Yogurt

Question: Yogurt????? HI ALL, DOES EATING FROZEN YOGURT HAVE THE SAME BENEFITS AS REGULAR YOGURT? AIDING IN DIGESTION. THANKS

Answer: Almost. The big benefits in yogurt are live, active cultures, and how the frozen yogurt is processed will determine if it still contains the cultures. Frozen yogurt is a non-standardized food and, therefore, is not subject to Federal composition standards, as is the case for “yogurt.” In order to qualify for NYA’s Live & Active Cultures seal, frozen yogurt must be a product made by fermenting pasteurized milk (can include skim milk and powdered skim milk, plus other ingredients), using traditional yogurt cultures, until the proper acidity is reached. Many manufacturers, according to their unique recipes, will then mix this (the "yogurt" component) with a pasteurized ice cream mix of milk, cream, and sugar, plus stabilizers or other ingredients needed for desired consistency. This frozen yogurt base mix can then be blended with fruit or other ingredients and then frozen. The freezing process does not kill any significant amount of the cultures—in fact, during the freezing process the cultures go into a dormant state, but when eaten and returned to a warm temperature within the body, they again become active and are capable of providing all the benefits of cultures in a refrigerated yogurt product. Not all products termed "frozen yogurt" actually contain live and active cultures. Some so-called "frozen yogurts" use heat-treated yogurt, which kills the live and active cultures, or they may simply add in cultures to the mix along with acidifiers, and skip the fermentation step all together. To make sure that a frozen yogurt contains yogurt produced by traditional fermentation and has a significant amount of live and active cultures, look for the NYA Live & Active Cultures seal.

Question: How would I make this yogurt recipe with a yogurt machine? I bought a salton yogurt maker that makes 5 little jars of yogurt. It had no instructions and I can't find the instructions online either. I want to make this yogurt recipe, but it doesn't use a yogurt maker so how would I apply the recipe to a yogurt maker? Thank you so much!

Answer: Check out my previous answer about one way to make yogurt in this question (...I also have a Salton yogurt machine, but it's the one-unit kind not the little cups kind... that' shouldn't matter though): http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AuRPW5Kw4ZodpxDth1OUCZjsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070405080017AAQBRCv One thing I'd say, however, since someone else has said to incubate "at least 8 hrs" is that (as long as you have all the milk already at the proper fermenting temp of 110-118, which a yogurt maker automatically maintains), the minimum amount of fermentation time is actually 4 hrs** ... any longer (up to a maximum of 24 hours) and the yogurt will get more and more sour since the bacteria's job is to eat up all the lactose (milk sugars) in the milk and that process keeps going pretty fast while the temp is right. You may like your yogurt more sour than I do though. **That's so you won't have to add *extra time* just for all the milk to be able to get to a good fermentation temp. Also btw, the *amount* of yogurt you're making won't matter if all the milk is just at the right temp during incubation. Oh, and also, DON'T boil the milk at all, much less for 30 minutes. Keep it under the boiling temp (185 is good) if you're heating it higher than the fermentation temp in the beginning to make it thicker. HTH, Diane B.

Question: What does eating Activia Yogurt regulate our digestive system? What is the difference between regular yogurt and Activia Yogurt? Also, how does yogurt regulate our digestive system? Yogurt is just milk, how does it help our body more than milk? Also, is Activa pasteurized or unpasteurized?

Answer: yogurt has bacteria in it that milk doesn't have. these bacteria help improve digestion. Activia has more of these bacteria than other yogurts, which makes it better for digestion.

Question: Yogurt and cottage cheese: do they lose nutrition value when cooked? I don't really like raw yogurt and cottage cheese etc., so I try and eat it in recipes - such as pancakes, etc. But I am wondering: when the yogurt and cottage cheese are cooked with heat - does that destroy the special qualities of the food? Same with milk? Thanks.

Answer: Possibly some B vitamins, but apart from that, I don't think there's much that would be lost. Milk has little or no vitamin C anyway (the other major nutrient damaged by cooking).

Question: Does anyone know the McDonalds yogurt recipe for the fruit and walnut salad? I tried making a home version of the fruit and walnut salad, but the low-fat yogurt I bought doesn't taste anything like the yogurt McDonalds has. I tried sweetening the yogurt with sugar as well, but it still doesn't taste quite as good as the original. Anyone have an idea how to make the yogurt taste better?

Answer: According to this, looks like they add dry honey. You might try adding honey & lemon juice to lowfat yogurt. Snack Size Fruit & Walnut Salad: Apple Slices and Red Grapes: Apples, red grapes, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C added to maintain natural freshness and color. Low Fat Yogurt: Cultured pasteurized Grade A reduced fat milk, sugar, food starch-modified, fructose, whey protein concentrate, corn starch, kosher gelatin, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor, potassium sorbate (added to maintain freshness), artificial color. CONTAINS: MILK. Candied Walnuts: Walnuts (TBHQ added as a preservative), sugar, peanut oil, dry honey, salt, wheat starch, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, natural (plant source) and artificial flavor. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY LECITHIN, TREE NUTS (WALNUTS). MAY CONTAIN SHELL PARTS, OTHER TREE NUTS AND PEANUTS. --------------- When I make Waldorf salad, I add apples, chopped celery, grapes, walnuts & lemon yogurt. Here is a link for a few Waldorf salad recipes: Enjoy! http://www.kitchenproject.com/history/Waldorf_Salad.htm

Question: What yogurt company has the commercial with the morphing fruit? Saw a really beautiful commercial on TV that was a series of fruits blossoming, one at a time, into another beautiful fruit. The last shot of the commercial, the fruit bloomed/opened up to reveal a yogurt cup. I work for an exotic fruit company and wanted to show my boss that commercial. I dont remember the yogurt brand and I cant find it on youtube. Help?

Answer: your other question you say you are a fashion designer and now you claim work for an exotic fruit company, not only do you not work for one but I'm pretty sure exotic fruit companies don't even exist haha but sorry I dont know what commercial you are talking about

Question: What is the difference between Greek yogurt and just normal yogurt? Are there special nutrients in Greek yogurt not found in normal yogurt or what? What's so special about Greek yogurt?

Answer: greek yogurt has a lower sugar and higher protein content. it makes you feel more full after eating it too.

Question: How much yogurt should you eat when on antibiotics? I have read that eating the good (probiotic) cultures in yogurt while taking antibiotics add back some of the the good bacteria that antibiotics kill while fighting your infection. How much yogurt should one eat per day for this to be effective?

Answer: As an RNP, I've been on the fence about this one: I think that you should take the course of antibiotics that your health care provider prescribed, THEN use the probiotic (think: Activia, Yoplait Plus, etc, the ones with the added bifidus regularis) to restore the beneficial flora in the digestive tract that the antibiotics destroy.....For a week 2 cartons a day (6 or 8 oz cartons, that is) should do the trick....Enjoy!!! Christopher

Question: Can I make Yogurt Icing/Chips with Yogurt Powder ? I've been trying to make a hard yogurt icing for my dog's homemade biscuits, and many people recommend yogurt chips. I dont have yogurt chips, but I have yogurt powder. Can I still make the hard icing molds with the yogurt powder ? If so, how ?

Answer: no

Question: What is the difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt? I like yogurt :) I recently tried some Greek yogurt and thought it was good, but what makes it any different from regular yogurt? I know it's thicker but what makes it "Greek"?

Answer: Read the ingredients...it's thicker and made with goats milk......almost has a sour , tart taste to it.

Question: How to make a yogurt in a yogurt machine? I have a total chef yogurt maker, i lost the how 2 book, i have 6 lil cups to fill that takes 4 cups of milk then i think it was 2 tablepoons plain yogurt, well its ben cooking for 9 hours and still seems thin, what am i doing wrong?

Answer: Your correct, I had one years ago, just make sure you use a natural yougart, not with any gelatin or sugar in, let your milk come to room temparture and whisk the yourgart in, and the set the cups in the machine, I worked with a Greek chef and all he did was heat the milk to blood temp, add the yougart, and put in teacups, cover it with Saran Wrap and keep it in a warm area overnight, on top of a frig near the back, and after 2 hours in the frig next day it was solid, if you want a firmer product, you will need to add some whole milk or light cream. I like Balkan style and here in Canada with have a product from a dairy called Astro, it is 4% BF and is great as a sour cream substitude.

Question: What is the best yogurt starter to use when making yogurt? I would like to buy a starter culture to make my own yogurt (in a little yogurt making machine). Which is the best starter to use? I am looking for one that contains as many healthy bacteria as possible and that also tastes great. Any recommendations? Also, where would I be able to purchase the whatever you recommend? Thanks!

Answer: There are many different ways of making yogurt. Here are a few variations: Easy "Traditional" Yogurt: This is one of the simplest. You can "double" this recipe. You can use a microwave*, but there is no reason you can't do it on top of the stove. Just be careful not to scorch the milk. 1) Start with 3 1/2 C. of milk in a microwave safe bowl, a 4 C. Pyrex measuring cup is perfect for this. *Note: I have had a couple people comment that they do not approve of using the microwave for food preparation, especially with milk. If you don't like using the microwave, you can heat the milk on the stove. 2) Add some powdered milk* : Stir in 1/2-1 C. powdered milk (cow, goat or soy) if you're using goat milk or soymilk (*please see the note below about making soy milk yogurt), and 1/4-1/2 C. if you're using cow milk. Why do you add powdered milk? Do you have to add it? Adding powdered milk will help make the yogurt thick, like the way it is from the store. In Europe, yogurt tends to be "runny", but in the USA we seem to prefer it thicker, so do add the powdered milk it you want it not to be runny. I do not add any powdered milk; I have found that the "ABY-2C" yogurt culture from Dairy Connection produced a thick enough curd for my liking. *Note: Another person did not approve of adding powdered milk because it supplied oxidized cholesterol. If you are worried about this and don't want to add powdered milk, then don't add it, but you will probably want to purchase a culture that produces a thicker curd as opposed to just using purchased yogurt (such as Dannon) to make your yogurt. 3) Heat the milk: Place the milk in the microwave (or on the stove) and bring it to a boil. In my microwave this takes about 8-10 minutes depending on if it's right out of the goat or out of the fridge. Stir the milk occasionally and keep an eye on it, but just before it begins to boil, do not stir it, or it will boil over (as I well know). Remove the milk carefully from the microwave. Let it cool some before you place a thermometer in it, or it will still boil over (as, again, I well know). Heating the milk is done for a few reasons: To sterilize/pasteurize the milk so that the yogurt bacteria/culture as a hospitable place to grow in. It is not desirable to also incubate possible "bad" or contaminating bacteria that might be present in the unsterilized milk. Boiling the milk helps to a smooth thick yogurt. Boiling the milk also helps stop the whey from separating out quite as much. (The "water" you sometimes find on the top of your yogurt is whey.) 4) Let the milk cool to about 118° - 115°. 5) Add the culture.: Place a couple of heaping Tbs. of plain "live culture" yogurt from the grocery store (i.e., Dannon, or read the carton's label to see if it's "live culture") other starter culture, in a quart mason jar and stir it until it is smooth. Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour a little of the warm milk into the jar, screw the lid on tight and shake well. Now add the rest of the warm milk, replace the lid and shake well. OR I use a DVI yogurt culture with Acidophilus (ABY-2C) that I get from the Dairy Connection. When I use this, I use 1/16 tsp. per 1/2 gallon of milk (2 quarts). Remove any "skin" from the warm milk (one will have formed as it cooled) and feed it to the dog or chickens. Pour the warm milk into the jar, added the DVI culture and shake well. 6) Now it is time to incubate. This is not as complicated as it sounds, and can be done many ways. The key is to hold the milk at 110°-115° undisturbed for 6-8 hours (depending on the culture used). See below for various incubation methods. If your yogurt isn't thick enough in 10 hours, it isn't going to get any thicker; it's just going to get sourer. If it didn't get thick at all something happened to the starter, either it wasn't live to begin with, or somehow it got killed. Don't be discouraged- try again another day. Even if your yogurt didn't "yo" (or "gurt") you can still use the milk in cooking. Various methods of incubation: 1) Use a commercial yogurt maker. 2) I have heard some put the yogurt in their oven with the light on (the light helps keep the correct temp). I cannot have the light on in my oven without keeping the door open (which lets the heat out), so this method does not work for me. 2) Cooler/water method: Use a small cooler with the lid removed, a larger cooler that will hold a quart jar, or a large pot (6 qt.). Place the cooler or pot in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Now fill the cooler with water that is 120°. Place a couple of fluffy towels over the cooler or pot and leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. To check and see if the yogurt is done, tip the jar slightly and see if the milk flows or stays put. Remember that the yogurt will thicken even more as it cools in the fridge. If you see clear whey when you tilt the jar, the yogurt is as done as it's going to get, but you don't necessarily have to see the whey for the yogurt to be done. (have I confused you yet?) 3) Cooler/heating pad method (I figured this out one day and it works really well): Use a larger cooler. Place the cooler in a place where it will be undisturbed. Place the jar with the yogurt milk in the cooler. Place a heating pad over the jar (loosely). Set the pad on high (my pad needs to be set on high, yours may differ) and place the lid on the cooler. Leave it undisturbed for about 6-8 hours. Please note, that since all heating pads are different, yours may not be best set on high. The first time you use this method, put a thermometer in the cooler to see what the pad is heating the inside of the cooler up to. You want it to be at least 110 degrees and not more than 120 degrees. You may need to turn your pad to medium. 4) Food dehydrator. THis is the method I use. I have a large Excalibur Food Dehydrator and is the "Cadillac" of food dehydrators. It is very large and is perfect for incubating yogurt. I can easily incubate 3-4 2 quart jars at one time in my dehydrator. Soy milk yogurt: I make soymilk yogurt all the time during the 4-5 months my goats have off from milking each year. I make my own soymilk, which entails cooling the soymilk, so I do not bother with the heating of the milk stage in the recipe above. If I were to make soymilk yogurt from store bought milk, I would probably skip the heating of the milk stage as well, since I make my yogurt using my raw milk method (below). Soymilk does not contain lactose and without lactose, or some type of carbohydrate sugar to ferment, the yogurt culture will not grow. If you make your own soymilk , you will need to to add some sugar, glucose or sucrose to your soymilk. Do not use honey, because honey will impede the yogurt bacteria. If you are using store-bought milk, it may already have enough sugar/sweetening in it. If you are making soymilk yogurt you may also have to add some other sort of thickening agent. You may not want to use gelatin, because that is made from animals. I use agar powder. You need to dissolve the agar in some water and then bring it to a boil before you use it. For 2 quarts of yogurt (3 1/2 cups of milk), I use 1 tsp. agar in 1/2 cup water. I bring to a boil in the microwave. Keep a close eye on it because it WILL boil over quite quickly and make a big mess. Please note soy milk yogurt is not exactly like animal milk yogurt. Even Easier "Raw Milk" Yogurt: Yes, you can make yogurt from raw milk. I know this works because this is how I always make my own yogurt. I wouldn't use store bought milk for this method; you must use fresh, clean milk that you have just milked out of your own healthy goat or cow following very good sanitary procedure. When making raw milk yogurt you must be absolutely sure the milk was handled in a extremely sanitary manner and is from healthy animals because you are not going to be pasteurizing the milk, which means if any diseases or harmful bacteria gets in the milk, you will be giving it an excellent breeding ground BUT, remember the good bacteria in the raw milk will fight off some of the bad bacteria. You may want to read the article I have written on raw milk. See the "Traditional" recipe above.

Question: What kind of yogurt would you suggest to someone who doesn't like the texture of yogurt? I really want to eat yogurt. With all the delicious flavors of yogurt out there I want to start to eat yogurt, but the texture is stopping me. Maybe I haven't been eating the right type of yogurt. I like creamy textures like pudding. Are there any yogurts that are creamy? I don't mind if they have fruit in them. I really feel like I am missing out on something yummy and good for you. Any suggestions?

Answer: Icelandic skyr (seriously!) It is yogurt, but with a custard like texture. I get the parfaits from whole foods made with skyr, they are delicious. Greek yogurt also tends to be a little thicker & can easily be flavored with any fruit as it does not come in as many varieties as yogurt. You should be able to find both at your grocery store in the dairy section.

Question: How much yogurt should I eat on a daily basis instead of taking a pill containing lactobacillus? My doctor recommended I take a supplement called Culturelle for my bowels.I have around 2 bowel movements each week due to stress. However, it is quite costly. Doesn't yogurt contain lactobacillus? Is there a way to convert how much yogurt to eat compared to the medication?

Answer: This is a question for your doctor. The pill has a protective coating that protects the lactobacillus from stomach acid. When you eat Yogurt the majority of the live cluture is killed off by this acid.

Question: Is it OK to use home-made yogurt as the starter for a new batch of home-made yogurt - and so on and so on? I have been making my own yogurt at home using a few spoonfuls of the previous batch of home-made yoghurt as the starter for the next batch. It has been months since I used any commercially-made yoghurt as a starter. My yogurt tastes excellent. Is there anything wrong with keeping the same bacterial culture going on and on ad infinitum? Do the proportions of the different strains of bacteria in the yogurt change over time? Thanks Cindybear, but I haven't had the slightest sign of food poisoning. I am aware that if the yogurt smells or tastes bad, I should not eat it. This has not happened so far.

Answer: That is what my mom always did. We had cows and lots of extra milk and she made yogurt all the time. She's just put in a bit from the previous batch. As long as the yogurt tastes good, your strain is ok. If it tastes off from the start of a batch, it's time for a new culture.

Question: What are my alternatives to yogurt as a daily part of my diet? I try real hard to eat right, and I am in good physical shape, but there is always room for improvement. It has been said over and over in different settings that yogurt should be a daily part of your diet. Problem, I can't stand the taste. What are the alternatives to yogurt in my diet? I don't have any other problems with dairy products, it just me and yogurt, I can't get past the taste.

Answer: You don't NEED to eat yogurt, daily or otherwise. Not sure where you got this information? If you do want to eat yogurt, try this. Get a large container of plain, whole milk yogurt (nothing added), some berries and some nuts (almonds or walnuts are probably best). The night before put about 1/2c yogurt in a bowl and mix in 1/4 - 1/3 cup of crushed or chopped berries (frozen are fine, but chop them). Mix well and let it sit overnight. In the morning, right before eating, add the nuts, also chopped. The sugars in the fruit will take the "bite" off the yogurt and the nuts will add some crunch. This is very filling and usually sticks with me for a good 4-6 hours. Alternately, have some eggs! It is important to get fat and protein in your morning meal. If you eat a meal low in fat and protein it will be high in carbohydrates and you will likely be hungry again within 2-3 hours. Instead, have a couple of eggs (cooked in bacon fat or butter if you like them fried), a couple of strips of bacon or other meat and a couple slices of tomato. Very filling, very healthy and will keep you full for a long time. Do not be afraid of eggs. There is almost as much protein in the yolks as there is in the whites....and all the rest of the "good stuff" in eggs is mostly found in the yolk. Fat also is not bad for you (as more and more research is now showing!), but do avoid commercial vegetable oils (corn, soy, etc). If you are looking for yogurt as a way to get calcium in your diet, you can also eat cheese and other dairy products. Watercress, spinach and other "greens" are also high in calcium. Be sure to use full fat dairy or add some fat to your greens as fat is needed to help the body absorb and use the calium! Taking a vitamin D3 supplement and/or sunbathing daily will also help.