Homemade Yogurt Cheese For Your Baby
If you’ve never prepared homemade yogurt cheese for your baby, then you (and he) will be very happy that you found this article!
Making your own yogurt cheese is incredibly easy – and the result is a creamy treat that makes a great dip or spread for your baby’s finger foods – or a yummy addition to other baby food recipes.
What is yogurt cheese?
Quite simply, yogurt cheese is what’s left when you drain the liquid (known as whey) from yogurt.
Homemade yogurt cheese is a dieter’s dream because it has a rich and creamy taste, but contains little or no fat (if made from non fat / low fat yogurt).
Your baby, of course, NEEDS some fat in his diet (here’s why), so – unless directed otherwise by your doctor – you may prefer to use whole milk (full fat) yogurt when preparing homemade yogurt cheese for your little one. And another great bonus is that yogurt cheese is a rich source of calcium!
How to prepare homemade yogurt cheese
- Make (or buy) 2 cups (16 fl oz) of plain, natural yogurt (here’s our homemade yogurt recipe). Don’t use yogurt containing gelatin (it stops the whey from separating properly) – and avoid flavoured yogurts – you can always add extra flavour to your yogurt cheese later. We find you get much better results if the yogurt you start out with is unflavoured.
- Take a strainer (or sieve) with a fine mesh and line it with 2 coffee filters OR a double thickness cheesecloth.
- Sit the strainer on a bowl (to catch the whey) and cover.
- Place in the refrigerator… and wait.
We find it best to leave the yogurt for at least 16 hours – this will give you a nice, thick yogurt cheese in the strainer, which is now ready to use!
Don’t throw the whey away!
Many people discard the whey at this point – but PLEASE don’t do that! It’s rich in water soluble nutrients from the yogurt and can be
- added to stock for soup making
- used to cook pasta
- added to smoothies
- added to the milk in milk based recipes
- drunk ‘as is’ (with a little sweetener added if you prefer)
Ideas for serving homemade yogurt cheese to your baby
- Spread on lightly toasted bread, pita, bagels or crackers.
- Serve as a dip with veggie sticks.
- Mix with a little maple syrup or vanilla essence to make a healthy ‘frosting’.
- Mix with a little fruit puree and use as a dessert topping or a fruity spread.
- Add a little pinch of garlic powder and chopped fresh herbs. Use as a savoury dip or spread.
- Use to top a baked potato.
- Stir in parmesan cheese, spread on a slice of bread toasted on one side, then place under the grill (broiler) for a few minutes…yum!
- Combine with cooked pasta for an easy cheesy sauce!
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