Soy Yogurt Semi-Fail!

One of the food items I miss in a dairy-free life is yogurt. I had just really gotten into yogurt.  My favorite was Greek yogurt in a variety of fruit-y flavors.  And then there was granola mixed with yogurt and fruit. I love the sweetness of the fruit, the tanginess of the yogurt, and the crunch of the granola.  So great first thing in the morning.

Now I am trying soy yogurt.  The first time I made it in the Instant Pot it came out great.  This time, well, not so much.

This was the issue.  I looked up the recipe for Cold Start Yogurt in the instant pot.  When I made it before I made 64 ounces of yogurt and used 7 capsules of probiotics to inoculate the milk.  It worked great.  

This time the recipe I used said to use 1 capsule to 1 quart of soy milk.  So I did.  The first time I seem to remember the yogurt was set in about 8 hours.  This time I took the milk out of the refrigerator--maybe that was the glitch...the first time I had the aseptic pack in the cupboard so it was room temperature to start out...added the one capsule's contents, stirred, and started it going.

The next morning the yogurt was still milk.  So what do you suppose I did?!!!  I added the contents of three more capsules of probiotics, stirred it well, and put the yogurt back in the Instant Pot on the Yogurt setting.

You can see that the yogurt was now quite thick!  But separated.  I call that a fail.  I decided I would strain it (since it was already starting to separate...) to make Greek yogurt/"cream cheese".  That was an even bigger fail and I washed it down the drain.  

Maybe I will try again soon.  This time I think I will put some flavoring into the yogurt.  Maybe cinnamon and honey...?  I mean, why not fail big, right?!!

Food Friday: Easy Instant Pot Soy Yogurt

When we were in the mission, I made some "cold start" yogurt in the Instant Pot.  I thought I would try again with soy milk.  This is not because I like soy yogurt. I have not developed a taste for soy milk, however, when you make a smoothie or overnight oats, you need some kind of wettening ingredient.  There are so many other tasty ingredients that you don't notice the flavor of the soy.

To make this yogurt, I put 64 ounces of West Soy unsweetened Soy Milk in the blender and added 7 probiotic capsules  (Solgar Advanced 40 Plus Acidophilus 120 Vegetable Capsules)
which I opened and drizzled in while the blender was on the lowest speed.

After the milk and capsules were mixed, I pour the milk into five 1-pint jars and set them into the inner bowl of the Instant Pot directly on the liner.  NO WATER ADDED AND NO TRIVET USED.  Set on the Yogurt mode for 8 hours.  After 8 hours I took the jars out, found that the yogurt was nice and thick. Immediately I put the jars in the refrigerator to set up further overnight.

The next day I mixed one pint yogurt with 1 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup blueberries, 2 Tablespoons flax meal, 1/4 cup golden raisins, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 Tablespoon of Monte and Cheryl's wonderful honey, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.   (You can probably deduce from these ingredients that I was using up leftover, rather elderly ingredients that have been staring me down for a while every time I come into the kitchen.)

After mixing these together, I put them in the refrigerator and went for a walk.  Only a mile-plus so it was not long.  Well, for a real walker, it would have been long (took me 32 minutes that trip).  A really healthy strong walker could do that distance in 15 minutes.  Not I...maybe some day.

Anyway, this breakfast oatmeal was a very big hit with me, and a smaller hit with Dear One.  When serving it, I broke on a few walnut meats for a little crunch, everything else being rather soft.  I like a variety of textures in my mouth...

Next time I make this Instant Pot yogurt, I will try almond milk...also unsweetened.

NOTE:  I used the 8-quart Instant Pot. I think other people make yogurt in the 6-quart Instant Pot but use 12-ounce canning jars which are a little skinnier than the 1-pint ones.  I forgot to mention that once I put the milk mixture into the jars, I put on the canning jar lids and rings, tightened the rings, then loosened them up again slightly.  ALSO, I only put milk in up to the shoulders of the jars, just in case.  Well, just in case what, I don't know, but it seems like a good idea not to have the jars entirely full.  It is not like we are really "canning" something but...habit, you know!