From Yogurt To Cheese...And Then What?
Okay, while everyone else in the office is looking at Lulu I'm going to talk about yogurt cheese. Thanks a lot, George. That's a tough act to follow. So yes, there is such a thing as yogurt cheese. You can make it yourself, which will result in a compressed Greek yogurt-type of spreadable deal. Or, unless you have a full cheesemaking operation in your kitchen at home, you can buy it anywhere with a specialty cheese section.
Spreadable yogurt cheese is similar to cream cheese, but is way better for you and has a lot less fat. So pile it sky-high on that giant carb-bomb of a bagel and feel better. Or worse. Other things I like it for:
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Bacon Yogurt Cheese (or "the delicious spread that won't eventually kill you") - Instead of butter on a French cheese sandwich
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In a baked potato instead of sour cream and cheese, because it kind of IS sour cream and cheese. - Tzatziki cheese
"Slab" yogurt cheese tastes like your average jack/havarti/other semisoft white cheese, but has about a third less fat and more flavor. Score. It also melts surprisingly well considering it's made of yogurt, which you're not supposed to heat very high, but I recommend slicing it thinly instead of grating it, as it pretty much refuses to grate. Here's what I like that for:
- Toasties
- Naanwiches
- Tuna melts & friends
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Cheese and fruit sandwich (here are 14 ideas)
Also, as I was wrapping this up, I got a press release about Dan Barber's famed Blue Hill churning out a new line of what I'm assuming to be the world's greatest yogurt ever. So...I'm going to make cheese with that first. Mmm, butternut squash yogurt cheese for our meticulously curated Thanksgiving cheese platter? Yes, please and thank you.
More cheese for lunch on Food Republic: