Dairy & Eggs
Semi-Skimmed Yogurt in gelato
Semi-skimmed (low-fat) plain yogurt is milk fermented with live lactic cultures, containing about 1.7% fat and 15% total solids. In gelato it is the defining ingredient of frozen yogurt, adding milk solids, gentle body and a clean lactic tang while contributing little sugar or anti-freezing power.
Balancing parameters
Per 100 g of product, verified against independent food-science sources (listed below).
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Solids | 15% |
| Water | 85% |
| Sugars | 0% |
| Fat | 1.7% |
| MSNF | 13.3% |
| Protein | 4.9% |
| POD (sweetening power) | 0.7 |
| PAC (anti-freezing power) | 4.6 |
Typical use: 20-45% of the mix (frozen yogurt), or 10-20% as a tangy accent in cream gelato
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Open the balancerHow to use it in gelato
Semi-skimmed yogurt is the base of frozen yogurt and a tangy modifier in cream gelato. Because fermentation converts much of the milk lactose into lactic acid and galactose, its residual sugar is low, so it adds only modest POD (~0.7) and PAC (~4.6) per 100 g and behaves mainly as a source of milk solids-not-fat (MSNG ~13%) that binds water and firms texture. Its acidity brightens fruit flavours but can curdle if boiled, so add it cold after pasteurising the rest of the base. Because it carries little sugar of its own, balance the mix with added sucrose/dextrose to reach target POD and PAC and to prevent an icy, over-firm result at serving temperature.
Origin & background
Yogurt is one of the oldest fermented dairy foods, traditionally made across the Balkans, Anatolia and Central Asia; the English word derives from the Turkish 'yogurt'. Its defining cultures were characterised scientifically in 1905 when Bulgarian physician Stamen Grigorov, working at the University of Geneva, identified the bacterium later named Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. The Codex Alimentarius standard for yogurt requires fermentation by this species together with Streptococcus thermophilus.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Yogurt%2C_low_fat%2C_plain_nutritional_value.html (USDA FoodData Central / SR Legacy 01117 'Yogurt, plain, low fat')
- https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Yogurt,_skim_milk,_plain_nutritional_value.html (USDA FoodData Central / SR Legacy 01118 'Yogurt, plain, skim milk')
- https://ndc.ie/the-nutritional-composition-of-dairy/ (McCance & Widdowson's The Composition of Foods, 7th summary ed., Finglas et al. 2015 - plain whole & low-fat yogurt rows)
- https://milk.co.uk/hcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/Nutritional-Composition-of-Dairy-2017.pdf (Dairy UK, 'The Nutritional Composition of Dairy Products', citing McCance & Widdowson)