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One of the essential yet vital factors of life is health, and everyone wants to be in a state of good health. Food habit plays a crucial role in our state of health. Thus, we must ensure the practice of a balanced diet consisting of some specific food. One such food is yogurt, a milk product that is highly beneficial to our health. Here, we will find out the answer to, “can you freeze yogurt?”
Yogurt is a food that contains a high amount of concentrated protein and vitamins, which are extremely good for your health. Other than that, there are several other health benefits to keeping yogurt on your daily diet.
Experts suggest that having yogurt every day can boost several health factors of your body, like immunity. It is a personal choice whether you want to purchase already made yogurt or make it on your own at home.
Naturally, you want to make a certain amount of yogurt and have it little by little for multiple days. So you need to know how to keep the food by storing or preserving it by some method. As yogurt is a milk product, there are some proper ways of preserving or storing it.
You may have questions like can you freeze yogurt, can you store it in a refrigerator, or by other methods. As yogurt is a lactose-based food, there are specific methods you should follow to store it properly. We are here to discuss exactly that so that you can enjoy your healthy meal for multiple days.
The best way to consume yogurt
Yogurt is a milk product thus is a lactose-based substance. It is obtained from milk by the process of fermentation, which involves specific microorganisms in the milk.
The presence of bacteria like streptococcus thermophilus, a probiotic, and lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp bulgaricus is necessary to make yogurt.
As these two bacteria are probiotics, they are not harmful but rather good for our stomach. They activate the process of fermentation and acting of it, converting the lactose to lactic acid. This process takes time and thickens the product, and makes it characteristic flavor or tang.
One can have yogurt on their diet to help them give immunity boost and other health benefits. While many prefer to have it just by itself, others like to have it with other food.
You can have yogurt with a multitude of fruits to enhance the taste or add extra flavors. This practice is good, as it increases taste and is a more healthy diet. You can add various fruits as toppings like apple, cherries, strawberries, banana, blueberries, pineapple, mangoes, peaches, kiwi, avocado, raspberries, coconut, and more. You can also add nuts and dry foods like walnuts, almonds, dates, apricots, granola, and more.
As yogurt is not that sweet by nature, many also prefer to add sweetening agents to it. These sweetening agents can include honey, pure maple syrup, agave nectar, or even dark chocolate.
Some people also use sugar, though it is better to avoid or add less of such sweeteners. And if you want to add sugar to your yogurt, a substitute to regular white sugar can be brown sugar.
Whatever it is and how you want to make or garnish your yogurt, it is incredibly healthy on its own. However, you should be aware of how to store yogurt, freeze yogurt, and its preserving methods.
The method of how yogurt is made
Yogurt is a reasonably simple food to make by fermenting the milk with the aid of certain bacteria. These bacteria are probiotics that are good for our gut and acts on the milk over time, thus fermenting it.
Of course, there are different types of yogurt and different process to make those other items. There is also a difference in how it is manufactured in factories and made in the home.
However, the basic making process and the ingredients are the same. Of course, the first ingredient is milk by adding specific bacteria to the milk and letting it work.
These are lactic acid bacteria that work on the milk known as the yogurt culture. These agents like yogurt culture and bacteria added in the milk start the fermenting process, converting lactose into lactic acid.
Step 1
Firstly, the milk is heated to a specific temperature, which is predominantly 180 degrees Fahrenheit. This method kills any unnecessary bacteria and other microbes present in the milk.
In addition, it ensures the removal of harmful pathogens, bacteria, and mold present in the milk. The heating process also thicknesses the milk by changing the protein structure, which gives the yogurt its classic smooth and thick texture.
After that, the milk is put away for cooling it down to a specific temperature. This is to add the excellent and necessary bacteria after removing all unwanted bacteria. Now, they add the yogurt culture or a pre-made yogurt for adding the required bacteria for fermentation.
Step 2
After that, stirring the solution and mixing the bacteria all over the milk is necessary. The final steps involve pouring it into jars or containers and incubating it for 8 to 9 hours.
The more you incubate, the thicker your yogurt gets, becoming the typical soft, thick and creamy yogurt-like texture. Then they put it into the refrigerator to cool it down.
Of course, the type or characteristic of the yogurt depends on the kind of milk and the yogurt culture. The intensity and duration of the temperature also play a vital role in resulting of the type of yogurt.
Can you freeze yogurt?
The storage method of yogurt is equally important as the making process. As it is a milk product, storing it incorrectly can make it harmful.
For example, keeping the yogurt at room temperature for too long is not a good practice. You should eat this yogurt within 2 hours. Things like can you freeze yogurt, can you store it in cold storage or refrigerator is vital. Knowing the correct way or storing and preserving yogurt is necessary.
Importance of yogurt and its impact on health
Yogurt is a highly healthy food, and keeping it in your diet is beneficial for youth health. People have yogurt as a meal, snack, or dessert, depending on their preference.
They also like to add other ingredients like fruits and sweeteners to their yogurt. Whatever it is, yogurt is whole, nutritious ingredients containing equal calcium as eight ounces of milk. It is evident that being a dairy product, yogurt has a considerable amount of calcium.
But on top of that, it also has a lot of vitamins and protein. Here are different healthy ingredients that you can find in yogurt.
Calcium
There is a high amount of calcium in yogurt, which is extremely good for your bones and teeth. It is also concentrated in vitamin B 12, vital for cardiac health and specific neural tube issues.
Minerals
A cup of yogurt contains roughly 12% magnesium, 18% potassium, and 30% phosphorus, which are necessary for your daily intake and are very healthy. There is also riboflavin contained in yogurt due to the presence of vitamin B 12. This ingredient is also perfect for cardiac health and cures many heart diseases.
Protein
Yogurt is also a rich source of protein. One cup of yogurt contains about 8.5 grams of protein. These are water-soluble proteins, also known as whey proteins. There is also something called the casein protein, which is a milk soluble protein. Both whey and casein protein are highly nutritious and good for health.
Comparatively, there is less whey protein in yogurt that is 20%. It contains dense branched-chain amino acids such as isoleucine, leucine, and valine. This protein is perfect for your muscles. This is the exact reason why whey protein is widespread among sportspeople, athletics, and bodybuilders. On top of that, whey protein is perfect for losing excessive weight and promotes lower blood pressure.
There is roughly 80% of casein protein in yogurt, which is way more than whey protein. This protein increases the absorption capability of minerals like phosphorus, calcium, and potassium. It also controls high blood pressure and lowers the BP to an average level. These are beneficial for your health because they are full of rich amino acids and easy to digest.
Fat
There is also fat contained in yogurt, but fat concentration depends on the amount of milk used. To a certain extent, you can control the amount of fat present in the yogurt but use certain milk types depending on your choice. There is low-fat milk, fat-free milk, whole milk, and more. Usually, it is better to make yogurt of fat-free milk or low-fat milk. This controls the amount of fat present in the yogurt.
The most amount of fat present in the yogurt is saturated fat, containing roughly 70%. But it also has monounsaturated fat. As it is a dairy product containing lactose acid, its fat-containing provides more than 400 different types of fatty acid.
Carbs
There are also a certain amount of carbs present in the yogurt. It is mainly due to lactose and galactose present in the yogurt. The fermenting process involves the breaking down of lactose into galactose and glucose. After that, extra sweeteners are added, which varies. So the amount of fat in your yogurt can be somewhere between 4.7% – 18.6% or even higher.
The correct method of storing and preserving yogurt
Having yogurt daily is extremely good for your health as it contains various healthy ingredients. But you need to know how to store and maintain it properly for having it later. Questions like, can you freeze yogurt and store it in the refrigerator for later use arrives? But there are specific steps you need to follow.
Avoid cross-contamination by eating it on another container
When you want to have your yogurt, put the required portion in another cup or bowl instead of just taking the whole main container. By not eating it from the same bowl or container the whole yogurt is in, you avoid bacterial contamination. Also, while picking it up from the main bowl, use a clean spoon. Not mixing fresh and used yogurt is also vital for avoiding cross-contamination.
Storing it in the refrigerator in the correct way
When you are storing your yogurt in a refrigerator, avoid keeping it in the door of your fridge. This method is to ensure that your yogurt gets the best temperature stored inside the refrigerator. As at the fridge’s door, the temperature might change, and the slightest temperature change might affect your yogurt’s longevity. To keep a consistent and necessary temperature on your yogurt, keep it at the back of your fridge.
Freezing is also an effective method
As many ask, can you freeze yogurt as a storage method. The answer to that is absolute. Although, there is a downside to it as it changes your yogurt’s soft and creamy texture. You can still have it as it helps store it for way longer than usual. Alternatively, you can use that yogurt as a dish you are making instead of eating it directly.
Keeping it in an air-tight sealed container
One of the best methods to protect your yogurt from external bacteria is keeping it in an air-sealed container. You may keep it where ever you want, but many sure the lid or cap is tightly closed.
Final thoughts
There are different types of yogurt available for you to add to your diet. Just like any food, there are different types of yogurts, with slightly different compositions and ingredients. But more or less, they all have the same quantity of carbs, proteins, vitamins, and fats.
Yogurt is highly beneficial for your health, and having it as a snack or dessert can give you several health benefits. But storing it is another different thing. You might get confused on can you seal it or can you freeze yogurt. It would help if you kept it in the freezer out of bacteria contact to prevent contamination. Thus, you can enjoy your delicate yogurt on a healthy diet.
