DIY Yogurt: Easy Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is making yogurt in the Instant Pot worth it? ›

It's so much easier than I expected! It's also much cheaper, and in my opinion, more delicious than any store bought yogurt you can get. Making this Easy Instant Pot Yogurt has quickly become one of my favourite weekly rituals.

If you want a less tangy or thick yogurt, ferment for around 8 hours. For a thick, tangy, and probiotic-rich yogurt, go closer to 24 hours. After 24 hours, you start to hit the law of diminishing returns—you begin to get bacterial die-off because the more aggressive bacteria start to beat out the other probiotics.

How does the Instant Pot yogurt setting work? The yogurt setting on the Instant Pot had two modes, the boil mode and the incubate mode. Press the yogurt button until it says "boil" for the boil mode; press until it shows a timer for the incubate mode — it defaults to eight hours.

The temperature is too high. If the temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the yogurt will ferment too fast and will also render the yogurt runny. Very high temperatures will kill the beneficial bacteria in the yogurt. Not enough yogurt starter culture.

Poor Temperature Control.

The culture that causes the slimy or stringy texture is the one that wakes up at a lower temperature. There are two potential issues here. Your yoghurt maker does not hold the correct temperature range. The milk is too cold when the culture is added.

A Clean Glass Container is best for making yogurt. Food-grade plastic can also be used but is not an ideal choice for yogurts that incubate at warm temperatures. Yogurt can be made in one large container or in single-serving containers.

For the best results, let the yogurt cool for about an hour at room temperature, or even place it in the refrigerator, removing the stainless steel pot out of the Instant Pot appliance. As the yogurt cools and rests, it will get thicker and you will have less whey.

Fermentation time: The longer you ferment the more tart, and thicker, your yogurt will be. Different cultures work at different rates, but as a general guideline: 6-8 hours produces a mild yogurt, 8-12 hours a tart yogurt, and more than 12 hours produces a sour yogurt.

Put the lid on the multi-cooker, turn the vent to sealing, and hit the yogurt button. This will automatically take you to the 8-hour function. During this step, you can set it and forget it until your Instant Pot beeps. After about 8 hours (or overnight), it'll be time to check the yogurt.

Three to four hours is the minimum, but an overnight chill is ideal. Keep in mind that your yogurt will thicken a bit more as it cools. Transfer the yogurt to individual containers for easy eating, or to an airtight container for long-term storage. Instant Pot yogurt lasts about two weeks in the fridge.

What happens if you use too much yogurt starter? ›

If too much starter culture is used, the bacteria will be crowded and run out of food (lactose) before the yogurt is set. Too much starter can produce a sour taste, rather than the desired tart taste.

The yogurt does not set and is runny.

You perhaps added too much starter, which crowds the bacteria. In the case of starter, more is not better. Two tablespoons is enough to culture half a gallon of milk. You may not have incubated the yogurt long enough.

Wrong Temperature & Incorrect Incubation Time

It results in a runny and thin consistency of the yogurt, having a lot of watery elements in it. Therefore, around 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 43 to 46 degrees Celsius) is the ideal temperature in which the milk ferments the best.

Check the yogurt after 5 to 6 hours. If you are incubating overnight, stop the process as soon as you get up in the morning. Yogurt is ready when it is thick and firm, with a custard-like appearance that separates from the edge of the container. If longer incubation is needed, check every 30 minutes.

But if you have access to some really good-quality local milk, my opinion is to go for it. Make your own. Even the more expensive brands are usually cost-effective when compared to the price of a tub of store-bought yogurt.

Difficulty: Fairly easy; just needs a bit of kit

All you need to make yoghurt is something to heat liquid in, something to tell you its temperature, something to keep it warm, and something to hold it in the fridge. In other words, a saucepan, a thermometer, a wide‑mouthed vacuum flask or two and some jars.

The nutritional benefits of yogurt used in cooking will be similar to when it's eaten raw, although some vitamins may be destroyed by heating. Additionally, active cultures that are in uncooked yogurt will also be destroyed by heating.

Lock the lid in place but leave the pressure valve open (you can also cover with a glass lid if you have one). Press the yogurt button until it says boil. For most Instant Pots, you'll just need to hit the yogurt button once or twice and then press start.