This yogurt for sensitive stomachs is for you if you’re looking for the benefits of the most delicious ferment! You no longer have to suffer through fake milk yogurts that leave you bloated and desiring the real thing all the more. Meet your new dairy hero: A2A2 milk. I say “new,” but the cows of yore (before we became so smart we started breeding cows to make poisonous milk) all carried the A2A2 protein. Thankfully, this special milk is becoming popularized and is much easier to come by than it was in our recent past. However, finding organic A2A2 yogurt is still hit and miss, and quite expensive if it is to be found.
What is A2A2 milk?
My explanation is going to be grossly over-simplified. Check out this study if you’re wanting to learn more about it. But for a quick overview: more than 95% of the protein in milk is 80% casein and 20% whey. Of the 80% casein, 30% of it in most American dairy cows are the A1 casein. This troublesome part of the protein is unique to (modern) cows alone; the result of breeding for our current mainstream dairy practices.
All that to say, if you have digestive troubles when you have dairy, the A1 casein is most likely to blame. Humans, goats, sheep and plenty of cows all have A2 proteins. If you can handle goat’s milk, you will likely be able to handle A2A2 cow’s milk!
Accessing A2A2 milk used to require finding a local farmer who had A2A2 tested cows. Thankfully, Costco has caught on, and Kirkland now has their own line of A2A2 milk.
Wherever you find this special, easily digestible milk, go grab some, then come make your own yogurt! (Pin this recipe to come back to later!)
Make Yogurt for Sensitive Stomachs
If you are very sensitive to dairy, you will probably need to find some A2A2 yogurt at a health food store to use as your initial starter. For a gallon of yogurt, you only need 2 TBS of yogurt starter to inoculate the rest of the milk. (I always use 1/4 cup to better my chances at it being mixed in thoroughly.) Yogurt “starter” is any pre-made yogurt that has live probiotics. I’m not so sensitive that 1/4 cup in a large vat of yogurt would affect me, so I don’t take the effort to find A2A2 yogurt.
Notice my present tense there. You should only have to buy the “starter” one time, but you need to remember to separate a small amount for your next starter. I habitually forget to do that, then “my kids” (read: often I!) wipe out the yogurt and we have nothing left to start the next batch with!
Your yogurt will taste like whatever yogurt starter you put in, so make sure you love the flavor… you’re about to get a gallon of it!
Use the Instant Pot to Make the Easiest Yogurt
This was the thing that pushed me over the edge into “instant pot land.” I dug in my heels and refused to buy one for the longest time. But after the money wasted with failed attempts at trying all the old school methods (anyone else try a cooler with a bottle of hot water in it!?) when my crockpot broke… I knew it was time to get this multi-purpose machine.
Simply being able to make yogurt has elevated the IP to the top of my favorite kitchen appliance list! All you have to do is mix two tablespoons of yogurt with a gallon of milk in the instant pot before bed. Press “yogurt” and go to sleep. In the morning, you will wake up to perfectly set yogurt! It could not be more simple—making it obnoxious to spend money for someone else to make it for you.
The longer it goes, the more cultures it will develop. Sally Fallon recommends 20-24 hours, but I prefer 17 hours. It has plenty of good bacteria developed by that time, but is still a mild, not overly-sour yogurt.
I always forget to do this, but you could mix the milk and starter in a pitcher, then pour the inoculated milk into jars, lid them and load them into the instant pot. That saves so much more work in the morning!
Flavored Yogurt for Sensitive Stomachs
Load a spoonful of your favorite jam into the bottom of 8oz mason jars. Top with inoculated milk, cover with a lid, place in the instant pot and press “yogurt.”
Greek Yogurt for Sensitive Stomachs
If you prefer a thicker Greek-style yogurt, all you need to do is strain the yogurt for a few hours using a colander and cheesecloth. Strain it for long enough, and you’ll come close to having cultured cream cheese! If you accidentally over-strain it thicker than you want, you can always mix some whey back in.
Great Beginner Homesteading Skill
If you have found this blog because you have a homesteading dream in your heart, join me in bolstering your skillsets. Making yogurt is one of the easiest things you can do that will get the ball rolling for you, causing you to look for other staples you can make on your own. Yes, we are eager to make it with milk from our own cows, fed with our own grass. But baby steps. Start practicing homesteading skills with store bought milk, so that it’s already a mindless task by the time you get that cow!
Comment below, letting us know which method you will use. What’s your favorite way to use yogurt?
Easy Instant Pot Yogurt for Sensitive Stomachs
Yogurt is loaded with live cultures and probiotics that are incredibly nutritious for our microbiome. Unfortunately, dairy sensitivites keep people from being able to access these benefits. Making yogurt with A2A2 milk will change that for most people suffering with dairy sensitivities!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup yogurt starter (any premade yogurt with live cultures will work)
- 1 gallon A2A2 milk
Instructions
- Mix starter with milk.
- Pour mixture into Instant Pot insert, or directly into jars.
- Press ”yogurt” button. It will automatically set for 8.5 hours, but can go anywhere from there up to 24 hours. My favorite time is 17 hours, because the longer it goes, the more the cultures grow, but it is still not too sour at 17 hours.
- If you didn’t jar beforehand, do that now with, with a canning funnel and a ladle. Be sure to pull the insert out of the insta pot so you don’t drip all over it! (Ask me how I know!)
- If you want Greek style yogurt, strain the yogurt using a strainer and cheesecloth. Depending on how thick you like it, this can take anywhere from about 2 hours to overnight. If you over-strain it, you can always add whey back into it and mix it up with a hand mixer.
- If you want flavored yogurt, add a spoonful of your favorite jam or honey in the bottom of the jar before you pour the mixture in.
Notes
When I make Greek yogurt, I save the whey in ice cube trays to make high protein smoothies!
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