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Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

1¼ hours, plus 1 to 2 hours draining, 30 minutes cooling, and 3 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 1 generous quart)

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Ingredients

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt 2 teaspoons gelatin (unflavored)1 ¾ cups whole milk 1 cup granulated sugar, minus 2 tablespoons1 vanilla bean, 5-inch piece, slit lengthwise

Instructions

  1. Spoon yogurt into fine-mesh strainer set over glass measuring cup. Place measuring cup in refrigerator; let drain until yogurt releases 1/2 cup liquid, 1 to 2 hours.
  2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of the milk in a small bowl; let stand, stirring frequently, until gelatin swells, about 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and vanilla bean in small saucepan, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Remove pan from heat.
  4. Add swelled gelatin to hot milk-sugar mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Scrape seeds from softened vanilla bean into mixture, whisking seeds to evenly distribute; discard bean. Cool to room temperature, then mix with drained yogurt.
  5. Refrigerate yogurt mixture until it cools to at least 40 degrees. Pour chilled gelatinous mixture into canister of ice cream machine; churn until frozen. (Can be served as soft frozen yogurt at this point, or can be stored in a sealed plastic container for 2 days before it becomes icy.)
Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1¼ hours, plus 1 to 2 hours draining, 30 minutes cooling, and 3 hours chilling

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 1 generous quart)

Ingredients

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons gelatin (unflavored)
1 ¾ cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar, minus 2 tablespoons
1 vanilla bean, 5-inch piece, slit lengthwise

Ingredients

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons gelatin (unflavored)
1 ¾ cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar, minus 2 tablespoons
1 vanilla bean, 5-inch piece, slit lengthwise

Ingredients

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
2 teaspoons gelatin (unflavored)
1 ¾ cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar, minus 2 tablespoons
1 vanilla bean, 5-inch piece, slit lengthwise

Why This Recipe Works

For our frozen yogurt recipe, we solved the problem of strong yogurt flavor and grainy sugar by adding some milk. Not only did it tame the yogurt flavor but, when put over low heat, the milk made it possible to dissolve the sugar and gave us an easy way to add vanilla bean flavor. In premium ice creams, egg yolks are responsible for the smooth texture; gelatin serves the same purpose in our frozen yogurt recipe.

Instructions

  1. Spoon yogurt into fine-mesh strainer set over glass measuring cup. Place measuring cup in refrigerator; let drain until yogurt releases 1/2 cup liquid, 1 to 2 hours.
  2. Sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of the milk in a small bowl; let stand, stirring frequently, until gelatin swells, about 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and vanilla bean in small saucepan, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Remove pan from heat.
  4. Add swelled gelatin to hot milk-sugar mixture, stirring until completely dissolved. Scrape seeds from softened vanilla bean into mixture, whisking seeds to evenly distribute; discard bean. Cool to room temperature, then mix with drained yogurt.
  5. Refrigerate yogurt mixture until it cools to at least 40 degrees. Pour chilled gelatinous mixture into canister of ice cream machine; churn until frozen. (Can be served as soft frozen yogurt at this point, or can be stored in a sealed plastic container for 2 days before it becomes icy.)

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