Can you freeze yogurt? Yogurt is one of the widely used dairy products. It is very popular due to the health benefits that it offers. Because of that, many people consume it regularly, sometimes even on a daily basis.
The thing is – what you should do if you’ve got a few cups of yogurt and you can’t find a way to eat or cook something with them within the next few days? The answer seems obvious – freeze the yogurt for further use. That’s right – you can freeze yogurt.
There are, however, some facts you should be aware of when it comes to freezing yogurt.
How Freezing Affects Yogurt
Yogurt’s consistency isn’t solid. One can expect that the freezing process affects this product. Indeed, it does. Manufacturers state that freezing and thawing yogurt might have an effect on its texture and taste[1].
It will look a little different than a fresh one. Thus, you should run a little trial before buying and freezing lots of yogurts.
Freeze a tiny amount of yogurt and leave it in the freezer for the night. Thaw it and eat it the next day. This way you’ll know whether you like the taste of frozen and thawed yogurt. If you don’t like the taste, you can try freezing and thawing yogurts from other brands.
Please remember that the longer yogurt is in the freezer, the worse taste you might expect. Because of that, the sooner you’ll consume the frozen yogurt, the better. One more thing – if you don’t like the taste of thawed yogurt, you can always use it for baking purposes. Your baked goods should taste as good as they always do.
Stonyfield Farm company states that freezing can kill some of the beneficial cultures that are in their products[1]. Since production processes of yogurts are very similar, you can assume freezing does the same to other yogurts.
Please note that yogurts contain billions of beneficial cultures and freezing kills only some of them. Freezing yogurt doesn’t mean that you’ll lose most of its health benefits, you lose only a tiny bit of them. When you freeze yogurt, the cultures become dormant. Once the yogurt is thawed, they become alive again.
Useful Information About Freezing Yogurt
When it comes to freezing yogurt, there are a few things that you should know. First, you need to remember that yogurt expands while freezing. That means that you need a container that has enough space to accommodate yogurt after it expands. Make sure that the container is airtight so the yogurt won’t absorb any odors from the freezer.
Yogurt should be thawed in the refrigerator (if it’s very hard, you can put it in the microwave for a few seconds). Please remember to stir the thawed yogurt before eating. If you know that you’ll be in need of small portions of yogurt in the future, you can always repackage the product into smaller containers that will meet your needs.
Can You Freeze Yogurt Parfaits?
Freezing yogurt parfaits is definitely an option. Make the parfaits in jelly jars, so you can seal them before transferring into the freezer. Also, make sure to leave some room for expansion. If you want to add some granola to your parfaits, add it only after thawing.
Thawing, as usual, should be done in the fridge overnight. After thawing there probably will be some separation, so you might need to give it a good stir before eating. Yes, that means that the perfect layers you’ve created in the dessert will likely be ruined.
Check out this recipe if you’re looking for a great freezer-friendly yogurt parfait recipe.
Can you freeze yogurt to make froyo?
Sure, but you can’t just put the yogurt into the freezer and expect it to become a delicious dessert. It needs additional ingredients and some processing before it becomes an ice-cream-like dessert.
The good news is, an ice cream machine is not required. A good food processor or even a blender should do the trick. The way to make delicious froyo with a blender is to combine the yogurt, frozen fruit, honey (or agave), and any additional seasonings in a blender and pulse it until smooth.
While it’s perfectly fine to eat right away, if you actually want to make froyo, put it into the freezer for a few hours or overnight. For specific recipes on how to make froyo this way check out Bigger Bolder Baking.
Summary
Yogurt is one of the widely used dairy products. You can freeze yogurt freely, but remember that it might change its taste and texture after thawing.