Cooking with Yogurt

All this talk of eating dairy. Everyone looking for low fat options. Yogurt rises to the top whether in frozen form or straight from the dairy case. But what about cooking? That's where sour cream and butter shine. So how does one substitute yogurt and get good results?

As always, just a few simple guidelines...

• Replace sour cream with plain yogurt in hot foods such as soup or stroganoff but wait until you're finished cooking and have turned off the heat to add the yogurt.


• Try the same substitution in baked goods like coffee cake or muffin recipes that call for sour cream. Just remember that the texture will be more like a sponge cake due to the increase in protein and decrease in fat


• No need to go completely fat free; remember that sour cream is made from cream which is at least 10% fat and often higher. At most full fat yogurt is made from milk that's 4% milkfat.


• Dips for vegetables or chips will be more watery if made from yogurt instead of sour cream. Try using half yogurt and half sour cream or cream cheese and going with the lower fat version of the latter.


• Don't forget other seasonings or flavored yogurts. When appropriate choose lemon or vanilla yogurt rather than plain. You'll be amazed at the difference in flavor.

Happy, Healthy Eating!

Marcia