Making Cheese Out of Yogurt

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

15 Aug 2007 11:46 AM

I am very picky about my mayonnaise. I don't like substitutes unless they are very tasty. And to me, it is unfortunate that the thing that makes mayonnaise so tasty is that it has oodles of bad-for-you fat in it. Taking out the fat makes it less tasty.

So when I first heard about making your own cheese out of yogurt and using that as an alternative to both cream cheese and mayonnaise. . .I was skeptical. It does taste different--but not bad. It has a lot fewer calories than even low-fat versions of cream cheese and mayonnaise and honestly, as a low fat alternative. . .I think it tastes better. And did I mention it's cheaper? Love that it's cheaper!

Plus, you can spice it up and add various elements to the yogurt cheese to make it taste better. But we'll get to that later. In order to make cheese out of your plain yogurt you'll need:

Plain non-fat yogurt (without gelatin or thickeners)

A strainer or colander (I actually use my coffee maker

Cheesecloth (you can use coffee filters as well)

A bowl

Plastic wrap

Directions:

Empty a carton of plain non-fat yogurt into a strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth (or paper coffee filter), and place over a bowl. Cover the whole contraption with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The consistency of the yogurt cheese will be similar to soft cream cheese. You can substitute it anywhere that you would use sour cream, cream cheese or mayonnaise. I have not tried substituting it in baking, but it works fine in savory dishes.

How To Dress It Up

There are an infinite number of possibilities in dressing up your yogurt cheese. The most obvious is to add chopped vegetables to it. Our favorite is to add chives. I've also seen people add chopped up sun dried tomatoes or olives and peppers. Garlic is also very flavorful.

You can also add herbs and spices like cumin. We like to add spice blends so a yogurt cheese with Italian seasoning, or fajita seasoning.

For a sweeter version to spread on your bagels, try chopped fruit and cinnamon or even adding a little vanilla extract.

I generally make a larger batch and then take some out and season it according to what I'm using it for. In any case, this really can be an easy way to cut calories out of your diet without sacrificing!

Want to know where to use your yogurt cheese? Check out our Winter '06 Cookbook:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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Mary Ann Romans (26886) 15 Aug 2007 12:54 PM

Wow, this is exciting. I can't wait to try it.

Valorie Delp (49340) 15 Aug 2007 12:58 PM

LOL! We're excited so easily aren't we?