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Let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE my Instant Pot! I've only had it for a month, but let me tell you it has saved my butt on several occasions. It happens to the best of us... the day gets away from you and you realize it's 3 o'clock and you forgot to take something out of the freezer. Or maybe you were running errands all day, or working, and you just need a quick and dirty meal on the table with no fuss. No fear, Instant Pot to the rescue! I have done a whole chicken FROZEN SOLID in my instant pot in less than 1 hour (and that's including the time needed for pressure release!) Amazing.
But, I digress. Let's get down to the real reason you are here. YOGURT!!
We are big yogurt fans in our house, but I always cringe a little when I see the sugar content on store-bought yogurt. I am feeding this stuff to my daughter, and my unborn child (#30weekspregnant), so it'd be nice to know I'm not dumping 8lbs of sugar into our bodies every time we peel open a cup of yogurt. I actually have a yogurt maker which is fabulous, but the Instant Pot is even easier to use in my opinion, because everything can be done in one pot! So not only are you making an awesome healthy homemade treat, but you're also saving on dishes! #momwin
Let's get to it. Here is what you will need:
-An Instant Pot or similar style pressure cooker.
-A cooking thermometer
-A whisk
-Milk of your choice ( I used 2%)
-a culture starter (i.e. plain yogurt)
-cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer (optional for Greek yogurt)
STEP ONE:
Make sure your instant pot is clean. You don't want your yogurt to taste like the teriyaki chicken you made last night! Pour your milk into the pot and press the yogurt button until it says BOIL on the screen. I used 2L of milk (about half a gallon). Put the lid on and walk away. You don't need to worry about the seal/vent because you aren't using the pressure cooker setting. It will beep at you when it is finished coming to temperature.
STEP TWO:
Remove the lid and check the temperature using your thermometer. It should read 180*F. If it doesn't, turn the saute setting on and keep stirring until it comes to temp. You don't have to stir constantly, just enough so your milk doesn't burn.
STEP THREE:
Remove the pot from the unit and set it on a cooling rack. You want to let it cool down to 110*F now, so you can leave your thermometer in and check back periodically. This took around 30 minutes for my 2L of milk.
STEP FOUR:
When the milk has reached 110*F you can add your culture starter. Just 3 TBSP of plain yogurt! Whisk together until no clumps remain.
STEP FIVE:
Place the pot back into the unit and close the lid. This time press the Yogurt button ONCE and then auto adjust the time to 8-10 hours. I went with 10 because I like tangier yogurt, and I wanted it to be done when I woke up in the morning! Now you can go to bed, or go do whatever it is you plan to do for 10 hours while your milk becomes yogurt!
STEP SIX (optional):
If you want a thicker Greek Yogurt then you will need to strain the whey. Cheesecloth works great for this, but I happen to have a fine mesh strainer from my yogurt maker so that is what I used. The whey will drain out leaving you with a delicious thick, creamy yogurt! If you want just regular yogurt skip the straining and refrigerate!
[save your whey if you want to try my delicious pizza dough recipe!--coming soon]
Top with your desired toppings and enjoy!
I went with fresh blueberries, organic pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of pure maple syrup for my first taste. The nice thing about having plain yogurt is you can make a different flavour every time :)
Now, as hard as it may be to not eat this entire batch in one day, be sure to save 3 Tbsp of your yogurt to use as your culture starter for your next batch. You can throw it in the freezer. You will never have to buy yogurt again!
How easy was that?! Comment below with your favourite toppings\add ins!