Never Use Flavored Yogurt For Homemade Frozen Yogurt. Here's Why

Frozen yogurt has gained popularity as a healthier alternative to ice cream, spawning the proliferation of froyo shops and numerous frozen yogurt brands that have picked up steam in the freezer section of the grocery store. However, you can easily make frozen yogurt at home with the help of that tub of plain old yogurt in your fridge, emphasis on the "plain"! In an interview with Tasting Table, Zac Young, owner of Sprinkletown Donuts & Ice Cream and TV personality on Food Network, explained why flavored yogurt is not actually the best option for homemade frozen yogurt.

The flavor of some yogurts will be lost in the freezing process because, as Young said,"the flavor of yogurt can dilute as you make the base and freeze. If you use something like strawberry yogurt, you can reinforce the flavor with freeze-dried strawberry powder." When yogurt is frozen, its liquid or water-based components create ice crystals, which apart from an icy texture, also dull the flavor of flavored yogurt. Additionally, flavored yogurt usually contains sweeteners, so another con to using flavored yogurt, according to Young, is that "you don't have control over the sugar content with flavored yogurt." Sugar is important, not just as a sweetener, but also because it prevents those ice crystals from forming for the creamiest consistency. So, you will still want to add sugar to the mix, but you are more likely to overdo it when adding sugar to already flavored and sweetened yogurt.

Plain yogurt will give you the most versatile base to build upon with new flavors and add-ins. Young suggested using freeze-dried fruit powders to intensify the flavors of a strawberry yogurt. However, you can also stir freeze-dried fruit powders into plain yogurt. For that matter, our formula for homemade frozen yogurt uses frozen fruit. Vanilla extract, almond extract, and mint extract are also effective flavor agents for your frozen yogurt. You can blend mint extract into the yogurt with sugar before stirring in some mini chocolate chips or shaved chocolate for a mint chocolate chip frozen yogurt, for example. While you can use plain regular yogurt or Greek yogurt for frozen yogurt, make sure it's a full-fat, whole yogurt. A larger percentage of fat equates to the creamiest consistency. If you find yourself with a non-fat yogurt that you want to transform into frozen yogurt, try blending it with a frozen banana for added creaminess.

If you want to make frozen yogurt from scratch without the help of store-bought full-fat yogurt, you will need to start with a base of milk, cultures, and sugar. So, if you are not using a standard plain yogurt base, Young told us to flavor it "by infusing the milk for base, or add flavor through extracts or powdered ingredients like freeze-dried fruit which don't add extra liquid to the base." Adding extra liquid will result in an unpleasantly icy texture.