Look out Instant Pot Greek Yogurt! There's a new kid in town: Insanely thick, smooth, creamy Instant Pot Icelandic Yogurt AKA Skyr made with fat free milk! Read on to discover the secret ingredient that makes this all possible!
I've made a TON of yogurt in the past 4 years, yet still, that moment when you take the lid off and see that beautiful, thick creamy yogurt . . . it never gets old, right?
If you can relate, I've got something super awesome and new for you to try: Icelandic Yogurt, otherwise known as Skyr, made in the Instant Pot. Have you heard of Skyr Yogurt? Well, let me tell you all about my new obsession.
WHAT IS SKYR?
Skyr (pronounced skeer) originated in Iceland, is made using nonfat milk, and is technically a type of cheese. Skyr is commonly made using a special ingredient called rennet (also used to make cheese) which is what helps create a thick, creamy yogurt without high fat milk.
Siggi's and Icelandic Provisions are the most common brands of Skyr you'll find at your local grocery stores, but it can be tricky to find, it's pricey, and in my opinion, is more tart and chalky than I like.
Homemade Skyr, on the other hand, is mild, thick, creamy and can be made for a fraction of the storebought price.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE ICELANDIC SKYR
- Fat free yogurt that tastes like full fat yogurt minus the thickening agents you'll find in storebought
- Single serving Icelandic Yogurt from the store can cost $2 plus. You can make 2 quarts of it for less than $4!
- More nutritious than even Greek Yogurt (more on that in a sec)
- Dare I say, this will be the thickest, creamiest yogurt you've ever had
HOW TO MAKE ICELANDIC YOGURT IN THE INSTANT POT
- Pour one gallon of skim milk into the Instant Pot
- Press YOGURT and adjust to BOIL
- Heat milk to 190 degrees Fahrenheit
- Set the pot on a cooling rack and let it cool to 105 – 110
- Scoop out and discard the skin that has formed on top of the milk
- Add 2 ladles of warm milk to a bowl with 1/4 cup of yogurt starter
- Whisk until smooth
- Pour into the pot
- Whisk well to incorporate
- Stir 7 drops of rennet into 1/4 cup cool water; stir
- Add to the pot of milk, whisk thoroughly
- Press YOGURT and adjust to incubate for 5 hours
- Place yogurt in the refrigerator overnight
- Pour yogurt into strainers
- Let strain for 1 – 2 hours (or even overnight)
- Place strained yogurt into a bowl
- Add vanilla and honey, if desired
- Use a hand mixer to beat until smooth
- Viola! Thick, creamy yogurt!
- Top it and devour!
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
If you've made regular Instant Pot Yogurt, you'll notice this process is quite similar. I adore both yogurt recipes and switch back and forth between the two, to keep my yogurt life interesting. Are you intrigued?
WHY YOU REALLY NEED TO MAKE YOUR OWN SKYR YOGURT
SKYR YOGURT IS FAT FREE
- I'm not against fat in my diet by any means, but if I want cheese every day, butter on my toast, lots of olive oil on my roasted veggies, and scoops of almond butter when I feel stressed – then somethings gotta give. Fat-free yogurt it is! Which means everything I use it for, from dressings to smoothies, is also saving me extra fat grams.
HEALTHIEST YOGURT: SKYR VS GREEK
- If you compare the label of Skyr yogurt to Greek yogurt, Skyr packs in more protein with less sugar. Which sure makes drizzling Raspberry Infused Honey all over it a super awesome idea! Look at the color! Look at those thick, curvy lines! That is breakfast people! My kids were fighting over the leftovers because they thought it was whipped cream, haha!
HOMEMADE YOGURT IS CHEAPER
- Siggi's and other Skyr yogurt brands are close to the most expensive yogurt on the shelf. If you make it at home, you'll get 6-8 cups (depending on how much you strain it) of yogurt for $4 or less. Now that's a steal compared to store prices that range from $1-$3 per 5 oz cup.
THICK AND CREAMY, NATURALLY
- Fat free store-bought yogurt uses thickening agents to make it creamy. Not so with homemade Skyr thanks to the addition of rennet, an ingredient you typically see for cheese making. Rennet is used to achieve that thick texture without any weird additives.
- I mean seriously, look at that picture. Again, that is not dessert my friends, that there is breakfast. Shout out to that glossy dreamy Healthy-ier Chocolate Syrup, hey there beautiful.
SKYR YOGURT IS VERSATILE
- Because of how thick it is, Skyr yogurt works perfectly for dressings, dips, and even frosting! Skyr Yogurt Cream Cheese is one of my favorite uses.
ICELANDIC YOGURT IS FASTER THAN REGULAR YOGURT
- Yes! It's faster to make! 5 hours vs 8 hours to reach the perfect tartness.
HOMEMADE ICELANDIC TASTES BETTER
- This is debatably the most important part, right? Everything I read about Skyr said it was more mild than greek yogurt. Which quite honestly, when I first tasted store-bought Siggi's, I found it to be very tart with a bit of a chalky aftertaste. In my opinion, this homemade version is far better than even the most expensive brands.
- That being said, I will warn you, when eaten plain, there is still a hint of that chalky aftertaste in the homemade version. But with the addition of fruit and granola, It doesn't bother me a bit and quite honestly, I've grown to prefer the taste.
TIP FOR MAKING THE BEST ICELANDIC SKYR YOGURT
YOGURT STARTER
- Some will say that Skyr yogurt isn't Skyr yogurt unless you use a Skyr starter since the cultures are what make it in fact, Skyr yogurt. My experience with using Siggi's as my starter was that my yogurt turned out beautifully thick, but very tart and bitter. I went back to my go-to, Fage 2%, and it worked perfectly.
BEST MILK FOR SKYR
- Ultra-pasteurized milk doesn't work well with this yogurt. In fact, I was even having a hard time with the plain ol milk I typically buy. Then I ran into this article which talked about how even the regular pasteurized milk is sometimes heated more than it should be. I decided to try the yogurt with Winder brand milk from this list, and it was a big success! So I would suggest that if the yogurt isn't working for you, refer back to this list.
IDEAL YOGURT INCUBATION TIME
- I suggest 5 hours of incubation time for this yogurt. It's plenty thick at that point and minimally tart.
Phew! I think that covers everything! I do hope you'll try my new obsession! I'm in love with this yogurt and am so excited to share it with you all. Get your rennet ordered today and give it a go.
MORE YOGURT BUTTON RECIPES
TOOLS/INGREDIENTS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT ICELANDIC YOGURT
- Instant Pot
- Euro Cuisine Yogurt Strainer (you'll need 2 for a full gallon of milk) or 2 Nut Milk Bags
- Thermometer
- Rennet
Instant Pot Icelandic Yogurt
Insanely thick, smooth, creamy Icelandic Skyr yogurt that can be made with skim milk! Skyr yogurt also packs more protein and contains less sugar when compared to regular yogurt.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 12 hours
- Yield: 6-8 cups of Skyr yogurt 1x
- Category: Yogurt
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Icelandic
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 gallon nonfat/skim milk
- ¼ cup plain yogurt with live and active cultures (I suggest Fage 2% for mild yogurt, Siggi’s for tart)
- 7 drops liquid animal rennet (single strength)
- ¼ cup cool-ish unchlorinated water
- 1–2 tablespoons vanilla (optional)
- ½ cup sweetener i.e. pure maple syrup, honey, agave, etc. (optional)
Instructions
- Add milk to a clean/sanitized pressure cooker pot.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Press the yogurt function button. Press adjust until display reads “boil”. For pressure cookers that don’t have the automatic boil function, simply use the slow cook or saute function to warm the milk to 190°F.
- When boil cycle is complete (this takes about an hour), use a thermometer to check that the milk has reached 190°F. If it’s not to temperature, use the saute function to continue warming milk to 190°F.
- Remove pot from cooker and place on top of a cooling rack. Stir milk occasionally, until it cools to 105°F (this takes about 2 hours). To hurry along the cooling process, put the pot in a sink full of ice water. This will cool it in 10-20 minutes. (note: I feel like the end product is smoother with the gradual cool down, but in a pinch, this works).
- While milk cools, take the yogurt starter from the fridge and allow it to sit on the counter until ready to use.
- When milk is 105°F, ladle 2-3 scoops into a bowl, add the yogurt starter and whisk until smooth. Pour back into the pot and whisk until well incorporated.
- In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of cool-ish water and 7 drops of liquid animal rennet. Swirl to combine.
- Pour water/rennet mixture into the pot of milk while whisking. Stir for at least 30 seconds to make sure the rennet is well incorporated.
- Place pot back inside the base, secure the lid, press the yogurt function and adjust to incubate for 5 hours.
- After 5 hours, the yogurt will be firm and there will be a definite border of whey around the outside edge of the yogurt. Cover and place the pot of yogurt in the fridge to chill, about 6 hours or overnight.
- When chilled, spoon or scoop yogurt into 2 yogurt strainer bowls (like the Euro Cuisine Greek Yogurt Maker). Could also use 2 nut milk bags hung over a large bowl to collect the whey. Strain yogurt in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours (or even overnight) until it reaches desired thickness.
- Pour yogurt into a bowl and add vanilla and sweetener, if using. Reserve whey for another use if desired.
- Use an electric hand mixer to whisk until smooth, this can take about a minute depending on how thick it is. If a thinner yogurt is preferred, stir in some of the excess whey.
- Store in a yogurt strainer bowl (like the Euro Cuisine bowl) or in quart size Mason jars topped with white Mason jar lids. The yogurt will stay good in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
- Serve cold topped with fruit, honey, jam, granola, chia seeds, nuts, etc, etc. The topping possibilities are endless!
Notes
- Use Fage 2% yogurt as the starter for a mildly tart final product
- Do not use ultra pasteurized milk
- Incubating longer than 5 hours will not result in a thicker yogurt, but it will be more tart
- I use the leftover whey as a buttermilk substitute in baked goods, pancakes, and waffles or as a water substitute in yeast breads. When using it in baking, I like to add a little yogurt to the whey to make it a thicker consistency like store bought buttermilk. A quick google search will reveal many other uses for that leftover whey!
- Skyr is so thick it could be used to make pipeable muffin or cupcake toppings!
Keywords: yogurt, homemade yogurt, skyr
Love the information and can’t wait to try the Skyr recipe. Could you post the best milk list again? The links here take me to an external site that only recommends a brewery here in the New Orleans area. I would be really interested to have that information. Thank you so much! Also love all the Instant Pot recipes, and I can tell I haven’t been using mine nearly enough!!
★★★★★
Hi Julie, I always have just added my zip code and gone off of that. Locally, I use Winder brand milk.
Hello Marci
I’m happy I took my very very liquidy Skyrr and I went and bought plain Skyrr from ALDIs mixed it in with the cooled incubated yogurt and re incubated it and I did it !!!! I have Skyrr!!! It’s delicious!!!
★★★★★
Danielle, I’m so happy to hear that! I hope you try again!
Hello Marci i was so excited to try this recipe I bought everything the Euro strainers rennet and my Skyr is liquid. I did leave my incubated skyr out overnight at room temperature which in our house is 63. I even spent 4.75 on a gallon of milk Prairie Farms as it’s pasteurized homogenized locally owned and produced I’m disappointed from all the anticipation and seeing your photos to have liquid.
Hello
I’m so excited to try this recipe in my instapot!!! I was looking for fresh mozzarella and burrata cheese recipes and I stumbled across your blog. I just made my first batch of fresh cheese because my husband bought me a Lekue cheese maker for Xmas and it turned out perfect in 30 minutes. However ever since I saw Worst cooks on tv and they made fresh mozzarella I have been trying to find a recipe that works and now I have another reason to love my instapot even more!!! I love Iceland and fell in love with Skyrr the moment I had it!!! Thanks for the recipe
Danielle, oh you will love homemade Skyr! It’s so creamy and perfectly tart. I always found storebought to be so bitter. I’m excited for you to try it! Let me know what you think. And now I’m off to research the Lekue because I think I need this in my life 🙂
I’ve been following this recipe every 2 weeks for the past year and it is delicious. One issue I have is that sometimes there’s gritty chunks similar to ricotta that I can’t blend out. Any suggestions on how to avoid that? Maybe because I’m using 2% instead of non-fat/skim milk?
I just made more yogurt last night and I ended up with a lot less than normal. Have you ever had that happen? From 1gallon of milk I usually end up with about 60-65oz of yogurt but this time I ended up with 40oz and it was a lot less smooth than normal.
Cody, for whatever reason, I always do have better luck with lower fat milk, which seems weird, I know!
If I ever have less than usual, it’s almost always because I wasn’t watching my temperatures closely or my started is old.
I hope that helps!
I followed the steps and I couldn’t believe the results. The amount of whey that was produced was substantial. Easily 3 liters out a 4 liter jug. The skyr was outstanding. I only got one tub out of 4 liters of milk. I make a lot of yogurt in the instant pot and normally it get 2 tubs out of it. Disclaimer I incubated it overnight and maybe that is why so much whey was produced. My next batch I will stick to the 5 hours.
★★★★★
This is similar to a recipe I have been using for several years. I first discovered Skyr on a trip to Iceland . It was a while before I could find anything like it in the local stores. I use a Skyr starter from Postitively Probiotics and always save out 1/2 cup before using 1 tablespoon of honey to sweeten my finished product for starter for my next batch.
Joel, I’m going to have to hunt down that starter, thank you!
Marci-Skyr is not “technically” a cheese. It is a cheese. It also has to be prepared in a specific way with specific ingredients to be called Skyr. You can’t use yogurt for your colony. So many things are wrong about misappropriation of our cultural food identities and the bastardization of our most age-old and honored ingredient. We have been making Skyr when most of Europe was painting their hands on cave walls.
I am sorry that this sounds harsh but I am speaking truth. This is not a bread or soup recipe that can be “Americanized”, I am talking about a recipe that can be traced to before 900 AD and our heritage and very (Very) proud culture.
Thor, I appreciate your opinion and concern. I assure you I had no intention to offend. I would love to learn the skills of Skyr from someone so passionate about it. Thank you.
Could I use organic vegetable rennet instead of animal? I have some from the New England Cheese Making Supply Company.
Jeri, yep! That will work too!
Thank you so much!
Thank you!
★★★★★
I am obsessed with Skyr and can’t wait to try it in my Instant Pot, but I have one problem — I have a Mini 3qt don’t know how to convert your recipe. Would I simply halve it?
Lani, yes you can half all the ingredients and keep the cook time the same. Let me know how it compares to storebought for you!
It’s great, Marci, thank you! It’s not quite as tart as I prefer (I like VERY tart yogurt), so next time, I think I’ll incubate for 6+ hours, but otherwise, I’m so excited to have made skyr and will definitely be doing it more and more. 🙂
If I wanted to stir in blueberries or strawberries, when would be the best time to add those?
Stina, I would just add them right before serving. I don’t add anything while it’s incubating myself 🙂
How can I adapt this recipe to an Instant Pot that does not have a yogurt button?
Kristine, do a quick google search for “how to make yogurt in the Instant Pot without a yogurt button” and you’ll see some great posts pop up. Let me know if you need more help!
Thanks for all the great info!!!
What is the purpose of using rennet in this recipe?
Also can I omit the rennet or will my you hurt not turn out?
Rania, Skyr is almost a type of cheese, which is why rennet is an ingredient here. It also makes it so it will thicken nicely even with skim milk. Your yogurt will work, it just won’t be very thick. If you love Skyr though, rennet isn’t very expensive and this homemade version is amazing!
Rania, I make yogurt in the instapot a lot. I decided to try adding the skyr to the heated/cooled milk as my culture instead of my usual plain greek yogurt. I didnt use rennet and It turned out great. It was about as thick as a regular store bought non-greek yogurt, but I always use my euro cuisine 12 cup strainer overnight when its done culturing for the 8 hr instapot cycle. after straining overnight, it was very thick, almost cheeselike. I used a whole container of store bought skyr ( I know I could have used alot less) in about 7 cups 1% milk. After straining, I got about 32 oz of very tasty skyr. I did this before reading up on skyr, I thought it was just about different bacteria cultures, I didnt know about the rennet. Also, if your serious about making your own yogurt, the strainer is worth every penny! With the instapot its easy and cheap. Euro Cuisine GY50 Greek Yogurt Maker 24.99 on amazon.
Hey there! I have been eating Siggi’s almost every weekday for breakfast for about 7 years and I love it! But I’m excited to try making some skyr at home! You mentioned that you did not like the tartness of Siggi’s, but that is one of my favorite things about it. How would I accomplish a little more tartness in your recipe?
Jessi, I would love to hear your thoughts on homemade since you’re a dedicated Siggi’s fan! More what bothers me about Siggi’s is the chalky after taste, the homemade is still deliciously tart. I think you’ll love it! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Hi, I love your recipe and have made is successfully several times. I wanted to try to make yogurt that was like the Siggi’s triple cream. To do this I tried whole milk, but the yogurt came out incredibly sour tasting/smelling. As if the milk had gone bad. Any ideas/suggestions? If I’m trying to make the triple cream yogurt do I not need the rennet or does the whole milk need to reach a different temperature?
★★★★★
Sarah, good question, and I’m not sure! I also didn’t like the taste of it when I used whole milk, 2% was good though. It is possible that the milk was contaminated (depending on how bad it smelled). I would still use the rennet and the same temperature. You have me curious to try it again now. It’s been a long time since I tried it, but if I remember right, mine came out really chalky, not necessarily sour.
Quarantine Skyr! Wow this turned out amazing. Couple questions: What is the protein content? I mean is it parallel to whatever milk you use or do you lose some protein when you boil it initially? Thanks for a fun and rewarding project.
★★★★★
Stephanie, isn’t it great! It’s so much better than store-bought! The protein will be more than the milk, but honestly, it’s hard to know the exact amount of protein in homemade because it can vary so much depending on how much you strain it.
Just looking at the Nutrition facts.. Is there really 24.2g of sugar per serving (cup)?
If i strained it longer would that increase the protein?
Thanks in advance. 🙂
Amber, No, it definitely doesn’t. Skyr is quite low in sugar, but it’s tough to get nutrition fact calculators to take into account the culturing process and the drained whey. Skyr is usually only 3 grams of sugar per serving with upwards of 17 grams of protein. I’m guessing this recipe is very similar to that, but it’s hard to know for sure! And yes, the longer you strain it, the higher the protein will be. Now you have me curious. I wonder if there is a lab at the university near me that would test it for me. I’d be very curious to see how homemade stacks up to storebought.
Thank you for this recipe! We use Skyr lactose free yogurt for our guests and it gets pretty pricey. I made your recipe using lactose free fat free milk and liquid vegetable rennet drops and it came out perfectly! Thick, and creamy. I used the Siggi’s lactose free I usually buy as my starter and didn’t Find it to be too tart at all. This is a game changer for us. Now, if you’ve got a good recipe for nut milk yogurt you could share, that would be the icing on the cake!
★★★★★
Sydney, I’m so happy to hear it worked so well for you! I love Skyr but the price tag is exactly why I decided to figure out a recipe for it. I have tried so hard to figure out a coconut and an almond milk yogurt but every attempt was a bit disappointing. Hopefully one day I’ll get it!
Marci,
What did I do wrong? Mine didn’t come out right? I used 1% milk (couldn’t find skim) and 2% Fage and the animal rennent drops. I followed the directions to a T but it didn’t thicken. I mean it thickened by more like runny yogurt. It is also very, very, mild, hardly any tang at all. I drained it over night using and then again for half the day today. It seems like much more liquid can come out. I’m using a culinary grade cheesecloth to drain it and the whey was draining. I felt like I could squeeze it and have more come out but then the yogurt/cheese was coming through, too.
1) can I reprocess it in the Instant Pot? You said a longer ferment would not thicken it but might make it tangier.
2) should I just keep draining it longer?
I only made a half recipe so I used 4 drops of rennet.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Wendy
★★
Wendy, It sounds like your starter wasn’t very strong or that it was stirred in when the milk was too hot. That’s a guess though! I can’t be sure what happened exactly! I wouldn’t reprocess it but straining it longer could help. I’ve never made a half recipe myself but have heard from others that it worked just fine.
I’ve made this twice using what I thought were the ingredients, measurements and directions, and in both cases it’s not thick. What might I be doing wrong?
Thank you
Paula, It took me getting the right milk to really make it thick. Did you check the milk list I have on this page?
I used 1/2 tablet dissolved in 1/8 cup of cooled boiled water. Seemed to work well.
Kannon, thanks for letting me know!
I’m so glad you shared this! I only have rennet tablets and wasn’t sure on conversion but this worked perfectly.
Thank you!
★★★★★
How important is it to let the yogurt cool IN the instant pot pot (step 10)? I’d like to make something else while the yogurt chills overnight.
Beverly, considering I didn’t even do that step until 2 years into yogurt making, I believe that will work just fine!
Do you have to use rennet? Some recipes don’t call for it…
Mirinda, Do get it super thick the rennet is definitely helpful. Skyr is almost a type of cheese, according to my research anyways!
Great stuff!! My goat milk yogurt never seems to thicken well, but with the rennet added and after draining it came out as thick as Greek yogurt. Today I put some in a jar that had a little cajeta (goat milk caramel), fantastic, tastes almost like cheesecake with caramel sauce 😊
★★★★★
Karen, oh wow, that sounds amazing, I need to try this! And goat milk caramel sounds heavenly…mmmm.
I used my favorite starter, the Y5 “Sweet” yogurt culture from cheesemaking.com. I dropped some of both the skyr and the cajeta at my neighbor’s this morning, she has bad bloaty reactions to cow milk so she’s always thrilled to have goat milk anything. She said it was like eating ice cream for breakfast 😄
Pat’s Skyr
1 gal full-fat milk
1 pt whipping cream
Set Milk to yogurt-boil in Instant Pot, let cool. Add whipping cream to aid in cooling. Another aid to cooling is to have 1/2 L water bottle frozen. Then wash the bottle and remove the label, and use that stir the hot milk and cool it quicker. When it gets below 115°F, stir in half a pack of Icelandic skyr. set Pot to nine hours and go to bed.
Have a large tall stewpot to drain, and make “Greek” skyr Tie a big piece of cheesecloth over the top so it dips deep enough to hold all of the skyr. Dump your skyr in to let it drain for over an hour so. You can run a plastic spatula or plastic ladle across the cheesecloth to make it drain faster. You can leave it to drain for four hours or more. Ladle into containers and refrigerate. you will have about 1/2 a gallon of whey left that you can pitch or use in other recipes ( great in baking).
This should give you 1/2 gallon of great rich thick skyr. No rennet needed. Skyr last longer than yogurt. So be sure and save your last serving to make your next batch.
What do you mean when you say “stir in half a pack of Icelandic skyr”? I’m very interested in making this recipe with whole milk instead of skim so I was very happy to see your post.
I could only get vegetarian rennet tablets at my Health Food store. Do you have any idea how many I would need to use instead of the 7 drops? For cheese the instructions say, “For 2L to 4L (1Gal) batches, dissolve 1/4 tablet completely in 1/4 cup of potable water.” Nothing on how much to use for yogurt.
Trish, hmm…I’m trying to think what I would do…Maybe try googling how to substitute liquid rennet with tablets? From what I read, a quarter of a rennet tablet equals 1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet, I would try that!
I could not believe that a fat free product could be so creamy, but it was! Truly amazing. Also after you strain it, it becomes more mild in flavor. Cannot get enough.
Leon, I totally agree, it’s so good!
Hi Marci,
Thanks for this version of IP yogurt (I’ve got a batch already in the IP, but didn’t see this recipe in time for this go round).
One question…in your pics you show using vegetable rennet, but in instructions you say animal rennet. Is there a reason/one better than the other?
Rebecca, I’ve experimented with both and I tend to prefer the animal rennet flavor and texture. I’ve had a few people report back that vegetable rennet worked great for them though.
Hi! I’m really excited to make this but cannot find rennet or tablets sold locally (Canada). Are there any substitutes that would work similarly?
Thanks!
Jen, not that I’m aware of, the rennet is what makes skyr. You could try my regular yogurt recipe though, it’s also amazing!
I’m curious. Since rennet is an ingredient in making cheese, is the taste of skyr similar to cream cheese?
Sheila, No, I wouldn’t say it tastes “cheesy”. But if you strain it long enough, you can use it like cream cheese 🙂
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I seriously need another seal for my Instant Pot. I guess I’m trying to avoid making desserts etc because I’m trying to lose weight and if I don’t have a dessert seal then I won’t be tempted. But oh I’m tempted! This looks so good. I’d be the only one eating it though. My hubby isn’t a yogurt person and it’s just the two of us. I think I’ll just drool over your pictures! 🙂 I’m glad I have your recipes though, just in case! I am planning on trying a cheesecake one soon!
🙂 Cecilia
Cecilia, haha! Avoid buying a seal as part of a diet plan, I’ll have to pass that one along 🙂 My husband won’t even taste my yogurt! I’ve been making it for years and he won’t even try a spoonful. Drives me crazy 🙂
Alright. I have been perusing the comments and many other articles for awhile now. I have way too much yogurt info in my head and it’s making it hard to think straight! OK. I need to make non fat yogurt with as little sugar as possible (which is how I found your page). It’s for my dog so taste isn’t perhaps the highest concern…more the NO fat and as little sugar as possible plus live cultures. Yours has very low fat but high sugar. Is this accurate? I wouldn’t be adding a sweetener. Ideas? What do I change to make it right? Use a no fat yogurt starter? Is it the milk? I feel like this should be an obvious answer but I’m so turned around with yogurt recipes that I have no idea anymore haha. Ideas?
Hi Leslie, It sounds like this is the perfect recipe for your dog! The nutrition facts are based on 1 gallon of skim milk and 1/4 cup 2% Greek yogurt for the starter. If you’re not overly concerned about taste, you could use a nonfat yogurt starter. There is no added sweetener in the nutrition facts, the sugar grams is only from the milk. Skyr is the tends to be the lowest in fat and sugar and highest in protein when compared to other yogurts, so I believe this is the one for you! Let me know if you have any more questions!
So I keep forgetting to save some plain skyr for the next batch and I’ve read online that it’s possible to use a couple tablespoons of leftover whey as the starter. (I saved several cups of the whey–I had more than 6 cups from the gallon of milk!) Have you tried using the whey as starter for skyr? Just curious. 😀
Staci, I haven’t done it with skyr, but I’ve had success with my regular yogurt, so I bet it would work!
I’m in yogurt making mode today. It took nearly 3 hours to get the milk to 190 degrees and I resorted to saute mode on “Normal” since I was afraid of scalding the bottom of the milk. I added 7 “drops” of rennet but am wondering what the actual measurement would be. My 7 drops were less than a 1/4 teaspoon… Is that enough? Finally, I’ve set it to incubate for 5 hours at “Low” heat because that’s what the IP defaulted to. Should it be at “Low” or “Normal” heat? Thanks for your help!
Staci, Oh wow, what a pain, 3 hours!!! It seems like some Instant Pots are better at getting it to temperature than others, which is quite frustrating. I have one that hits it nearly every time, the other 2 get the temperature to 160 ish. Next time do one boil cycle than use saute to get it the rest of the way. It doesn’t take much rennet, I’m sure that was enough. It should be at 5 hours normal. Let me know if it turned out for you!
I’m updating my earlier post. I’ve made two batches of skyr, using Icelandic Provisions plain skyr as starter. For the first batch, I used relatively expensive $8/gallon skim milk from a creamery that was on sale (!) at Whole Foods. As I posted earlier, it took forever for the milk to heat to 190 degrees, and I found it had scorched considerably on the bottom, but that didn’t seem to negatively affect the taste. The texture of this batch was a bit chalky, more like the texture of Siggi’s brand, rather than the super creamy and mild texture of the Icelandic Provisions brand.
For the second batch, I used cheap $3/gallon generic brand skim milk from Giant Foods. (Both milks were pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized.) This milk heated more quickly, for whatever reason, but still scorched some on the bottom. When the milk was done incubating for 6.5 hours, there was no ring of whey around it and it didn’t have the “yogurt” smell of the first batch. But after storing it in the fridge overnight and straining it for 4.5 hours in the morning, the skyr was delicious! My husband and I are quite happy to be paying $3 for 58 ounces of skyr, rather than $1.50-$2 per 5 ounces of Icelandic Provisions! Thank you for much for making helping make this possible.
I’m also very happy with this yogurt straining bag. I think I’ll buy another to make cold brew coffee in the summer. The yogurt just falls out of it and it cleans up with a squirt of dish soap. https://www.amazon.com/Kleynhuis-Yogurt-Strainer-Organic-Cotton/dp/B0796P2B92/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=yogurt+bag&qid=1552348956&s=gateway&sr=8-4
Staci, that is such great feedback, thank you! I’ve made some notes from your experience. What kind of rennet do you use?
I use the animal rennet that you provided the link to at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EKF6D4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Now I’m going to explore different ways of flavoring the skyr, altho I like my basic: 1/4 cup agave syrup and 1 tbsp vanilla extract to the batch.
Hi Marci,
My husband LOVES the Icelandic Provisions yogurt, but at $1.50-$2 per 5 ounces, it’s ridiculously expensive (but much smoother than Siggi’s). I’m ready to try making my own with the Instant Pot. Because I don’t have all the supplies, I’m wondering whether the nut bags or the Greek yogurt strainer are a better investment. The nut bags would be super useful for making cold brew coffee in the summer, so I like their dual purpose and minimal storage requirements… but how do they work? Would I set the bags in a large strainer and set the strainer in an even larger plastic container? That may require even more space in my refrigerator than the Greek yogurt strainers. Any advice you have is much appreciated.
Staci, You’ll have to let me know how he likes the homemade version. I think it’s a TON better! The nut milk bags work great. I used them for over a year before discovering the strainers. I used to tie the bags to a handle on my cupboards then place a bag underneath, that sounds so ghetto now, haha! The strainers just make it easy – pour it in, put it in the fridge and get to it when you can. My strainers have lasted years too, which I was happily surprised about. I even throw them in my dishwasher and they work like new still. So my advice would be to get the strainers. Nut milk bags are cheap and don’t take up any room so ultimately I’d suggest both if that’s doable. Enjoy it!
I finally have the milk, rennet, and a yogurt straining bag from this website: http://kleynhuis.com. Tonight I will attempt skyr and report back. 😁
Any chance you happen to have a non-dairy method of making yogurt?
Edithann, Sorry! I don’t yet. I’ve yet to find my perfect recipe for it!
If i want non sweet yogurt and do not want to use animal rennet ( being strict vegetarian) any other options to make it thicker low fat yogurt form 1% milk?
Nc, Yes, you could use my regular Instant Pot Yogurt recipe and use the 1%. You’ll get more whey than with 2% or whole milk, but it still tastes really good.
I attempted to use the sauté function because the milk didn’t reach 190 in the initial warming. When I tried to let the steam out, milk shot out all over my kitchen, it’s 203 degrees, and now I have to throw it all out and clean the instapot. Perhaps you could give clearer instructions on the sauté function. I just wasted a $6 1/2 gallon of milk.
Megan, I’m sorry you had that experience. It’s definitely a good idea to stay nearby and check often when you use the saute button. $6.50 is a lot for a half gallon of milk! Wow!
I would recommend not putting the lid back on when using the saute function to avoid building up pressure, which resulted in the kitchen mess. The milk will heat up sufficiently on “saute” “normal” without the lid.
I gotta tell ya, it worked. I had two half gallons of milk in the fridge, one 2% and the other skim. I mixed them together in the Instant Pot. I heated and cooled. I added starter from the Icelandic Yogurt I had purchased at Trader Joe’s. I added rennet. I had vegetable rennet double strength, so instead of 7 drops I dripped in 3. When the 5 hour marked came I decided it didn’t feel as thick as I would like it, so I left it to incubate another 3 hours. Set it in the fridge over night and the next day strained it for about 7 hours. What did I get? Some of the thickest, creamiest, delicious yogurt I’ve had. A huge success despite some variations in ingredients.
Bob, thank you for letting me know! I’m so glad the rennet worked for you and it makes me want to give it another go. You make it sound so yummy too 🙂
Forget my question above about not using rennet. I read the recipe over again and decided I have what I need to do the skyr recipe. A mind is a terrible thing to lose.
What happens if I prepare my milk the regular way for making yogurt, and then instead of putting a yogurt starter in it, I use some skyr from the Icelandic Yogurt I bought from Trader Joe’s? I wouldn’t be using the rennet etc. Would it still work?
Are your calorie counts, etc., with the 1/2 cup of sweetener? Do you have a count without them?
I’m making this now! I’m so excited to give it a taste.
Thanks!
Kristi
Kristi, I just checked and it looked like the facts included the syrup. I went ahead and removed the syrup from the nutrition facts since it is an optional ingredient. So what you see now is with just milk and the starter. Keep in mind that doesn’t account for the whey that gets drained off though, that’s kind of hard to measure!
You are awesome! And so is the yogurt. Made my first batch yesterday. Delicious!
Have you tried using Almond or Coconut milk to make this? I made it with Skim milk and a vegetable rennet and there was no graininess to it but it is tart 🙂 turned out perfect.
★★★★★
Tina, I haven’t, but I’m curious. If you try it, let me know!
Another question (and thanks for the response to the first one.). Your recipe calls for animal rennet. I went to a store today and bought rennet, only to find just now that it is vegetable rennet. Does this make a difference? Thanks.
Bob, I’ve had a few people comment to say the vegetable rennet worked great so I would say it’s worth a try. My experience is that it kept turning grainy and a bit chalky tasting in comparison to the animal rennet. If you have it though, I’d say it’s worth a try.
Why do you write in this recipe, “Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Press the yogurt function button”? You’re simply heating the milk, right, and there is no pressure cooking going on at all. Just wondering why you included that detail.
Bob, I find that the milk heats up more efficiently if the knob is closed is the only reason. You’re correct, no pressure being built up here!
Marci….
I am confused on how your final product is Skyr when you use Fage Greek yogurt as a starter…wouldn’t your final product be yogurt?
Please clarify…
Thanks,
Cheryl
Cheryl, you can definitely make it with a Skyr starter, but mine turned out so chalky every time so I switched back to my go to Fage. The addition of rennet is what makes it similar to Icelandic Skyr, that is technically a cheese. The texture is fabulous even with fat free milk!
An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who has been doing a
little homework on this. And he actually bought me lunch due to the fact that I stumbled
upon it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanks for spending some time to discuss this matter here on your
blog.
★★★★★
Haha, that’s so great! Thanks for sharing, I’m glad it got you fed 🙂
Thank you for this … I’m currently enjoying a bowl right now! Just wondering if you can overstrain it. I’ve been storing mine in the straining bowl but should I first remove the basket since it’s still straining out the whey? Thank you!
Christy, Isn’t it amazing!? I’ve strained it too long before and I just ended up adding some whey back so it wasn’t cream cheese 🙂
I have never used the rennet even though I purchased some of the vegetable version (Just in case!). For me, it’s all about straining it to nearly a cheese state and then whipping it. The yogurt loosens up a touch and is just smooth, thick, creamy, and DELICIOUS!!! I’ve never used the Instant pot since I don’t have one. I need to make bigger batches of yogurt now and am trying to decide between investing money into a larger pot for my stove or into an actual instant pot. (I have an induction stove so pots are pricey!)
Kati, using the rennet mostly makes it so you can get yummy, thick yogurt without the fat. It also means less sugar and more protein. But I make yogurt with or without all the time! I can’t even eat storebought yogurt anymore!
I just started the process. I can’t wait.
Leah, I love making yogurt! It’s exciting to see it transform so much.
I have successfully made this twice with whole milk (my preference) and I have a third batch in the Instant Pot as I write this. It is amazing. I just use store brand milk from Pick ‘N Save (I may have also used the store brand from somewhere else – I can’t recall), which I can get for $2 a gallon. Mine turns out very mild and I can eat it plain (but sometimes I don’t, haha). This is my favorite now! I like Siggi’s, but I prefer my own because it’s a lot less tart. The texture, after whipping, wow. Gorgeous. I’m still making regular yogurt, but only because I like to make a savory yogurt drink popular in the Middle East (in Turkey they call it ayran) and I’m not using any kind of strained yogurt for that, considering it needs to be thinned with cold water as it is. For eating, this is my go-to. I’ve considered sharing my skyr, but haven’t yet! So yummy. Thanks SO MUCH for this recipe!!
★★★★★
Robin, I love homemade Skyr sooooo much more than store brands! I’ve never heard of Ayran, I’m gonna have to check that out, sounds amazing! Thanks for your comment!
Ayran is basically yogurt, cold water (to desired thickness), and salt (optional, to taste). Mint is often added, but no sugar, and still the salt! I thought it was horrid for the first swallow or so because it wasn’t a taste I was expecting, but then I realized I loved it. Ha. It has different names, but ‘ayran’ is the one I found most of the recipes for. My Iraqi friend calls it ‘shanineh’ and my Saudi friend calls it ‘lebben’…and my Persian friend…I forgot what she said it was. Ha. ‘Ayran’ is the Turkish word for it.
I actually started making my own yogurt because I wanted to make more of that drink cheaply! And that’s how I ended up where I am, making multiple dairy products just about every week. Ha!
Robin, I am so intrigued by this. If you have a go to recipe you’d be willing to share, I’d love to try it!
I actually just kind of use a fork to whisk however much yogurt I’ve put in a tall cup and then I slowly whisk in cold water until I’m happy with the consistency. Then I add a little salt and mix, and taste it to decide if that’s enough or if I should add more. I did look up some recipes initially, but I think I followed one once only. I’ll see if I can find the one I used and if I do, I’ll come back and post the link. Me, I usually a 16 oz cup, add roughly a cup of yogurt (I just guesstimate), and like I said, I whisk in cold water and salt to my liking. It’s probably a good idea to do a recipe first, though, to get an idea of how it typically tastes. I bought some in a store out of curiosity, so I already knew what I was looking for. 😉
After I finished making this last batch of skyr, I decided to make Greek yogurt with the skyr culture (I used it to make regular yogurt last time and I didn’t think it taste it any different than any other yogurt I’ve made) and also whip it to see what the difference is in between using rennet and not. I did culture it for about 18 hours because initially I was just going to try to reduce the amount of sugar left in the yogurt. So it is a bit more tart than usual. But then I decided to hang it in the nut milk bag just like I do for the skyr. Initially it seemed even thicker, but I think I hung it longer than I hung the skyr. After whipping, the taste didn’t seem as tart as it did before I whipped it, and it really looks and tastes the same as the skyr.
The main reason I wanted to try this is because I read an article in which Siggi himself said that you shouldn’t need rennet if you have a really good culture. The person that wrote the article indicated that the main brands that are sold in the US don’t use rennet. Of course, I think this would not work as well with skim milk! Perhaps at some point I will try it, in the name of science. Probably not until the summer, and that is if I can figure out a place that is cold and uninhabited by cats to hang the bag. Right now I am putting it out in the enclosed porch because it is cold enough in Wisconsin yet.
I basically have a gallon of skyr now and I don’t have any regular yogurt to make ayran…seems like sacrilege to add water to this stuff!!
Robin, I’m so curious if I would like that drink so if you nail down a recipe, let me know. And what great insight into your process! I appreciate that so much. It’s hard to experiment in so many different ways so I love that you filled me in on what you did. Thank You!
Marci…I’m obsessing over Icelandic Privisions Coconut Skyr. Do you have any suggestions for flavoring an entire batch of skyr?
Emily, I’ve actually been researching that lately. I’ve seen people flavor their yogurt with jello powder, but that doesn’t really appeal to me. I like the idea of using unsweetened store bought jams, but I haven’t tried it yet. What flavors are you wondering about specifically?
Hi Marci! Specifically I’d like coconut. I’ve seen recipes using coconut milk, but I’m not sure how it translates. I’d also love lemon!
Emily, Coconut yogurt is a whole other animal. If you want coconut I would go with coconut extract and add shredded coconut to the yogurt if you don’t mind the texture. Yum! That sounds good!
Any thoughts on how much extract to use with a gallon of milk? This is where I get stuck. I’ve never used coconut extract and don’t know where to begin.
Emily, I’ve never tried it but I would do 1 teaspoon vanilla extract plus 1 teaspoon coconut extract. Or because I typically tend to go overboard, I would add 1 tablespoon of coconut extract and see what happens. But for fear of ruining your yogurt, I would start with a teaspoon 🙂
Marci – tried it with Icelandic Provisions vanilla bean (all my store had) and it turned out great! Not sour or grainy at all. It looked more foamy at the end of 5 hours and I was afraid it hadn’t set properly but under the surface were soft curds and whey so I strained and perfection!
Susan, Good to know! Thanks for letting me know, that’s great info to have for others. I sometimes get that foamy look on top when I over whisk it when I’m stirring in the starter.
For toppings, diced banana and strawberries with a drizzle of chocolate syrup – banana split style!
Also, I’ve been reading that you can actually use whey as your starter, at least for a batch or two. What do you think of this? Ever tried it?
Susan, Yum! I’d throw a dollop of Almond Butter on there as well. Yes, you can use the whey, but I haven’t ever tried it so I can’t give you much of an opinion on this. Let me know if you try it!
What about using a flavored yogurt for a starter? My store had Icelandic Provisions but not plain. I bought a vanilla one but if there’s a reason not to use it as a starter, I’ll just eat it and not.
Susan, I would never use any that has fruit bits in it, but the vanilla flavored yogurt may work just fine. I always use plain but I’ve read in several places that vanilla works as well. Let me know if you try it!
Making for the first time. Which yogurt setting on the IP? There are three.
Susan, Medium, good luck!
Turned out beautifully and so smooth, creamy and mild. Thank you!
Susan, I love hearing that! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
I was thrilled with the thickness of the skyr yogurt I made with Trader Joe’s fat free milk, but it definitely had a chalkiness to it that I didn’t care for. Could it be the brand of milk I used, or the rennet?
Debbie, The brand of milk did seem to make a difference to me. I settled on Winder skim being my favorite and Fage 2% being the best for a starter. However, as I studied Skyr and tried a lot of store bought samples, they all seem to have a bit of a chalky after taste which after trying every brand of milk and yogurt I could think of, I got that to be very mild and even completely unnoticeable once I added fruit and granola to it.
I love siggis and so does my baby! If I want this yogurt as full fat (important for a baby), do I still need the rennet and water? Seems counter intuitive to add water to make the yogurt even thicker! Thank you ????
Elaine, if you don’t want to mess with the rennet, I would just make the regular Instant Pot Yogurt recipe from my blog and use whole milk, it is absolutely dreamy!
I think I’m in yogurt heaven! A bowl of Skyr, mixed with Homemade Vanilla Extract, and sugar that’s had vanilla beans in it. OMG, so good!
Have you tried making this with Ícelandic Provisions yogurt as your starter?
Cassy, I haven’t, but if you have access to it, I definitely think it’s worth a try. I would love to know how it turns out too! Using Siggis made it so sour and grainy
Can you use this method with whole milk to copy the siggi’s 4% whole milk skyyr?
Kayla, yes I believe that would be amazing!
Soooo, this didn’t work at all. I ended up with slightly thickened warm milk.
Any thoughts? Needed longer?
★
Caroline, 5 hours should be plenty for the Skyr version of yogurt. What temperature was your milk at the end of the boil cycle? What temperature did you add your yogurt starter? Was your starter fresh? Did you use animal rennet? Is it single or double strength?
Dark for baking, milk for snacking. White chocolate isn’t really chocolate.
Depends on the day and brand, but either dark or milk chocolate makes me happy!
I’m going with dark chocolate!
Love all things chocolate and it just depends on my mood. I saw a quick dessert for melting white chocolate chips with a little heavy cream, then pouring it over a bowl of frozen cherries. Yep, that’s gonna happen soon!
Dark chocolate with milk chocolate a close second. Not a fan of white chocolate.
Dark, dark, dark. And this recipe looks very intriguing!
Dark! I haven’t been able to successfully make non-fat yogurt yet so I’m excited for this.
Dark is yummy. My husband recently returned from from Greece and Italy and brought home some chocolate from there. Oh my heavens, I was in love. So rich and creamy and just different and better than any American version I’ve had. Don’t even get me started on the Italian “Nutella.” Heaven on a spoon.
Since doing the Go Sugar Free course, dark chocolate is hands down my favorite
Fresh berries are my favorite yogurt topping. I think I would also like granola. It would be great to see your granola recipe on your blog sometime.
Milk chocolate – Cadbury 🙂
Dark chocolate all the way! Some favorites are Chocolove with cherries and almonds and Lindt 70%. 🙂
I love Green and Black’s organic dark chocolate. The mint one is my favorite, but any good quality 80%+ cocoa is so yummy.
Chocolate depends on mood – Trader Joe’s brand is awesome!
Dark chocolate! Lindt is good. Especially the chili flavor!
It has never occurred to me to add chocolate to my yogurt, but your picture has convinced me that I must try it. Rest assured, it will be happening soon! As for my favorite chocolate, I love milk chocolate when I’m craving chocolate, usually Hershey’s (but I adore the premium brands like Lindt); Trader Joe’s is really good, when I can get it. I’ve recently begun shopping at Aldi, and I’m told their chocolate is top-notch, so I’ve put it on my shopping list.
Dark chocolate from Trader Joe’s is my go to.
I would say white… but did someone say that isn’t even chocolate???!!! If that is the case I will go with milk chocolate!!!
All of these yogurt recipes sound so intimidating!!! But nothing that I am not willing to try!! The pressure cooker I just got does not have the “Yogurt Button” what will I do in that case?
Milk chocolate is my favorite type of chocolate.
My dad taught me that chocolate is its own food group and make sure to have some every day. ????
Dark is my preference, but my husband prefers white.
Kate, your dad must certainly be some great philosopher;)
Yum that looks so good! For chocolate I like dark but not too dark haha I like the richness of the chocolate flavor balanced with a bit of sweetness. I love guittard
I usually prefer Milk Chocolate.
Favorite brand: Dove or Endangered Species.
Subscribed. I go for milk chocolate 100%! Can’t wait to try making yogurt.
Subscribed!
I always go for Dark chocolate!
Oh my goodness, can’t wait to try making yogurt. 🙂 As for the question of the day, I prefer milk chocolate, but dark and white are good for certain things. Like peppermint really NEEDS dark chocolate. As for a brand, well, most times I don’t care. I just NEED chocolate. LOL
Dark all the way!!!
It has to be the dark for me; the darker the better. In fact I am eating some right now! (Lindt)
★★★★★
** a note ** I have filled out the subscription thing twice, but I haven’t gotten one of those confirmation things in my box yet.
It looks like you’ve been added. Check your spam folder and if you still can’t find it, shoot me an email and I’ll get it sent to you.
Hi Marci! I got your email today, so somehow it must have all worked out.
★★★★★
Love dark chocolate with almonds. Will be sure to try this new yogurt recipe. Tried soy yogurt and taste is weird.
I like milk chocolate! My recent discovery is the Cadbury Dark Milk Chocolate – smooth and creamy like milk, but not so sweet. yum!
White chocolate is my favorite and second is dark chocolate.
I prefer dark chocolate. And I will definitely try skyr.
Did someone say Chocolate? YES to ALL! would grab the milk chocolate first though.
★★★★★
Dark chocolate, the darker the better – till it reaches ultimate nippiness!
I much prefer milk chocolate.
Dark chocolate, mostly. But Lindt’s Hazelnut milk chocolate is fabulous!
Would love to try making this yogurt. Off to buy my rennet.
I like dark chocolate in small amounts…but can tolerate a large piece of that chocolate chocolate wonderful Costco cake with the chocolate shavings curling off the sides. I really like white chocolate, even if it isn’t really chocolate. I love peppermint bark with both dark and white chocolate with peppermints\. Loving your posts. Have 3 electric pressure cookers, but no Instapot. Have been electric pressure cooking for 10 years but not as much as you. I thought you were from near Meridian because of your zip code…found you are on the border of Utah/Idaho.
Sweet yummy melt in your mouth Milk Chocolate!
★★★★
Dark chocolate!
My chocolate preference is Baker’s Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate straight out of the box and next is Lindt Dark Chocolate.
To your yogurt post I will add; when my kids were still at home I made yogurt. This was back in the early 80s. When I started I bought the usual 8 glass container yogurt maker which made enough yogurt to last 10 minutes. My 3 teenage girls would devour it like ice cream, by the quart. I eventually was making 2 gal at a time which only lasted a couple of days. How did I make that much all at once? Well, there has never been a yogurt maker on the market for that amount so I just used a very large stainless steel bowl to heat the milk in on the stove, stirring constantly till at temperature then added the culture and incubated it overnight in the cold oven with the light on. This can be done with any amount you wish to make and it works very well.
So what has that got to do with the IP? Oddly enough the ‘Less’ temperature in the Yogurt setting on the IP is 86-92.3 deg F. Why is that odd? Well, you asked if there was anything you might have missed in your ‘yogurt button’ posts this week. I’m not saying you ‘missed’ anything but that temperature in the Yogurt function is close to the cold oven with just the light on, right? Not only is this the desired temperature for incubating yogurt but It so happens this is also the desired temperature for proofing bread dough. See where I’m going?
The ‘Yogurt Button’ set to ‘Less’ can be used to proof bread. The IP is about one quarter the price of a Proofing Oven and is just one more thing your IP can do. There are very few appliances that can do this and those that do can be used to make yogurt or to proof bread.
A word of caution when proofing bread dough in the IP: USE A REGULAR LID. You can do this because the ‘Yogurt’ function is not a pressurised function. The proofing stage of bread dough the goal is to proof your dough till it’s about double in volume. The length of time this takes depends the the ambient temperature so when the temperature is controlled your proofing time will be always be the same length of time, every time, making the process more predictable.
Also NOTE: the volume of your dough BEFORE proofing should never be larger than half of your inner pot. You don’t want that dough to rise up over the top of the inner pot or up in the grill and valves of the pressurising lid (used for pressurised functions).
Now you have just one more thing your amazing IP can do.
★★★★★
Shelia, You read my mind ;). Check out tomorrows post!
This is my first attempt at yogurt. I followed the instructions to the letter (except for using whole milk). about 90% of the entire batch passed right through the strainer. I’ll evaluate it tomorrow, but I thought most of it was supposed to remain in the strainer
(I don’t know how to thicken yogurt after it’s made, but I may try mixing it with gelatin and make panda cotta). Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
Eric, Oh no! This one is quite thick. Let’s troubleshoot. Was your milk ultra-pasteurized? Was your rennet expired?
Dark chocolate…always…no matter what <3
★★★★★
Favorite chocolate? Belgian any kind. And I have my brewed Crio Brü every day. I use my Instant Pot to make it ahead and then pour out what I need – so much more economical than my French press!
★★★★★
Dark Chocolate Bark by Thindulgent
Milk chocolate for me!!!
Again so informative!
I prefer dark chocolate but have grandkids that only eat white chocolate; others r only milk chocolate fans.
U mentioned an after taste. When I made cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, etc I had to use aluminum pots not stainless steel like in the Insta pot or it had a definite bitter after taste. Other cheese makers in town also told me to watch out for this. Just thought I’d share that concern. I’ve looked at the Insta pots and they have the stainless steel pot so a bit confused but obviously works for you.
Wait it was an enamel pot not aluminum pot – been too long since I did it.
I prefer dark chocolate but have grandkids that only eat white chocolate; others r only milk chocolate fans.
U mentioned an after taste. When I made cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, etc I had to use aluminum pots not stainless steel like in the Insta pot or it had a definite bitter after taste. Other cheese makers in town also told me to watch out for this. Just thought I’d share that concern. I’ve looked at the Insta pots and they have the stainless steel pot so a bit confused but obviously works for you.
Dark chocolate for sure! Milk chocolate is hardly even worth the calories to me haha 🙂
Excited to try this skyr! I have rennet in my fridge from a mozzarella experiment so I don’t even have to wait for that!
Milk chocolate please???? Except in a chocolate chip cookie…then it must be semi-sweet❤
Dark Chocolate for health reasons. Tested dozens of chocolate bars and honestly the best was Trader Joe’s 72% Dark Chocolate.
Dark all the way – we’re serious chocoholics in this house. 🙂
I don’t love chocolate. When I make it I make a mix between dark and milk chocolate.
A note about chlorine in the water. I make beet kvass-fermented beet juice for the liver. One of the instructions was to leave the water out overnight for it to evaporate. I live in a high chlorine area and the one time I didn’t do that the results weren’t great.
Can’t wait to see what else you’ve got up your sleeve!
White Choc
★★★★★
My favorite chocolate is Ghirardelli. I like to use their chocolate chips in baking, and I love all of their chocolate confections.
I’m a toss up of Milk and Dark depending on my mood.
Dark chocolate!
For me, it’s a tie in between dark chocolate and milk chocolate because sometimes milk chocolate is just to sweet and I need something a little bit more bitter.
I will have to say white chocolate (which really is not chocolate)
Dark chocolate for sure! I just got my instant pot and can’t wait to try your yogurt recipes!
Not a white chocolate fan at all. Love both dark and milk. Can’t choose! If forced, perhaps milk!
Dark and more Dark!!
★★★★★
I make yogurt every week, and my husband loves it with fresh fruit!
As for the question, dark chocolate is my choice every time!!
I am obsessed with a local chocolatier, Wilbur, and their Wilbur Buds! I’m the biggest fan of their milk chocolate, but honestly would eat the dark too!
Kelsey, Haven’t heard of that one! I’m checking It out right now!
Dark, the darker the better though I won’t turn up my nose at ANY chocolate. And I love the Lindt Dark Chocolate with Orange bars. Really good!
Milk chocolate all the way! Where do you buy your rennet?
My favourite is dark Belgian chocolate.
Dark chocolate for sure 🙂
I love chia pudding made with hot milk, ground chia seeds, at touch of vanilla and cocoa! So I guess chocolate.
Dark chocolate ❤️
Dark Chocolate. Ghirardeli dark chocolate chips for baking and sneaking a small handful as a snack. My kids caught me, so much for being sneaking!
White chocolate is my choice!
Dark Chocolate. Aldi’s carries Schogetten Dark Chocolate from Germany. Try it!
Question of the day….. Ghirardeli dark & sea salt caramel chocolate. It’s like taking a mini vacation 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! This was the first yogurt I’ve made in my new instant pot. I love Siggis and wanted to make my own. However mine did not turn out as thick as Siggis. I only let it drain for 2 hours though. Is that why? I only have one strainer so I could only strain half the batch at a time. I will strain the second half longer.
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Jenna, I often times let it strain overnight just because I’m busy with other things. So yes, try straining it longer to get it really think. The pictures I took were an overnight strain.
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. I have been making Greek yogurt in the Instant Pot food for my family and we all love it. I recently discovered Icelandic yogurt at a café near us, and I have seen it at Whole Foods but in both of these places the price tag is quite high. I followed your recipe yesterday and the end product is really delicious. My only question is that after I whipped it, it seemed to become considerably thinner. I had drained the whey for almost 9 hours, and it had thickened up but not as thick as my Greek yogurt usually gets. I use the Euro Cuisine strainer and it works beautifully . I do not have a handmixer so I did use the KitchenAid. Maybe I should try to blend it on a lower speed next time? Just curious if you have any pointers here.
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Lisa, I beat it quite a bit because it’s quite thick coming out of strainers. I’ll try it with vegetable rennet this week or next and see if that’s what it is.
This looks delicious! I just ordered my Rennet from amazon, so I’ll be making this in two days when it gets here! Thank you for experimenting and creating these delicious recipes!
Yay! Let me know how it goes!
I must tell you how happy i am with my sky!!
I only made 1 litre of SKIM pastruized milk and used the tablet rennet..
So..I had to use less than 1/8 of a tablet..tricky but worked perfectly when put into 1 ounce of the water and dissolved
I used the pot in pot method..
Steam heated the milk to 190C..3 minutes
Then followed your directions of letting cool to 105..and incubating for 5 hours
Over night in fridge and drained with coffee filters back in fridge
Used my immersion blender and voila..a lovey consistency..
Next time round I will try the boil cycle on Yoghurt instead of the steam for 3 minutes..
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
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Great tips! Thank you. I’m so excited you like it. It’s my new favorite!
Marci, thank you. I did some googling after I posted the question and others commented on the strange aftertaste from vegetable rennet. I ordered single strength animal rennet from Amazon and received it today. It is from the New England Cheesemaking Company. I have a couple more questions:
Will the rennet keep for longer than the 8 months suggested on the bottle? Can it be frozen?
I make 1 quart, not 1 Gallon of yogurt at a time. Would I use 1 drop of rennet or two?
I have been making regular yogurt in the IP for a while now and love it but i adore Skyr and am keen to make it.
Thank you for your help.
Elsie
Elise, from what I’ve read, it’s best not to freeze rennet. As far as the use by date, I typically go by that with most foods. I would try 2 drops of rennet. Let me know how it works with the quart at a time. I love Skyr too!
Can you use some of this competed skyr yogurt for the next batch like you would making regular yogurt?
Kathy, technically yes, but just as personal preference, I like the taste and texture that a fresh starter brings. I know there are a lot of people who always use their own yogurt as a starter, but I feel like mine gets a little grainy and more sour. But from what I’ve read, you can absolutely use your own skyr as a starter.
Can you use vegetable rennet or must it be animal rennet?
Elsie, I used vegetable rennet once and for whatever reason, it turned out really grainy and off tasting. It’s very possible that there may have been another factor, but since the animal rennet had worked so well for me, I went back to it. If you try it let me know!
I used vegetable rennet and it had absolutely no grainy texture whatsoever. It also had no odd aftertaste. It was delicious. My only issue is that it was a little bit thinner than my typical Instant Pot Greek yogurt .
Lisa, that’s good to know. I’m gonna give it another go with the vegetable rennet then!
After several skyr batches in the Instant Pot, I think the secret to a thicker yogurt when using vegetable rennet is that it needs at least a 12 hour drain ( whey separation) time. That seemingly fixed the problem. And I tried a Fage starter and a starter from my previous batch of skyr and both were equally delicious.
Lisa, I’ve been meaning to get back with you on using vegetable rennet. I tried again last week to see how it would turn out, and while the texture was perfect this time, it was so very tart, with more of a chalky after taste then I get with the animal rennet. Is you’re single or double strength? How many drops did you use? I’d Love to get this figured out!
Glad someone asked about the water! Is the best place to purchase rennet off of Amazon? I live in Wisconsin, so you would think it would be easy to find! Thank you for sharing this!
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Darci, I found rennet for a dollar cheaper at a kitchen supply store in my home town. But it wasn’t easy to find. I’m pretty sure they were they only place that carried it in my entire valley!
My Instant Pot does not have the “yogurt” setting. Is it still possible to try this? If so, what would you suggest for the setting? I’m excited to try this!!
Kathy, I have seen recipes for making yogurt in jars inside the pressure cooker so it could potentially work. Perhaps divide the rennet between the jars? It might work great but I’m not entirely sure. Meanwhile, put “pressure cooker with a yogurt function” on your Christmas list!
Oh my goodness, Marci, I can’t wait to try this! I have learned so much from you. As soon as my time in the kitchen starts getting a little boring, you come up with another brilliant idea. Here’s to you keeping it fun and exciting in the kitchen!
Lyn, That was the most uplifting and wonderful thing to read ever. Thank you Lyn!
This looks wonderful. We have a hard time finding Icelandic yogurt and my husband loves it. I have a couple of questions that are beginner-level. First, how do you know a water is not chlorinated? The other is…is it possible to make a lactose free version? My daughter had had to give up anything containing lactose due to her newborn’s intolerance. Would love to be able to make an acceptable yogurt, if there is such a thing.
Anita, I’m so glad you can enjoy it again! You’ll have to tell me what he thinks in comparison to what he already loves so much. I like the homemade version much better than Siggi’s. As far as the water goes, I have some bottled water that I use sometimes. But honestly, laziness often takes over and I just use it right from the sink. It’s seemed to work perfectly well, but I’ve seen sources insist on non chlorinated, so I felt I better heed their professional advice. I don’t think this would work in a lactose free form. I could be wrong, but I’m not sure how it would work. I’ve seen many recipes for coconut yogurt around, I would try that if I were you. I hope your family loves it!
Get kefir grains and make kefir. The grains eat the lactose. The consistency is more of a drinkable yogurt but it’s still delicious and offers more probiotics than regular yogurt. Kefir has 30-70 strains vs yogurt’s 7
Straining the whey off of yogurt makes it virtually lactose-free. I am lactose intolerant, but can eat plain Skyr or Greek yogurt.
Buy lactase supplement (Lactaid tablet or generic equivalent), crush using a pill crusher, mix into milk after it’s cooled down to incubation temperature. The lactase enzyme will break down the lactOse sugar — the bacteria will also break down the remaining lactose and galactose that is produced by the breakdown of lactose and will ferment the milk just fine. I do this with all my homemade yogurt and have zero issues as I’m also lactose intolerant. Alternatively, you can crush 1-2 lactase tablets and put into the gallon of milk. It’ll require a day or 2 for all of it to become lactose free.
David, wow, thank you so much for that. I had no idea you could do this!
I can’t wait to give this a try!
Barbara, Let me know if you do!