Bulgarian yogurt in the Instant Pot
Learn how to make homemade Bulgarian yogurt in the Instant Pot. A delicious and healthy snack to always have on hand. Easy to make, and cheaper than store-bought, homemade yogurt is great to add beneficial probiotics to your diet.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot with yogurt function
- 1 food thermometer
Ingredients
- 2 liters organic (grass-fed) whole milk
- 1.5 grams (1/3 teaspoon) Bulgarian yogurt starter
- 1 tablespoon grass-fed gelatin powder optional
Instructions
- Pour 2 liters of milk into the Instant Pot, turn it on on "sauté" or "boil" (turn on "boil" by pressing the "yogurt" button twice) mode. Allow the milk to warm to 180 degrees F, whisking often. Use a food thermometer to test the temperature. Turn off the Instant Pot by pressing "cancel".
- If you want to add the gelatin powder to your batch of yogurt, this is moment to do so. Pour about 1 cup of hot milk into a separate container and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin on top. Whisk well until the gelatin powder is completely dissolved. Add the milk back into the Instant Pot and stir together.
- Let the milk cool off to about 105-115 degrees F. To speed up the process, you can place the stainless steel pot in your sink filled with cold water. Whisk periodically and check the temperature with the food thermometer.
- Once the milk is cooled, it's time to add the starter culture (or yogurt from previous batch). Take about 1 cup of milk out, add 1/3 teaspoon of your starter culture or 1/2 cup of yogurt, stir well until dissolved and then add back to the pot and stir together with the rest of the milk.
- Put the pot back into the Instant Pot, place the lid on, and press the "yogurt" button. Set the timer to your desired incubation time (from 8 up to 24 hours). I usually incubate my yogurt for 15 hours and I find I like it the best.
- Once the incubation time is up, remove the pot and place it in the refrigerator. Let the yogurt set for at least 2 hours (or more if you added the gelatin). After this time, you can enjoy your yogurt, or strain it over a colander lined with a butter cloth to make it thicker (Greek yogurt-like).
Notes
To reduce sticking of the milk to the stainless steel pot, cool off the pot with cold water or ice before pouring the milk in.
Before making yogurt in the Instant Pot, remove the silicone ring on the cover, as it can harbor smells.
When making yogurt from your previous batch, use about 1/2 cup (100ml) of yogurt for every 2 liters of new milk. Use yogurt that is as fresh as possible: less than 7 days old, and ideally less than 4.
