How To Make Cold Start Yogurt In The Instant Pot
Making yogurt can be tedious. Heat the milk, hold the temperature, cool the milk, ECT. Have an instant pot? Check the buttons, it might just have the yogurt option. I have been making yogurt for years and you can imagine my overwhelming joy when I realized my instant pot actually had the yogurt option. How could I have overlooked it? So I did some research on few different methods of making yogurt in a pressure cooker. The next couple of posts will go into detail on all the methods I have tried.
My all time favorite way to make yogurt for my family is by far the “Cold Start” method. No heating of the milk. Just pour the milk, stir in the cultures, close the lid, set it, and forget it. Making yogurt at home really can’t get much easier. Well, it can with the mesophilic yogurts but that's for another post on another day. So lets get started!
Here is what you will need:
Instant pot, yogurt maker, or similar appliance
1/2 gallon of ultra Pasteurized Milk (UHT milk)
6-8 TBS of yogurt starter cultures from a previous batch
One 14 Oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (optional)
One cup of plain unchlorinated water
A few things to note about using the cold start method to make at home yogurt. UHT milk is probably the most important. The protein in the UHT milk has already been denatured and therefore, you can reasonably skip the heating and cooling of the milk prior to culturing. PHEW! The part I’m sure is the most daunting for the yogurt newbies out there. Now most organic milks are ultra pasteurized nowadays. I say most, definitely not all. You will want to make sure it says UHT or ultra pasteurized on the label. Fairlife milk is a really good option for this cold start method and makes a super smooth and yummy yogurt.
You will want to either make and maintain a plain mother culture that you use to create future batches or what I do MAKE TWO BATCHES! One plain and one sweet. How does one make a “mother culture”? Sounds complicated right? It really isn’t I promise. You can do this by making a pint or two of plain yogurt once a week and keep this stored in a container in the refrigerator and you use this to make your batches during the week. At the end of the week, refresh your mother culture by making a new plain batch. If you have mother culture leftover from the previous week just EAT IT! Nothing goes to waste.
Now lets get to making yogurt at home!
First things first. You totally can make this in the inner pot and most people do. I, on the other hand, like to incubate my yogurt my pint sized mason jars. Not only is it absolutely adorable, it helps keep the thickness and texture because you aren’t moving it from pot to storage. The vessel IS the storage. Remember, the more you stir the yogurt, the thinner it will get.
Alright, NOW let’s get started.
Place the rack for the instant pot into the bottom of the stainless steel liner and pour in one cup of water. If you are incubating inside the actual liner, pour the milk straight into the pot and omit the water.
In a separate bowl, combine 3 cups of UHT milk, yogurt cultures, and one can of sweetened condensed milk and whisk well. (Omit condensed milk if making plain yogurt)
Add the remaining 5 cups of UHT milk and whisk again.
Pour equal amounts into pint sized jars and place on the rack inside the stainless steel liner. You do not need lids at this point.
Close the lid of the instant pot and press yogurt. You do not need the silicone ring, anti-block shield, as well as the steam release valve. No one likes chili flavored yogurt! Now you can forget about it. After the five hour mark check the yogurt once every hour. Once the yogurt moves away from the side of the jar in one solid mass its ready.
When the yogurt has finished culturing, turn off the instant pot and place the jars of yogurt on a clean tea towel to cool naturally for 2 hours.
One cool place in the refrigerator for an additional 6 hours.
Step 6 & 7 are very important as it helps further set and thicken the yogurt. After the cultured yogurt has been in the fridge for six hours its ready to be devoured. Be sure to eat your homemade yogurt within 14 days. In our house, it never lasts that long anyways.
There you go! The easiest and no fuss method to making yogurt at home in your own kitchen.