Make Homemade Yogurt Without An Instant Pot

Make Homemade Yogurt Without an Instant Pot!

1/10/2022

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One family member, my son's mil, Anita, is always so supportive of our blog. She is so talented and always has ideas and inspiration for our blog! This past Christmas, she sent me a yogurt strainer. She showed me her results of making yogurt in her Instant Pot and where she found the recipe. I got so excited thinking about all of the things that I can use this strainer for and for all of the things that I can do with the yogurt. Unfortunately, I discovered that my Instant Pot Lux does not have the yogurt setting. But, I knew that before there were Instant Pots, people still made yogurt. So, my search began for a way that I could make yogurt without an Instant Pot. I found many ways! I used a combination of those ideas and experimented on my own, as is my way.

Guess what! My very first experiment was a great success and it was so easy that I can't believe that I haven't been making my own yogurt all along!

This one has the yogurt button.

No yogurt button.

I made a video of myself making my very first batch of homemade yogurt! Watch it, and then I will list some highlights to help you make your own yogurt without an Instant Pot as well!

Whelp, now you know how I look in the morning.

Here are a few highlights to remember:

You can use any fat content of milk. I used whole milk this time, but low-fat or non-fat will also make great yogurt.
Heat the milk in a large pot to 180 degrees F. then, cool it to 110 degrees before adding the yogurt culture.
Use plain yogurt of any type or brand that you prefer as your culture. It can be Greek or regular, it will definitely influence the taste of your yogurt, so choose the type that you like.
I have seen people use from 1 Tablespoon to 1/2 cup of the yogurt culture. I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons and it worked great.
After your milk comes to 110 degrees, you may add the culture. When you stir it in, remember not to scrape the bottom of the pan, which may have scorched milk on it.
Put your milk and yogurt mixture into a warm, not hot crockpot. Wrap it with a towel and let it sit, unplugged, for 8-12 hours. I let mine sit around 9 hours. It is so amazing to see that it is thickened into yogurt when you open it up!
Drain off the whey, taking about 2-3 hours to allow it to drain. If you don't have a yogurt strainer, you can use flour sack cloth or coffee filters in a mesh strainer over a bowl. You can save the whey to make ricotta cheese, as a stock in soups, in smoothies, to amend acidity in soil and so many other things!
After straining the yogurt, you are ready to add flavoring and sweeteners as desired. So far, we have loved 1/2 cup of honey and a teaspoon of vanilla in the basic yogurt. Later, we add jam, granola, fresh or canned fruit or whatever we want. It is so delicious.

In a few days, I'll share the recipe for my lemon blackberry cheesecake that I made with this homemade yogurt! There will be a few other things to come as well!
Here is a shoutout to Anita for getting me excited about making yogurt! It is such a satisfying feeling to make something that is successful, delicious, versatile and money saving! Let me know if you give it a try.

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