  • 2 tbsp plain cultured yogurt OR 1/8 tsp. thermophilic ABY2C yogurt culture

Instructions
 

  • Add your milk to the Instant Pot. I usually make 1.5-2 gallons at a time, but you can make however much you'd like.
  • Next, hit the yogurt button on your Instant Pot three times. That will turn on the boil function so your milk can heat up. Your cultures like a warm environment so we won't add them yet.
  • Use your thermometer to check the temperature of your milk. When it heats to around 120 F, go ahead and add your culture: if using ABY2C, go ahead and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon on top of your milk or if using cultured yogurt from the store, add 2 tablespoons per gallon of milk.
  • Use a whisk to stir it around, up and down until you're sure everything is incorporated.
  • Hit the "cancel" button on your Instant Pot and hit the "Yogurt" button again, this time twice. I like to stay on the "Less" setting so as to ferment at a lower temperature. If this doesn't matter to you, you can do a normal setting.
  • You'll have to decide how long you want your yogurt to ferment for. I usually start this process before I go to bed and wake up the next morning to finish it. The rule of thumb is, the longer you ferment the tangier it is.
  • I like a more mild and sweet flavor to my yogurt so I usually stick with about 12 hours.
  • After your yogurt is done, stick your Instant Pot into the fridge for 4-6 hours to allow your yogurt to firm up some.
  • After your yogurt has set in the fridge for several hours, check the consistency of it. If it's to your liking, transfer your yogurt over to air-tight containers.
  • If it's not thick enough, lay your cheese cloth over your mesh strainer and lay inside a large bowl. Pour your yogurt into the cheese cloth (you may need a spoon to loosen it and get it all out) and gather up the sides of the cheese cloth to tie onto something and hang so that the excess whey drains out.
  • You can strain your yogurt to the desired thickness for up to 4 hours, but I would check it at that point. I've strained my yogurt whey (punny) too much in the past and regretted it more than once!
  • Once desired thickness is reached, you are done!
  • Enjoy with maple syrup, fresh berries and granola or even strawberry jelly!

Notes

Note: I like to keep the beneficial bacteria and nutrients in my raw milk intact. However, if you're wanting to pasteurize your milk first and/or ensure there are no competing bacteria in your milk so as to get your desired consistency, you can heat your milk to 166 degrees F. for 15 seconds and then give it an ice bath to cool down. Cool down to around 120 degrees F. and continue on with the recipe as normal.
Also, if you don't have a thermometer and aren't concerned with pasteurization, just use your finger to test the temperature. If the milk is pretty hot to your touch (not scalding hot, but fairly warm to your touch), go ahead and add your culture. Yogurt is easy to make, I promise you. 
Keyword breakfast, fermented, fermented dairy, healthy, homemade yogurt, raw dairy, yogurt