Occasionally, my mom will get large quantities of foodstuffs from members of her church and pass them along. Currently, I have a boatload of plain yogurt in my fridge. Please tell me what I can do with it, other than making smoothies for the next month. (And if you want some, and are in the Indianapolis area, you’re more than welcome to it!)
You can use it for baking anywhere you would use buttermilk (e.g., pancakes, cornbread, etc.) It’s a little tangier, but still good. It also makes a good marinade for chicken, etc., combined with Indian spices, chiles, garlic and ginger. It tenderizes the meat a bit.
Make raitha.
Mix in some green food coloring and wait for somebody to say “I don’t know.”
Make yogurt cheese. Yum!
Plan a party and make dips! Yogurt instead of sourcream, plain is perfect. Honey dip, chipotle dip, green dip, in bean dip.
It’s great for facials, too! Mix it with some honey and have a delish Spa Party for your birthday this weekend! Whatever you don’t use on your face you can eat.
You can also add a whole bunch of kosher or sea salt to it for a really great exfoliating/moisturizing scrub.
I’ve always wanted to try making yogurt cheese.
You can also freeze yogurt, but separating it into portions first might make it more convenient.
Tzatziki!
Huh…I saw eight replies and thought “Damn…I’ll be too late to be the first to suggest ‘sex romp’”.
Try freezing it to use later! I froze some that I made myself, and it was fine when thaw.
Yah, add various flavors of jam and make frozen yogurt.
You could make shrikhand. It’s a traditional Marathi/Gujurati milk pudding. Traditionally you make it with saffron and cardamom and other exotic spices but I linked you to an update recipe with ingredients you might have around your house, or could obtain more easily.
It’s very rich.
Look to the cuisines of Eastern Europe and South Asia. Yogurt is a more-than-breakfast staple on plates from Turkey to India. It’s an essential element of the marinade for tandoori, for example.
Or, if you want to be more creative, make cheesecake. Take any good cheesecake recipe (e.g. Cook’s Illustrated) and replace half the volume of cream cheese with thickened (i.e. well drained) yogurt. It cuts the fat (not by a lot, but some), doesn’t change the texture, and in my opinion adds a more complex and interesting flavor note to the body of the pie. (Because, after all, the “cake” in cheesecake is a misnomer. It’s really a pie.) This version of cheesecake is especially delicious when topped with a fruit curd; I like mango.
The cheesecake idea sounds great, since I also have 3 blocks of cream cheese in my fridge.
Thanks for all of the tips, and keep 'em coming!
This is great to know as well. I had no idea it could be frozen for future use. Good thing we have a chest freezer.
Tandoori chicken; well, not real tandoori, as you likely don’t have the requisite clay oven, but chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and then cooked on the grill or under the oven broiler. I’ve had good results with the Joy of Cooking recipe.
Also, cold soups (like winter squash) that call for sour cream taste even better with a substitution of yogurt.
Another idea: My preferred recipe for tuna salad takes a standard mix of ingredients and substitutes plain yogurt for the mayo. Add a touch of smooth mustard for the mouthfeel.
It goes well in hot soups too. Mr. S always uses yogurt in his chowders and his sweet potato soup.
Given that you have six quarts, “all of the above” may be a reasonable option.