Instant Pot Yogurt

Ingredients

• 1/2 gallon pasteurized milk
• 2 tablespoons yogurt culture

Directions

1. Pour the milk into the Instant Pot insert and secure the lid. The steam vent can be either open or closed. Choose "Yogurt," then use "Adjust" until the screen shows "Boil."
2. Now let the cooker take over; no more buttons are needed. It will warm the milk to 180 degrees F, which takes care of unwanted microorganisms, and the whole bit usually runs about 30 minutes.
3. When the cycle finishes, you will hear the beep and the display will read "Yogt."
4. If you want a thicker batch, take off the lid, press YOGURT, and use ADJUST until "boil" appears again. Set a timer for 5 minutes; when it rings, keep going with the next part of the recipe. The extra cooking time gives the yogurt more body.
5. As soon as the Instant Pot beeps, shut it off and carefully remove the insert filled with hot milk. Set the thermometer in the milk and leave it there until the temperature is 116 degrees F. This may take as long as 1 hour.
6. For faster cooling, place the hot insert in ice water and stir the milk; it should come down in about 5 minutes. If the temperature slips below 110 degrees F, return the insert to the cooker, press "Yogurt," then "Adjust," and watch the thermometer until the milk is back where it belongs. Take the insert out of the cooker.
7. Pull out the thermometer. If a layer of set milk has formed on top, ease it away with a spoon and throw it out; it will not spoil the yogurt, but the finished texture is nicer without it.
8. Spoon the starter into a medium bowl, then whisk in about 1/2 cup of the warm milk until the mixture is smooth. Add that back to the insert of milk and whisk so everything is evenly combined.
9. Put the insert back into the Instant Pot and secure the lid; again, the steam vent can stay open or be closed. Press YOGURT. If the display is not showing "8:00," use the + button to increase the time until it does.
10. The machine will hold the yogurt for 8 hours, then shut off on its own; when the default 8-hour program is finished, the screen will say "Yogt." If you want to change the incubation period, use the +/- button.
11. During yogurt incubation, the clock moves upward, unlike the countdown you see for pressure cooking. So when the screen reads "2:45," the yogurt has been incubating for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
12. Begin peeking at the yogurt after 4 hours. Try not to bump the Instant Pot while it incubates, since too much movement can interfere with a good set.
13. The set may happen in under 4 hours, or it may need over 12 hours. Much depends on how lively the cultures are in your starter, and a fresher starter generally needs less incubation, so give it time.
14. When you look inside, lift the lid gently. Condensation gathers near the gasket, and careful opening helps keep it from raining down onto the yogurt.
15. You will know it is set when a careful nudge makes it wobble as a single mass and a slight tip of the pot does not make it flow. Clear whey may be visible on top or around the sides.
16. Once the yogurt has set, carefully lift the insert out of the cooker. Do not pour or stir it now, because that can loosen the texture and make it runny. You may place the insert on a rack to cool more quickly, but skip the fridge at this stage; a sudden temperature change can also thin it. When it reaches room temperature, about 2 hours, move it to the refrigerator.
17. Chill for at least 6 hours. After chilling, the yogurt may look a little lumpy, and a strong whisking will bring it together. Now you can strain it or spoon it into sterile containers; quart glass jars are a nice fit.
18. Store the yogurt in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. As it rests there, it will become tangier and lose some thickness.
19. For yogurt in heatproof jars of any size, pour 1 cup of water into the insert and place the steam rack over it. Add milk to the jars, leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top. Arrange the jars on the rack and secure the lid. Press "Steam," then set the cooking time to 1 minute with the "-/+" keys. After the beep, allow the pressure to come down naturally.
20. Open the cooker, then lift out the jars with canning jar lifters. Put a thermometer into a jar and let the milk cool to 116 degrees F, which can take up to 1 hour. Take off and discard any skin on the milk.
21. Portion the right amount of starter into the jars, based on how much milk they hold. Put the jars back in the cooker, secure the lid, press "Yogurt," and continue with the incubation method above.