Homemade Yogurt

Homemade yogurt couldn’t be easier. In this post I am going to show you how I make my own homemade yogurt each week using my InstantPot.

I used to feel very intimidated by the idea of making my own dairy products. Even though I bake sourdough bread, brew kombucha and make fermented foods. Home dairying just seemed so complicated. And even though I homestead, I am just on an acre. I don’t have my own dairy animals. Furthermore, raw milk is illegal in Iowa (don’t get me started on this!) So I didn’t know, can I make my own dairy products with store-bought milk?

The answer is yes! And it is in fact very simple to do so.

Why Make Your Own Yogurt?

Firstly because it is easy and economical.

Secondly because it is healthier.

I want my yogurt to give me the most bang for my buck. My yogurt needs to be fresh and full of live beneficial cultures. It needs to be free from additives, gums, stabilizers and preservatives. And I don’t want it to be full of added sugars and flavors either. By making my own homemade yogurt I am able to control what goes into it, how long it is fermented and how fresh it is when it is consumed.

My homemade yogurt contains milk and active cultures. That is it! I ferment it for at least 8 hours, often times longer. And I consume it within two weeks. My yogurt is clean, active and fresh.

Here in Iowa, a good quality store-bought yogurt sells for around $6.00 for one quart. I pay $5.00 for a gallon of farm fresh milk. So my homemade yogurt costs me $1.25 per quart. That is a huge savings.

Watch My Video To See How I Make Homemade Yogurt (& homemade mozzarella!):

Tips For Making Homemade Yogurt

1. If you are using raw milk it is best to make yogurt the day the milk was collected. This gives the yogurt cultures the best chance of colonizing the milk. Otherwise there will likely be too much competing bacteria. This doesn’t apply for store-bought pasteurized milk.
2. Plan the timing. No one wants to have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to deal with the yogurt! So for example, you could start it in the morning, ferment 8-12 hours, and have it finished before bedtime. Or you could start it in the late evening, ferment overnight, and finish it the next morning.
3. To make “fruit on the bottom” yogurt cups: First place a spoonful of jam into the bottom of a 1/2 pint glass jar. Next pour inoculated milk to top of jar. Then cap with jar lid. After that place the jars into the InstantPot bowl with 1 cup of water. Lastly process on the yogurt function for 8-12 hours. I learned this handy trick from Robyn @cheesefromscratch!

Tools

• InstantPot
• Thermometer
• Glass Jars with Lids
• Yogurt from previous batch, plain store-bought yogurt, or prepared Starter Culture

How I Make Homemade Yogurt

First I prepare my InstantPot by making sure the stainless steel bowl is impeccably clean. I also remove the sealing ring from the lid. Since making yogurt does not require pressure it will not be needed.

Next I pour my milk into the stainless steel bowl. I typically make a half-gallon of yogurt at a time.

Then I place the lid onto the InstantPot and press the “yogurt” button until the screen says “boil”. It takes about 25-35 minutes to come to the proper temperature (180 degrees F). The InstantPot beeps when it is ready.

Once it has come to the right temperature I remove the bowl and place it directly into my sink with ice water. I let it cool down to 110 degrees F.

Now I wipe off the outside of the bowl (so that it is dry going back into the InstantPot). Then I scoop a bit of the warm milk into a bowl and I stir in about one tablespoon of yogurt from a previous batch (or plain store bought yogurt). Next I pour this inoculated milk into the rest of the milk and stir.

After mixing the milk and yogurt culture I place the lid back onto my InstantPot and hit the “yogurt” button. I set the time for at least 8 hours, but usually I do 12 hours and let it go overnight.

Now I just forget about it until the fermenting time is up! The InstantPot keeps the yogurt at the proper temperature all on its own.

Once the time is up I remove the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit in my fridge for at least six hours. This helps it set up nicely. Then I transfer the yogurt into a clean half-gallon glass mason jar and store it in my fridge for up to two weeks.

Be sure to save at least a tablespoon of yogurt from this batch to make the next batch.

IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE AND ENJOY IT, I WOULD BE SO GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD COME BACK AND GIVE IT FIVE STARS. I LOVE TO SEE YOUR PICTURES OF MY RECIPES, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO TAG ME ON INSTAGRAM @VERITYFOLKSCHOOL

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