A Foodie At Home
Making yogurt from scratch was something I’d never heard of until a few years back. A lady who lived in our compound in Nigeria said she used the milk we ordered to make yogurt (until the cows were broken that is). It was really only something she said in passing, but the idea stuck with me. These days I have an Instant Pot with a yogurt function, and making homemade yogurt absolutely had to be tried.
The difference between the taste of homemade yogurt and store bought yogurt is unbelievable. Yogurt from the store is really sour and, in my opinion, tastes like dairy that’s past it’s prime. This yogurt recipe makes creamy, tangy, yummy yogurt.
Homemade yogurt really isn’t as complicated as you might think. You need to allow time for the process, a lot of time granted, but the majority of that process is hands off. To begin with, I use an Instant Pot, with a yogurt setting, to make yogurt. I know there are yogurt makers out there and I’m sure my method isn’t the only way. But just so I don’t cause any confusion, this method here needs an Instant Pot with a yogurt setting.
To begin, pour the milk into the Instant Pot and set it to pasteurize – on my model you select yogurt and then turn the knob to select pasteurize, then set the time. Let it run. This takes a while, depending on how much milk you start with and how cold it was. Once it finishes, I set it to pasteurize again for another 3 minutes. I read somewhere that this extra step will create thicker yogurt. This is a totally optional step.
Once the pasteurization is complete, remove the insert and check the temperature of the milk. Here we come to a bit of a gray area. I’ve seen many many recipes that say the milk should be at 180 F at this point. While looking through my instruction manual to learn how to use the yogurt function in the first place, I saw that they said 161 °F. I assume that means the pasteurized milk can fall within that temperature range.
Now that you have the milk out of the Instant Pot, you want to cool it to 105 °F. To make this step faster, I stand the insert in the sink in cold water. Cooling a whole gallon of milk will take plenty of time otherwise.
When you hit 105 °F, stir in the yogurt starter (1 T per 1/4 gallon) and put the insert back into the Instant Pot. Select yogurt again and then turn the knob to ferment. Set it for 12 hours and push start. I usually start the yogurt making process around the time I start fixing dinner. The 12 hour fermenting step is perfect to run overnight.
This last step is optional and very open to personal interpretation. Once fermenting is finished, it is ready to chill and eat, as is, if you prefer thinner yogurt. If you prefer thicker yogurt, then your next step is straining in the fridge. You can do this in a colander lined with cheesecloth and set over a large bowl, or in a yogurt strainer. I strain my yogurt for about 4 hours. The longer you strain it, the thicker it becomes. This whole straining process is completely determined by you.
After straining I scrape the yogurt out into a large lidded container and add a bit of sugar. Here again, this is completely optional. If you do add sugar, the amount is completely up to you. I add 1/2 c to the yogurt I got from a gallon of milk.
Homemade Yogurt
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole milk
- 4 T yogurt plain, unsweetened
- ½ c sugar optional
Instructions
- Pour milk into the instant pot. Select the yogurt setting and then select pasteurize. Set for 3 minutes.
- Optional step- once the cycle is finished, run it through the cycle again for 3 minutes.
- After pasteurization, the milk should be between 161° and 180°.
- Cool milk to 105°. Add yogurt starter and stir gently.
- Put the insert back into instant pot and set on ferment for 12 hours.
- Once the fermentation is finished, pour yogurt into a cheesecloth lined colander and set over a large bowl. Strain the yogurt in the fridge for 4 hours. Stir in sugar if using and refrigerate.
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