Making Yogurt in Individual Jars

Some people prefer to make their yogurt in individual glass canning jars. This way, you don't have to ladle the finished yogurt into jars or other containers; you simply heat the milk and incubate your yogurt inside the jars.

But. And this is a big but: You do still have to cool the milk down before adding your culture, and removing hot, liquid-filled jars from the Instant Pot to facilitate cooling can be tricky. In other words, you can't just push a button and walk away and find yourself with yogurt 8 hours later. That intermediate cool-down step still requires hands-on involvement.

I was able to fit three 16-ounce canning jars into my pot. This volume translates to 48 ounces of milk, or considerably less than the amount I was able to make when using the inner pot. (Larger Instant Pots can theoretically accommodate larger jars.)

Here's what I did:

PHASE ONE: HEAT THE MILK INSIDE THE JARS

1. Fit the steamer rack into the Instant Pot. Pour in 1 cup water. Fill three 16-ounce heat-resistant canning jars (these are mine) about 90% to the top with whole (I like organic) milk. Lower the jars onto the steamer rack. Lightly place the jar lids (not the rings) on top of each jar. This will prevent steam and condensation from dripping back into (and watering down) your milk.
2. Make sure the vent on top of the unit is turned toward "sealing" and the unit is plugged in. Twist the Instant Pot lid in place.
3. Press [steam] and adjust the timer to 1 minute. Once the machine indicates the cycle is complete, use natural release to release pressure. Despite the fact that the timer was set for 1 minute, it took almost 20 minutes for my unit to reach pressure and then move to the natural release phase. When I took the temperature of the milk, the thermometer read 215°F. This higher temperature is much hotter (35°F hotter, in fact) than is necessary, though it does result in beautifully thick yogurt. And it's nice that the milk doesn't boil out of the jars. Hit Cancel and unplug the machine.

PHASE TWO: COOL THE MILK INSIDE THE JARS 4. Using oven mitts, carefully ease off the jar lids and tuck a thermometer in one of the jars. I didn't feel comfortable removing the hot jars from the pot as they were filled so high and spillage would have been likely. Others may be braver than I. Just use caution. 5. Allow the milk to cool to 115°F. This took about 90 minutes. Remove the thermometer.

PHASE THREE: INOCULATE WITH A STARTER CULTURE 6. My preferred ratio is always 1 tablespoon starter per quart of milk. In this case, this translated to 1-1/2 teaspoons starter per 16-ounce jar of now 115°F milk. If there's skin on top (which is likely), lift it off, then gently stir in your starter. 7. Replace the jar lids (without bands) and twist the Instant Pot lid back in place. Turn the vent back to "sealing." (UPDATE: During this phase, the vent can point in either direction.)

PHASE FOUR: INCUBATE UNTIL FERMENTED AND SET 8. Hit the Yogurt button and set the timer for 8 hours. The machine will beep three times. After a few minutes, the timer will begin to count up towards the pre-set number of hours. Go about your day (or night). 9. Once incubation is complete, Yogt will appear on the display. 10. Hit Cancel and unplug the machine. 11. Remove the jars, dry off any condensation from the lids, affix the rings, and refrigerate several hours (or overnight) before enjoying.

From: http://www.teamyogurt.com/posts/2016/3/30/making-yogurt-in-an-instant-pot-is-it-worth-it