You walk into the store or mall to find out that your favorite flavor or brand of yogurt is on clearance sales. Your first thought goes to your kids and husband, their appetite for this stuff is voracious. You are in the store to get their weekly ration of the yogurt. By buying in bulk at these reduced prices, you would be saving some money.
Without thinking, you go ahead and buy five quarts of yogurt. You finish your shopping and marvel at the amount of money you have just saved by taking that initiative. You get back home and your kids are excited, you decide to make a smoothie flavored with the yogurt you have just bought for 50% off. That tastes great!
You bake some cupcakes and add some yogurt to your recipe. There is still a lot of it left. When you finish with that, it hits you. There is no way you can finish all the yogurt before the week runs out. It would not keep for long in the freezer. Then you wonder, “Can I freeze it?”
So, can you freeze yogurt for smoothies? Yes, you can. You can freeze your yogurt be it opened, or with the seal unbroken. It would last for about 2 months before getting freezer burn. Freezing might affect the flavor, giving it more of that tang. You might also notice that the consistency has changed after thawing but, that is nothing proper mixing wouldn’t fix.
Freezing yogurt is a great idea as it helps you preserve it for a longer period and a wide variety of uses. You also get the added benefit of keeping the nutritional value of the yogurt intact.
Yogurt is an incredibly versatile food. It can be used in your early morning power smoothie, or for homemade baked foods. Some people use it as an alternative for mayonnaise in sandwiches. Keep reading to learn how to properly preserve your yogurt.
How to Freeze Yogurt for Smoothies
Although some people love to eat their yogurt frozen, most people prefer to have it returned to its original state. Freezing yogurt is very easy and is done with almost no stress. However, if you want to preserve the yogurt for longer and also keep the consistency, then you should not go the easy route of just sticking the bowl of yogurt into the freezer. Especially if you’re freezing for smoothies. Here is how to make things very easy for you even after freezing and you want it back in your smoothie.
Step 1: Get Ice Cube Trays and a Spoon
Yes! It’s not hard at all. So the first thing you need to do is to get an ice cube tray and a spoon. If you haven’t guessed it already, we are making yogurt ice cubes. Yogurt ice cubes are great for smoothies. You do not even need to let it thaw. Just pop it into your blender while you’re making your smoothie and it’s all good to go. Ice cube trays and a spoon is all you need to make ice cube yogurts for smoothies.
Step 2: Filling the Trays
This could be the most fun part of freezing yogurt and this is where your spoon comes in. I should not be telling you to scoop the yogurt from the bowl and put it in the tray right? But, that’s what you will be doing anyway. Now carefully put the yogurt into the ice cube tray. Take note that yogurt is a liquid so it would expand when frozen. So, do not fill the cubicles in the tray to the brim so it doesn’t spill over during the freezing process.
Step 3: Freezing
From here onwards it is simple. All you do is stack the trays and place them in your freezer. It would be advisable to get some aluminum foil to put in between the trays so that when your yogurt, freezes and expands, it would not stick to the tray directly on top of it. This makes it easier for you to enjoy your ice cube yogurt.
Step 4: Storage
We are not done yet. The most common issue that plagues food stored in the freezer is freezer burn. Yogurt is a dairy product with live bacteria that are probiotics and good for your gut. However, these bacteria can react with the air and make your yogurt go bad. We wouldn’t want that.
So, get some airtight freezer bags, after about 12 hours when your yogurt has frozen in the tray, gently remove the ice cube yogurt, place them into the airtight bags, make sure to get the excess air out before sealing it. This would help you to prolong the freezer shelf life of your yogurt.
Can You Eat Frozen Yogurt like Ice Cream?
Yes, you can. But you need to understand that, the composition of yogurts and ice creams are different. So, although it is possible to eat your frozen yogurt like ice cream, it would not taste like ice cream.
Do Yogurt Cultures Die When Frozen?
There are live bacteria in your yogurt. But they are the good ones that have great nutritional value for your body. Bacteria are very durable organisms that go dormant when frozen. As soon as the conditions are favorable for their survival, they become active. However, you might lose a little bacteria here and there. But you would still be getting enough.
How to Know if Frozen Yogurt is Safe to Eat
When yogurt goes bad, it loses its creamy texture and would develop ice crystals on its surface. If you have stored your frozen yogurt for too long and you discover an odd flavor or odor, please throw it away. Frozen yogurt can be eaten even after its expiration date for about 2 months. But, it would be safe to note down the date of storage so you can keep track of how long you have stored it.