GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: yogurt

  • Does The Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe Work? GF Video

    Does The Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe Work? GF Video

    I was skeptical about the Instant Pot yogurt recipe that is in the instapot manual, so I set out to test it and refine it. I am a big fan of the this multicooker. Watch my video below and read through the instructions below to learn how it all came out.

    Read on to learn how to make yogurt in the instant pot.

    How to make the Instant Pot yogurt recipe, step by step:

    There are 3 steps in the instant pot yogurt recipe process. Heating the milk, cooling the milk, fermenting the milk.

    A couple of decisions you have to make from the get go. What kind of milk should you use? Full fat or 2% works for me, the Fat Free milk isn’t great, in my opinion, but use what you got. You can use raw milk also, but I have not tried this yet. I am told not to use organic milk from the store, as it is ultra pasturized and the proteins wont line up properly to make the milk into yogurt.

    I use glass canning jars to make yogurt, this works for me. If you want to make a lot of yogurt, you can make a big batch right in the pot. Clean the jars with hot soapy water, running through a dishwasher works well also.

    Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe

    Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the cooker. Place in the bottom the wired stand thing that came with your multicooker. This will keep the glass jars above the water. Pour milk into the glass jars. Close the lid and make sure the vent is set to ‘sealing’.

    Press the ‘Steam’ button and using the plus and minus buttons on the control panel, set it to 1 minute. In a few seconds the Instant Pot will start the steaming process. It will take longer than one minute, so don’t stand there and watch it. Once the steam process is done, (about 15 min) the cooker goes into a keep warm mode. Turn off the cooker, but DO NOT open the lid. Don’t vent the steam either, allow for natural release. To do this, let the cooker sit for about 20 minutes, turn the vent to release any pressure, and open the lid. Remove the jars, place on grate to cool.

    Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe

    Cooling and Adding the Yogurt Starter To The Instant Pot

    The heated milk now has to cool to 115F or lower. When you hit that temperature, you can add your yogurt starter. I like this Yogourmet brand starter. You can also get some really cool heirloom yogurt starters here.

    Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe

    Remove the wire grate and water from the pot. Place the jars back in the cooker, close the lid, and press the ‘Yogurt’ button. Using the + and – buttons, set the Instant Pot to ferment the yogurt for 6 hours. I have found that the longer you heat the yogurt mix, the thicker the finished product is. 6 hours works for me, see the instructions that come with your starter. Let me know what works for you in the comments below.

    Instant Pot Yogurt Recipe

    You can also make yogurt in a styrofoam container or a cardboard box, learn here.

     

    How to make yogurt in a cardboard box – GF Video

  • Easy way to make yogurt by Tish

    Easy way to make yogurt by Tish

    From a GardenFork Fan, an easy way to make yogurt using your oven. You don’t need special equipment, its easy to make, here’s how. Below this yogurt recipe are links to our how to make yogurt videos and more fermentation stuff.

    I recommend one special tool; a probe thermometer with an alarm that notifies you when your food has reached the desired temperature. I use this one. There are lots of them on the market ranging from $15 to $60. However any thermometer that will read from 100 to 200 degrees will tell you what you need to know.

    Tish’s Easy Way To Make Yogurt Recipe:

    Warm your milk in a non-reactive pan over moderate heat to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. go slowly with this step for two reasons. First you don’t want to scorch the milk and second, slow warming allows for some evaporation of water in the milk and that makes a thicker, creamier yogurt. The probe thermometer is a big help here because you don’t have to stand over the milk and stir it. I set this up when I have other kitchen jobs to do and give the pan a quick stir every now and then.

    Once the milk has reached 180 degrees, you can hold it there for more evaporation or remove it from the heat right away. You do not want your milk to boil. Allow the milk to cool to 110 degrees (re-set your programmable thermometer to alert you when the milk has cooled). Spoon some of the warm milk into your yogurt culture and stir it in. Keep stirring in milk, a spoonful at a time, until the mix is smooth and thin enough to blend easily with the full pot of milk. Add the culture to the milk in the pot and stir it thoroughly. Pour the cultured milk into your clean containers and cover the containers.

    Many ovens can maintain a perfect temperature for yogurt, just by keeping the oven light on. Before you begin, test this by leaving the oven light on for several hours with the probe thermometer sitting on the rack. If the bulb keeps your oven at 100 to 115 degrees, you’ve found your yogurt machine. If this doesn’t work, use a personal sized cooler – the ones designed to hold one or two six-packs of drink cans. Wash the cooler out with hot tap water, even if it’s already clean because you want to warm it. Set the containers of cultured milk in the cooler, add enough hot tap water to come right up to the tops of the containers, cover and move the cooler to a quiet spot in the kitchen.

    Leave your yogurt alone for 8 to 12 hours then move it to the refrigerator. Enjoy!

    I use pasteurized milk. Many national brands of milk are now ultra-pasteurized and I don’t know how that will do for yogurt. It won’t make cheese so I haven’t tried it with yogurt. You can use any fat content you like from whole milk to skim.

    You can buy yogurt culture from New England Cheesemaking. I have done that. However I have had really good results using plain yogurt from the grocery store. In the past I have had problems with the flavor of the yogurt (made with grocery store starter) changing from batch to batch but for the last year that has not happened. Any unflavored yogurt with live cultures will do, but I use the Giant grocery store house brand. Look for live cultures and an ingredient list that includes no more than three items (Milk, live cultures, and maybe milk solids). You need about a tablespoon per quart of new milk.

    If you like your yogurt thick, you can add non-fat dry milk to the milk while you warm it. I add a lot – a cup of dry milk per quart of new milk. This gives me yogurt that is almost like Greek yogurt. I get very little whey separation with this much added milk.

    I warm my milk while I fix dinner, cool it while I eat, and leave it in the little cooler overnight. I make two quarts every ten to fourteen days.

    I just want you to know that you don’t need expensive tools or yogurt-specific equipment. Yogurt is a simple food and it’s easy to  make.

    easy way to make yogurt

    Our How to make yogurt video

    Listen to Sandor Katz talk about fermentation, how to make sauerkraut and yogurt on GF Radio here.