Now that John likes the much healthier yogurt cream cheese, I decided to try to make it myself. Right now, the only place I know to buy it commercially is Bruegger's Bagels, where it is sold in tiny containers (that last about two days of John's consumption) at a high price. I have to do some math to calculate how much money I could really save: How much do I save by buying yogurt from the store? What if the yogurt is on sale? Do I have to buy milk and make my own yogurt, then make my own cream cheese from that, in order to make this financially worthwhile?
I happened to have flavored yogurt in the house (and really cream cheese should be made with plain yogurt), so I decided to try the experiment with vanilla yogurt. This yogurt was full-fat (which I prefer, for health reasons) and contained only milk, pure maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, vanilla, and live active cultures (no stabilizers). After talking to some friends who make their own cream cheese, I found a
super simple "recipe" (if you could even call it that) online. I dumped my yogurt in a strainer lined with cheese cloth and suspended in a bowl (with the strainer
above the bottom of the bowl). And I left it that way in the refrigerator.
The whey dripped out and "cream cheese" was left! It was definitely softer than commercial cream cheese.
This morning I served it to John--without telling him it was actually yogurt, of course. Despite his boring "early morning" facial expression in the above photo, he liked it and didn't mention anything about it being different. This is fabulous and astonishing, considering that yogurt of any flavor (even chocolate) has made him vomit his whole life. Clearly it is a
texture/sensory issue, not a flavor issue. Three cheers for much healthier yogurt instead of cream cheese!
I happened to have flavored yogurt in the house (and really cream cheese should be made with plain yogurt), so I decided to try the experiment with vanilla yogurt. This yogurt was full-fat (which I prefer, for health reasons) and contained only milk, pure maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, vanilla, and live active cultures (no stabilizers). After talking to some friends who make their own cream cheese, I found a super simple "recipe" (if you could even call it that) online. I dumped my yogurt in a strainer lined with cheese cloth and suspended in a bowl (with the strainer above the bottom of the bowl). And I left it that way in the refrigerator.
The whey dripped out and "cream cheese" was left! It was definitely softer than commercial cream cheese.
This morning I served it to John--without telling him it was actually yogurt, of course. Despite his boring "early morning" facial expression in the above photo, he liked it and didn't mention anything about it being different. This is fabulous and astonishing, considering that yogurt of any flavor (even chocolate) has made him vomit his whole life. Clearly it is a texture/sensory issue, not a flavor issue. Three cheers for much healthier yogurt instead of cream cheese!
That is great! I think if you get gravity to help you out with the straining, you will get even more whey out and the cheese will be firmer, pretty much as firm as regular cream cheese. I would suggest putting a coffee filter on top of the cheese cloth, then put the yogurt on that (it makes it so easy to scrape the cheese off when it's done, it really just falls right off.) Then find a way to sort of tie up the cheese cloth with string or elastic and suspend it from a spoon handle, or a cabinet knob or whatever and then let it drip in the bowl. A good 24 hours usually gets it all. (I always do mine at room temp and I've never had anything spoil.)
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