Yogurt Cheese

Strained Yogurt, also known as yogurt cheese, is an enormously versatile base. It is nonfat, nutritious and adaptable to sauces, gravies, dressings, dessert toppings and even the famous cheesecake! The only limitation is high heat, which will break it down.

Basic 

•  1 32 oz. Container non-fat plain yogurt.  (Brand is important. There must not be any gelatin in the mix. I have had tremendous success with Dannon.)
•  1 day ahead of time, place yogurt in a yogurt strainer.  If a yogurt strainer is unavailable, line a large sieve with paper towels. Pour in the yogurt and place the sieve over a bowl to catch the drippings.
• When finished, you will have a firm matrix of yogurt solids that have the consistency of cream cheese. The uses are limited to your imagination.

            

               Strainer Method                              Donvier Yogurt cheese Maker

 Ideas:

 Fruit Parfaits:

• Take the thickened yogurt cheese and lightly sweeten with desired sweetener. When done just right, it will have a wonderful creamy texture and will lose the yogurt “bite”. Don’t over sweeten.
•  2 packages frozen fruit of choice. (raspberries, strawberries, mixed, etc.)
• 2 tsp. corn starch
• Sweetener of choice. (I use artificial sweetener, but regular sugar obviously will work.)
• Whiz the berries in a blender until smooth.  Push through a sieve removing the seeds and the skins.  (This is optional, but results in a smoother berry sauce.
• Add 2 Tbsp. Sugar or sweetener equivalent and cornstarch. Mix with whisk until smooth. Microwave for 1-3 minutes depending on the wattage of your oven. Heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Whisk to insure uniform thickening and smoothness.
• In glass of choice, alternate sweetened yogurt cheese and berry sauce. Top with 1-2 whole berries for looks. 

Salad Dressing:

• Mix the yogurt with any salad dressing seasoning you like. Packaged ones such as ranch work very well. Add a touch of vinegar to taste. A smidge of sweetener will take some of the bite out.

 Frozen Yogurt:

• Mix 1 cup of yogurt cheese with ¾ cup 1% milk. Add corn syrup to taste (maybe about ½ cup) and any other sweetener desired, such as honey, artificial sweeteners, etc. Now add any flavorings such as fruits with spices, chips, mint, etc. Put in 1 1 qt ice cream maker.

 Spreads:

•  Add seasonings such as Italian seasonings, japaleno, paprika and red pepper, etc. to make a flavored spread.

 Lemon-Kiwi Custard Pie

 CRUST:

• 1 ¼ C whole pitted dried dates
• 1 ¾ C Grape Nuts Cereal
• ½ tsp. Freshly grated nutmeg

 LEMON CUSTARD:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 3 Tbs. cold water
• ¼ C Hot water
• ¼ C lemon juice
• 6 Tbs. Sugar
• 2 ¼ C strained yogurt
• 6 kiwi fruit, peeled and cut into ¼-inch slices

 Instructions

• In a food processor or blender, process dates, cereal and nutmeg for ~5 minutes until thoroughly combined. The crust should have a moist, crumbly texture and stick together when pressed. Transfer the crust into a 9-inch high sided springform pan, pressing into the bottom and up the sides.
• In a small bowl, mix the gelatin first with the cold water until softened and then add the hot water and let sit until gelatin is clear..~1 min. In a medium bowl, combine softened gelatin, lemon juice, sugar and strained yogurt. Whisk until smooth.
• Place the kiwi fruit in the crust lined pan in an even arrangement. Pour custard over the fruit and refrigerate until firm…~3-4 hours.

 Ultra-light easy yogurt soufflé

•  6-8 egg whites
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 6 oz strained yogurt (about ¾ cup)
• Flavoring of choice. (See comments)
• 8 oz frozen berries of choice
• 1 tsp cornstarch + 1/8 cup dealcoholized white or red wine(optional) or water.

 

•  Beat egg whites to soft peaks, add the sugar during whipping until the egg whites achieve stiff peaks. Place strained yogurt in a bowl and combine with flavor of choice using a whisk. Some suggestions:
•  2 Tbsp Dutch Process cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla + sweetener of choice to taste.
•  1 tsp vanilla + ¼ - ½ tsp extract of choice such as banana, almond, strawberry, etc. + sweetener to taste

 Add a large spoonful of egg white to yogurt mixture and stir to loosen. Repeat with another large spoonful. Then combine the yogurt mixture with the remaining egg white and fold the mixture repeatedly until a uniform consistency is achieved. Divide mixture into 4-6 large ramekins or other dessert bowl. Build up the sides leaving a “bowl” shape in the center. Place in freezer for several hours.

 When ready to serve, heat frozen berries on stovetop or in microwave until hot. Remove the berries saving the liquid in a small saucepan or pour liquid in to saucepan. Combine cornstarch with wine or water and stir into fruit liquid, stirring to combine. Sweeten lightly with a small amount of sugar or sweetener such as Splenda. Heat gently until sugar and cornstarch dissolve and gently bring up the heat until the mixture thickens. Combine with reserved berries.

 Divide the berries into 4 portions and pour into the wells created in the soufflé . Serve immediately.