Yogurt: Again?!!!

[Too Tall]

I'll admit to going a little to far in my quest to produce incredibly good yogurt. At one point I was importing freeze dried cultures directly from Bulgaria...of course wah wah. My methods produced many results, sometimes not so bad all were a massive PITA.

Good news campers, I've nailed it. Low effort, consistent results and great great yogurt.

Here is how I'm doing this:

1. Instant Pot (buy the smallest one available from wherever on sale)
Amazon.com: Instant Pot Duo Mini 3 Qt 7-in-1 Multi- Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker and Warmer: Kitchen & Dining
2. 1/2 gallon Milk - whatever floats your boat. I believe in healthy fats and am using organic whole milk.
3. Gently bring 1/2 gallon of milk to a slow boil than cool to 100 to 105F.
4. Whisk in 1/2 cup of yogurt. I'll suggest something specific because of the culture(s) they are using which are giving me excellent results >> Maple Hill Organic Grassfed Whole Milk Greek Yogurt
Yogurt - Maple Hill ( L. delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, s. thermophilus )
5. Select "yogurt" setting on the Instant Pot and leave it alone for 6 hrs.
6. Open the Instant Pot and whisk in your inclusions if so inclined (powdered sugar, vanilla)
OR
7. Skip Step 6 and leave it alone until the "yogurt" cycle finishes and whisk the contents (helps make it very smooth)
8. Refrigerate overnight.

Best yogurt ever.

Yep, I know there are all sorts of easy methods out there however I can think of very few that use a heavy metal container which heats the culture evenly at 105 to 110 F without fuss.

Once you get this rolling just save a 1/2 cup of last weeks yogurt to use as starter. I'm on gen4 and still same good results.

[rydesteel]

Yo Tall Pal, Deb and I are getting ready to make the Insta Pot plunge. Is the small one big enough to cook for 2 or should I get the 6QT instead? I like the idea of the Yogurt, recipe sound delish, and Deb has heard it makes great hard boiled eggs, but for soups and stews for 2 is it enough? Deb thinks I have plenty of Kitchen Gadgets already, but you know I'm more of the N+1 guy :>). Thanks Josh, that bread looked Awesome!

[Too Tall]

Thanks Frank, would love to hear a family update...maybe email. You guys are amazing.

I think the small one I've linked is plenty for two people. I've made enough rice for 10, lentil soup to feed 6 easy and it makes 1/2 gallon of yogurt!

[Shinomaster]

That's so cool. I recently learned that my mom had to make her own yogurt back in 1970, when she first came here from Turkey. Apparently 70's yogurt was unpalatable.

[11.4]

Dang. This sounds word for word like the recipe for Nixfrixshun.

[Too Tall]

Dang. This sounds word for word like the recipe for Nixfrixshun.

You almost got it right Lane. The "strain" of lactobacillus I use differs when brewing NFS.
Lactobacillus Roleur ssp. bulgaricus (Rb r+) combined with a non‐ropy Streptococcus domestiques (Sd r−) produced a viscous product which recovered its viscosity well, a lube made by combining both ropy strains did not recover its viscosity as well as lube made by combining two non‐ropy cultures and lost its structure more rapidly during the destructive testing. These results show therefore that inclusion of a ropy strain will not always lead to improved texture attributes, that while ropy strains may increase viscosity they may not influence ‘firmness’ and lend support to the view that this latter attribute is more influenced by protein–protein interactions.

Hopefully I've helped to make clear(er) that a simple Under Graduate explanation of seemingly simple matters make for good entertainment.

[David Tollefson]

Guest post by Lisa (aka The Mrs T.)

Dave told me about this post. I read the post and was a bit shocked you were importing cultures. I use my IP for yogurt frequently. I am not, however, tremendously picky about my yogurt I guess. I have been using the no-boil method with success.

Before yogurt making day: Buy a plain yogurt I can stand (keeping in mind that plain yogurt doesn’t taste great). Freeze it in an ice cube tray

Day of yogurt:
Run steam cycle on IP for a minute or 2 to sanitize the pot. If making it in jars, put those in with a bit of water. When done, dump the water and wipe it out with a clean paper towel.
Mix one ice cube of yogurt with half-gallon of organic milk. Make sure the cube is melted and mix in with the milk. (Milk can also be Lactose-Free just needs to be “Ultra-Pasteurized”
Set yogurt cycle on IP for 7:30-8:30 hours
Cool Yogurt after cycle
Optional: Strain yogurt if you want it thick

Also optional: Add container of creamer in with yogurt cycle and it’ll make it thicker. Want a bit of flavor? Add creamer with a flavor

This isn’t importing cultures but this yogurt is waaaay better than any store bought. There is no taste when you don’t use a creamer. It’s weird. We use this in place of sour cream, too. Add a spoonful of jam and toppings and it’s enough of a treat for our 5 y.o.

[Too Tall]

Dave, re-read my post #1, post #6 is a joke. I quit importing freeze dried cultures. Having amazing success using simlilar to yourselves, store bought yogurt as a starter. Interesting method you have with the frozen yogurt cubes.

[David Tollefson]

Freezing store bought yogurt or from the first batch has worked for me. I was using a bit of the last batch of yogurt to make the next batch, but a few batches in you get a watered down version. (If I remember correctly, figuratively and literally.)

What made it super easy for me was going to no-boil. The last time I used regular milk I had to boil 2 or 3 times to get to temperature. Unfortunately, the Instant Pot doesn’t always get it high enough with a large volume of milk :-/

Happy yogurt-ing!!

Lisa T.

[Too Tall]

I gotcha DT. I'm boiling in a separate SS pot than transferring to the Instant Pot liner than cooling that in the fridge to 105F.

[11.4]

Dave, re-read my post #1 , post #6 is a joke. I quit importing freeze dried cultures. Having amazing success using simlilar to yourselves, store bought yogurt as a starter. Interesting method you have with the frozen yogurt cubes.

Wait! What??? I was already homebrewing my own yogurt lubricant. Next time, tell us when you're joking, ok???? My Campy Nuovo Record bottom bracket will never be the same again.

[TMB]

That's so cool. I recently learned that my mom had to make her own yogurt back in 1970, when she first came here from Turkey. Apparently 70's yogurt was unpalatable.

Most store bought yogurt still is.