My kids and husband go through yogurt so fast. While they love the Yoplait orange creme whips and the Dannon light and fit Greek crunch yogurts (we love all the flavors, but my favorite has to be the caramel fudge pretzel), I thought it might be good to learn to make my own yogurt. It would certainly be more cost effective, plus I would know every ingredient that goes into it. This homemade vanilla yogurt is great. I need to start experimenting with different flavors now that I have the vanilla down pat.

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Yogurt starters

First, I ordered a couple different yogurt starters (Cultures for Health Heirloom Yogurt Starter and Euro Cuisine All Natural Yogurt Culture). I had no clue which yogurt starter would be better so I looked at Amazon reviews and chose two. You can use yogurt that you bought at the store as your starter too. I have not tested that method yet. Maybe next time I will try it.

My favorite of the two starters I tried was the Cultures for Health Heirloom Yogurt Starter. I had to use all 8 packets since I was using a whole gallon of milk. I didn’t realized until after I poured them in that there were 4 different kinds of cultures. Well, I guess the mistake turned out great because this yogurt was awesome. If you are wondering how much starter to use, it depends on the starter and how much milk you are using. The yogurt starter package usually has instructions. If you are using store bought yogurt as your starter, I would use 3 tablespoons per gallon of milk.

Making yogurt is easy

Making yogurt truly is easy. The part that you actually have to pay attention to is when you boil the milk, in the instant pot, and then cool it down in an ice water bath. You have to heat it until it gets to at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Then cool it down to 110 degrees Fahrenheit before you add the starter. Once you are done with that part, you just have to wait 8 hours for it to be done and then strain out the whey overnight.

This homemade vanilla yogurt is creamy and tangy, but not overpoweringly so. My husband’s response when he tasted it was, “It tastes like yogurt.” (Well, that is kind of the point, for it to taste like yogurt. Let’s just say that I am the expressive one in our marriage. My husband never comes across as excited about something, even if he is). There was a grainy texture the first time I made this (which apparently can happen sometimes), but the second time it was not grainy. I would recommend using a hand mixer to make it really creamy once you have strained out the whey. (You can find full instructions in the recipe below).

Homemade Vanilla Yogurt

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Author: Lisa
Total Time: 10 hours
Yield: 6 cups 1x

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Description

Creamy and delicious, this homemade vanilla yogurt is easy to make. If you save a little every time it you will have yogurt starter for the next time you make yogurt.

Ingredients

Scale

1 gallon milk
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
Yogurt starter of your choice (if you are using yogurt you bought at the store, I would use about 3 tablespoons

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Instructions

Pour 1 gallon of milk into the instant pot. Place the lid on, I prefer to have the glass instant pot lid since making yogurt does not require pressure, plus I like to see what’s going on). Hit the yogurt button and make sure the display says boil.
Boil the milk until it reaches 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit. I use my digital meat thermometer to check the temperature. (Each time I have made this yogurt the boil setting times out and switches to the yogurt setting before the milk has reached 180 degrees. Just hit the yogurt button again until it says boil).
Just before the milk reaches 180 degrees, get an ice water bath ready in the kitchen sink.
Once the milk has reached 180 degrees remove the pot from the instant pot base and set the pot in your ice bath. Remove the lid. Whisk the milk to help it cool faster, while holding the thermometer in the milk. The milk actually cools down pretty quickly.
When the milk has reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit, add your yogurt starter, or 3 tablespoons store bought yogurt. (If you are using yogurt starter, then the package will tell you how much to use. I used all 8 packets of the Cultures for Health Heirloom Yogurt Starter for this recipe. I used 2 packets of the Euro Cuisine All Natural Yogurt Starter, but I would probably only use one the next time as I felt it was too tangy for my taste).
Whisk the milk and starter until it is well combined.
Take a dish towel and set the towel on the counter, unfolded. Set the instant pot on the towel and try off the outside of the pot. Place the pot back into the instant pot base and replace the lid.
Press the yogurt button. There will be a number displayed on the screen. Press the plus button until the timer says 8.
Now you just let it do it’s thing for 8 hours. Try not to be tempted to remove the lid as this may cause it to take longer to become yogurt.
Once the 8 hours is up, you should now have yogurt. Straining out the whey is the next step, which is important if you want a thick yogurt.
Take two strainers and place them in two large bowls. Now place cheese cloth in each strainer. Pour your yogurt in the two strainers, cover with plastic wrap and place the bowls in the refrigerator overnight.
Once most of the whey has been strained out, dump the yogurt in a large bowl. Add pure maple syrup and vanilla.
Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients until smooth.
Now your yogurt is ready to eat. Don’t forget to save 3 tablespoons and freeze it so you have yogurt starter the next time you want to make instant pot yogurt.
Serve with your favorite fruit and/or granola.