I’ll admit that I’ve avoided using the Instant Pot yogurt option for a long time. But my curiosity got the best of me, and weeks of following conversations in Instant Pot Facebook groups got the best of me. I’m really thrilled that worked out since Instant Pot yogurt tastes incredible.
The best part is that you can create your yogurt however you want it: thin and creamy, thick and Greek-style, or anywhere in between. Do you like plain or sweetened yogurt? It’s also capable of doing so. Here’s how to put it together. Looking for the best yogurt maker? We have a list you can check!
Why Should I Make This Instant Pot Yogurt?
It’s been put to the test against the competition. After examining the two most popular techniques for making Instant Pot yogurt, conventional Boil and Cold Start, I came up with this recipe. I spent approximately a month experimenting with both of them, as well as different ingredient combinations. While neither way is inherently bad (my family couldn’t tell the difference), I prefer the Boil approach, which is what this recipe employs.
It’s been put to the test against the competition. After examining the two most popular techniques for making Instant Pot yogurt, conventional Boil and Cold Start, I came up with this recipe. I spent approximately a month experimenting with both of them, as well as different ingredient combinations. While neither way is inherently bad (my family couldn’t tell the difference), I prefer the Boil approach, which is what this recipe employs.
What’s the Difference Between Cold-Start and Boil Yogurt?
The Instant Pot’s Cold Start and Boil methods will both produce easy, delicious yogurt. The main variations are the type of milk used and the time it takes to start the Instant Pot; both require roughly the same amount of time to incubate in the Instant Pot.
Ultra-pasteurized, flash-pasteurized, shelf-stabilized, or powdered milks are required for Cold Start Yogurt (also known as No Boil or Fairlife Yogurt). Because you won’t be heating the milk in this approach, you’ll need to start with milk that has previously been boiled to destroy any bacteria. These milks are more difficult to come by in some shops and are more expensive, but they save you anything from 25 to an hour of prep time.
Traditional Boil Yogurt can be made with nearly any milk, such as coconut, almond, soy, organic, and raw milk, as well as half-and-half or heavy cream. However, this method necessitates two things: greater preparation time (about an hour, depending on cooling time) and the use of a probe thermometer.
Some people prefer Cold Start for flavor and texture because it’s thicker and tangier straight out of the gate, but you can incubate it for longer for even more thickness and tang. We’ve included the basic Boil method below so that anyone, anywhere may make yogurt with whatever milk they have on hand.
What’s the Best Milk for Instant Pot Yogurt?
When it comes to Instant Pot yogurt, I choose whole milk. I usually buy a half gallon of whatever local milk is on sale, but you can also use low-fat milk or non-dairy milk to create Boil Start yogurt.
A thickening agent, such as heavy cream, half-and-half, or nonfat dry milk, is required for lower fat milks (such as nonfat or skim). In the recipe below, you’ll find suggested amounts for each.
Non-dairy milks are a little more difficult to work with. The thickness and flavor of the non-dairy milk in question, as well as the starter yogurt utilized, will differ. The tough part is that you’ll need to find non-dairy starter yogurt with living cultures or buy a vegan starter to make authentic non-dairy yogurt (you can purchase a kit online or in some health food stores). As a result, there will be a higher initial expenditure and some trial-and-error. I had the most luck with a combination of soy and coconut milks, as well as a store-bought non-dairy yogurt, albeit the texture was thinner than the whole-milk counterparts.
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