You can make Yogurt in your Instant Pot Lux!

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      This is my second post admitting a mistake this week.  I'm on a roll, so I might as well get it over with.
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        A couple of months ago,I made yogurt using my crock pot.  I had intended to try making it in my Instant Pot, but my Instant Pot doesn't have a yogurt button.  I searched the web a bit and found people saying that the Instant Pot Lux doesn't have a yogurt button and so you cannot make yogurt in it. 
         Flash forward to March and I want to make yogurt again.  I just happened to be making dinner in my Instant Pot one evening and I was flipping through the little recipe book that comes with the Instant Pot.  Guess what is in there?  That's right, a recipe for yogurt! I was dumbfounded! 

         Of course, me, being me, I had to try it but do things a little differently.  

• First of all, I wanted more yogurt than this recipe was going to make.  It only called for 4 cups of milk.  I had a half gallon of milk to use, so that was 8 cups. 
• The recipe called for 1/2 c. vanilla yogurt as the starter.  I knew that I had used less than that when I had made my yogurt in my crock pot.  So, I simply used one small container of Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt for my double batch.
• The recipe simply tells you to bring the milk to a boil and then to cool it to nearly room temperature.  I used my recipe that tells you to heat it to 180 degrees and then cool it to 110.  (I hope to never have 110 degree room temperature.)
• I forgot to add vanilla and honey to the yogurt after it was strained, so it is super plain tasting this time.  I won't forget next time. 
• The Instant Pot Recipe Book doesn't tell you to drain the yogurt unless you are making Greek Yogurt.  That seems weird because every yogurt recipe I've seen tells you to drain off the whey.  I drained mine in my awesome yogurt strainer. 

     Actually, the only thing the Instant Pot was used for in this recipe was to keep the yogurt mixture warm for the 9-10 hours that it has to sit.  You simply put 4 cups of water in the pot, close the lid and heat it up with the Keep Warm setting.  Let it heat for about 15 minutes.  When you are ready to pour in the yogurt, you pour out the water, then add the yogurt.  Close the lid and then come back 9 or 10 hours later to find yogurt.  I don't understand what the big deal is about having a yogurt button! This is pretty much just how I did it with my crock pot, except I wrapped it in a towel to keep the heat in.
      When all is said and done, I think I prefer using my crock pot because, 

1. I can make a larger amount.  I made a gallon of milk's worth when I did it with the crock pot.
2. I didn't have to use water to heat up my crock pot, I just set it on warm and then shut it off.
3. The recipe is straight forward, the one in my Instant Pot Book is kind of confusing and leaves out steps.  Because I had experience, I figured it out.  But, for one thing, it doesn't tell you to pour the water out of the Instant Pot before adding the yogurt mixture.  I can see a newbie getting confused by this.

     So, I was wrong, you can make yogurt in your Instant Pot Lux.  But, don't rely on the recipe in the little cookbook.  Go to my recipe for using the crock pot here and adapt it to your Instant Pot. If you don't want to make a large batch, the Instant Pot might be the way to go.  Either way, make your yogurt making life easier by getting yourself a yogurt strainer! You will love it, and the yogurt!
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