What unusual yogurt flavors do you make?

[mightyjesse]

I will admit it now, I think I'm addicted to rose flavored yogurt, though lately I've been experimenting with ginger and mint as well...I'm trying to decide if chocolate would work at all or if it would be weird sour...

[Cheese Head]

Good question, for me just plain regular yogurt, I should try to be more adventuresome.

I've seen choc in stores, not ginger or mint, when you get it down pat, can you post your method?

[mightyjesse]

The rose is easy. I mix flavors as I go, so as not to adulterate my main culture... I decide what I feel like and try things out on the spot.

For the rose, I add 1/2 tsp rose water and 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1T sugar to a cup of yogurt.

Yum.

Ginger and mint aren't *quite there yet.

[makkonen]

Never had rose yogurt, but I'm not surprised it's wonderful. Rosewater ice cream is one of life's singular pleasures. I had it years ago at a place called Mashti Malone's in Hollywood, and now I make my own, because I could not get the flavor out of my head.

Rosewater-Saffron and Rosewater-Ginger are also fabulous, and would probably translate to yogurt as well. Though you'd have to let the saffron hydrate and develop for at least a few hours in the fridge. And use a light touch -- it's easy to overdo it, and that is not tasty, nor pretty.

As for yogurt, I usually just eat it plain, with some grape nuts cereal and some dried fruit (prunes, blueberries, apricots, cranberries) mixed in. Or I make tzatziki.

[DeejayDebi]

Mango and pomegranite are my favorites but I don't think they are unusual.

[chilipepper]

Wow those all sound good.  I usually just throw a spoonful or two of whatever jam or jelly happens to be open in the fridge at the time.   My personal favorite is chokecherry.

Mako, any chance I could twist your rosewater ice cream recipe out of you?

Ryan

[makkonen]

With pleasure. Though I'm a little seat-of-my-pants when it comes to ice cream recipes -- the ice cream base I keep the same, and the additions go by what I've got on hand. And the base I make is really eggy, so that flavor sort of creeps in to everything. Hold back a few if that's not your style.

And, on the subject of this thread, last night I melted about half a cup of frozen berries (marionberry, raspberry, blueberry mix), squirted on some blood orange syrup (zest of 4 blood oranges, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, boiled and cooled -- stick it in the fridge in a squirt bottle, you'll find uses for it), and dumped some homemade strained yogurt on top -- it was the first truly satisfying thing I'd eaten all day. Highly recommended.

OK, here goes:

Rosewater Ice Cream

2 Cups Milk (skim to whole, doesn't really make much difference to the final fat content)
2 Cups Heavy Cream
9oz Sugar
8 Egg Yolks
1/4 Cup Rosewater
1/2 Cup Pistachios, roughly chopped

Bring the milk and cream to a simmer over low heat. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until lightened in color, and then slowly add the sugar and continue beating until thick and light yellow.

Pour a small amount of the hot cream into the yolks while stirring constantly (temper the yolks). Continue slowly adding and stirring until half the cream has been added. Pour the yolks back into the cream pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for ~7 minutes or until a thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Pour through a strainer into a container with a lid. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Stir in rosewater and pistachios and turn in an ice cream maker.

If you want to try rosewater-saffron, add probably 10-15 saffron threads* to the cream as it scalds, and hold it for 5-10 minutes at heat before tempering the eggs.

* It's been a while, so I'm guessing on that amount -- I definitely used more, and it was definitely too much. I purchased a little package for 3 or 4 dollars at an Italian market, and used all of it. I decided that half as much would have been right. Unfortunately, I can't remember half as much as WHAT. Maybe 1/2 gram? I'm not sure.

** If this entry changes in a few days, it's because writing it up made me want to make more rosewater ice cream, and making more might make me realize some improvements/mistakes.

[chilipepper]

Thanks Mako!  I'll give it a try and let you know how it goes!

Ryan

[Megan]

That icecream sounds refreshing! Thanks! 
I usually just toss what i'm growing, cherries, peaches, berries, etc.  Boring I know.
Megan

[sibilantstorm]

I make an interesting Red Bean Paste yogurt. I started making it because I -love- Red Bean Paste Ice Cream (which, to me, tastes like a not-too-sweet strawberry ice cream), but I can't touch the stuff when it's made commercially or it makes me sick as a dog (problems with commercial milk -- interestingly, I can drink fresh, raw cow or goat milk without a single problem!). Anyway, I came up with this luscious alternative, which also happens to freeze up into a beautiful frozen yogurt (I use a high-cream Greek Yogurt base if I'm going to be freezing it). The last time I made it, I put chocolate goji berries in it -- it was YUMMY!