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I made yogurt in my new Instant Pot! I love this thing!
Holy crap, it's been almost two months since I last posted. *dusts this thing off* There's no way I can fully catch myself up (because let's face it, no one uses LiveJournal anymore. If any others remain, hello to you, wonderful people), so I'll just tackle stuff randomly.
Another Black Friday has come and gone. I got a bunch of Blu-rays and a pasta maker and a shelf I desperately needed because I have so much kitchen crap. But my FAVORITE new purchase is this 7-in-1 Instant Pot.
Yes, that is a little ironic considering what I just said about having too much kitchen crap. >.> BUT IT'S WORTH IT YOU GUYS. It is the best thing ever, and I have only made two things in it so far. I have no idea what the "7" things are, but what I know it is: a pressure cooker (without the stress and worry), a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a yogurt maker. I am only going to get rid of my slow cooker, though. I'll keep my pressure cooker because of its portability, and it will take me longer to get rid of my rice cooker, because I have a really good one and I don't know if the Instant Pot does it as well or as quickly, but eventually that may be ditched as well.
Anyway, I made ox-tail soup the other night using the pressure cooker function, which is really nice because there's no futzing with keeping the pressure high/low or watching the clock, or being afraid of causing an explosion of food. Then yesterday I made yogurt. YOGURT! And it's soooooooo delicious! I had to follow some instructions given by someone in Amazon's reviews and he updated them and wasn't super clear in some parts, so...
Here are the instructions for making yogurt in the Instant Pot:
Ingredients:
- organic milk (1% to whole, whatever your preference... whole milk will produce thicker yogurt)
- small container of plain yogurt, whether from your last batch or fresh store bought (people seem to like Fage Greek-style yogurt, as it's mild tasting rather than super tart -- it's what I used)
- jams, syrups, whatever to flavor your yogurt (optional)
Equipment:
- Instant Pot
- ladle
- strainer (optional)
- cheesecloth or old, clean t-shirt (optional)
- deep, empty pot or bowl you can set the strainer on top of (optional)
- air-tight container for the yogurt you make
Note: I used a gallon of whole milk to make about 3 quarts of yogurt, but it was too much. Depending on how much yogurt you consume you might want to cut that down... it's the same process regardless. Next time I'll probably make half that amount.
Instructions:
1) Make sure the vent knob is set to "Venting."
2) Pour milk into the inner pot. Place the lid on top and twist to close.
3) Press the "Yogurt" button. Then press "Adjust" until it goes to "Boil." (On my Instant Pot it's just one press.)
4) Wait 30-60 minutes, the time depends on how much milk you're using. You'll hear a "beep" when it's done and the screen will say "Yogt." It's okay if you can't get to it right away for the next step.
5) Pull out the pot and let it cool to 110°-115°F. Could take up to 3 hours for a gallon. Use an instant read thermometer to gauge the temp. Here, again, it's fine if it's not exact. I ran some errands, forgetting about the cooling milk, and by the time I got back it had cooled to about 96°F. Yeast is still happy at that temp... you prob don't want to go below about 80°F.
6) Ladle out a cup or two of the warm milk. Whisk it together with your fresh yogurt (which will serve as a starter) until mostly smooth, then pour it back into the bigger pot of milk.
7) Set the pot back into the Instant Pot, close the lid, again making sure that the vent function is on "Venting," then press the "Yogurt" button. The Instant Pot will keep the mixture happy and warm, counting up to 8 hours. After 8 hours you'll hear a series of beeps (unless you're doing this overnight and are a deep sleeper :P), and the screen will say "Yogt." At this point, you have thick, creamy yogurt! Ladle it out into a container and you're done, if you're just making regular yogurt. You'll see some of it separate from the whey, you can either mix the whey back in, reserve it for another use, or dump it out. It has a lot of nutrition in it, but it's also kind of bitter tasting, so this is entirely up to you. (This step is also timing friendly... if you don't pull the yogurt out exactly at 8 hours it's no big deal... it will get thicker as it sits, as the yeast is still active. I probably wouldn't go longer than about 10 hours.)
8) If you'd like to make Greek yogurt, which is what I did, you have to strain out all the whey. (Again, what you do with it afterward is your own business. I dumped it. :P) Place the strainer over a large pot or bowl, line it with cheesecloth or a clean t-shirt, and dump the yogurt mixture into it. (Making a gallon will require a fairly large strainer, which is another reason I'm only going to make half the amount next time!) You can either leave it on the counter for about 3 hours, or place plastic wrap over everything and leave it in the fridge overnight (which is what I did -- I started the whole process first thing in the morning). A gallon of milk will produce 2-3 inches of whey. Once most of the liquid is gone, you can then transfer your thick, Greek-style yogurt to an air-tight container.
9) To flavor your yogurt, you can either flavor the whole batch or a little at a time, to your preference. (I prefer the latter for maximum flexibility!) For about every cup of yogurt, I add a tablespoon of jam, then mix it together. This morning I had it with the cherry jam I made earlier this year, and it was amaaaaaazing. :D So thick, so creamy, so subtly tart. Way better than store-bought yogurt imho. I also like eating yogurt plain, drizzled with honey and with chopped nuts. I'm sure there are a million things you can do with it.
Don't let my tendency for oversharing info and verbosity make it seem like it was complicated in any way. It was basically just pouring stuff from one container to another and playing the waiting game.
Also, you can make homemade yogurt without an Instant Pot. I've done it before. But you have to be more watchful and the consistency of the results will depend on temperature variations and what not.
Another Black Friday has come and gone. I got a bunch of Blu-rays and a pasta maker and a shelf I desperately needed because I have so much kitchen crap. But my FAVORITE new purchase is this 7-in-1 Instant Pot.
Yes, that is a little ironic considering what I just said about having too much kitchen crap. >.> BUT IT'S WORTH IT YOU GUYS. It is the best thing ever, and I have only made two things in it so far. I have no idea what the "7" things are, but what I know it is: a pressure cooker (without the stress and worry), a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and a yogurt maker. I am only going to get rid of my slow cooker, though. I'll keep my pressure cooker because of its portability, and it will take me longer to get rid of my rice cooker, because I have a really good one and I don't know if the Instant Pot does it as well or as quickly, but eventually that may be ditched as well.
Anyway, I made ox-tail soup the other night using the pressure cooker function, which is really nice because there's no futzing with keeping the pressure high/low or watching the clock, or being afraid of causing an explosion of food. Then yesterday I made yogurt. YOGURT! And it's soooooooo delicious! I had to follow some instructions given by someone in Amazon's reviews and he updated them and wasn't super clear in some parts, so...
Here are the instructions for making yogurt in the Instant Pot:
Ingredients:
- organic milk (1% to whole, whatever your preference... whole milk will produce thicker yogurt)
- small container of plain yogurt, whether from your last batch or fresh store bought (people seem to like Fage Greek-style yogurt, as it's mild tasting rather than super tart -- it's what I used)
- jams, syrups, whatever to flavor your yogurt (optional)
Equipment:
- Instant Pot
- ladle
- strainer (optional)
- cheesecloth or old, clean t-shirt (optional)
- deep, empty pot or bowl you can set the strainer on top of (optional)
- air-tight container for the yogurt you make
Note: I used a gallon of whole milk to make about 3 quarts of yogurt, but it was too much. Depending on how much yogurt you consume you might want to cut that down... it's the same process regardless. Next time I'll probably make half that amount.
Instructions:
1) Make sure the vent knob is set to "Venting."
2) Pour milk into the inner pot. Place the lid on top and twist to close.
3) Press the "Yogurt" button. Then press "Adjust" until it goes to "Boil." (On my Instant Pot it's just one press.)
4) Wait 30-60 minutes, the time depends on how much milk you're using. You'll hear a "beep" when it's done and the screen will say "Yogt." It's okay if you can't get to it right away for the next step.
5) Pull out the pot and let it cool to 110°-115°F. Could take up to 3 hours for a gallon. Use an instant read thermometer to gauge the temp. Here, again, it's fine if it's not exact. I ran some errands, forgetting about the cooling milk, and by the time I got back it had cooled to about 96°F. Yeast is still happy at that temp... you prob don't want to go below about 80°F.
6) Ladle out a cup or two of the warm milk. Whisk it together with your fresh yogurt (which will serve as a starter) until mostly smooth, then pour it back into the bigger pot of milk.
7) Set the pot back into the Instant Pot, close the lid, again making sure that the vent function is on "Venting," then press the "Yogurt" button. The Instant Pot will keep the mixture happy and warm, counting up to 8 hours. After 8 hours you'll hear a series of beeps (unless you're doing this overnight and are a deep sleeper :P), and the screen will say "Yogt." At this point, you have thick, creamy yogurt! Ladle it out into a container and you're done, if you're just making regular yogurt. You'll see some of it separate from the whey, you can either mix the whey back in, reserve it for another use, or dump it out. It has a lot of nutrition in it, but it's also kind of bitter tasting, so this is entirely up to you. (This step is also timing friendly... if you don't pull the yogurt out exactly at 8 hours it's no big deal... it will get thicker as it sits, as the yeast is still active. I probably wouldn't go longer than about 10 hours.)
8) If you'd like to make Greek yogurt, which is what I did, you have to strain out all the whey. (Again, what you do with it afterward is your own business. I dumped it. :P) Place the strainer over a large pot or bowl, line it with cheesecloth or a clean t-shirt, and dump the yogurt mixture into it. (Making a gallon will require a fairly large strainer, which is another reason I'm only going to make half the amount next time!) You can either leave it on the counter for about 3 hours, or place plastic wrap over everything and leave it in the fridge overnight (which is what I did -- I started the whole process first thing in the morning). A gallon of milk will produce 2-3 inches of whey. Once most of the liquid is gone, you can then transfer your thick, Greek-style yogurt to an air-tight container.
9) To flavor your yogurt, you can either flavor the whole batch or a little at a time, to your preference. (I prefer the latter for maximum flexibility!) For about every cup of yogurt, I add a tablespoon of jam, then mix it together. This morning I had it with the cherry jam I made earlier this year, and it was amaaaaaazing. :D So thick, so creamy, so subtly tart. Way better than store-bought yogurt imho. I also like eating yogurt plain, drizzled with honey and with chopped nuts. I'm sure there are a million things you can do with it.
Don't let my tendency for oversharing info and verbosity make it seem like it was complicated in any way. It was basically just pouring stuff from one container to another and playing the waiting game.
Also, you can make homemade yogurt without an Instant Pot. I've done it before. But you have to be more watchful and the consistency of the results will depend on temperature variations and what not.