As a kid on hot summer days in Southern California, I always looked forward to enjoying a cool treat after a long day at school. Sometimes I had an ice-cold soda or a smoothie, but the treat I loved most was frozen yogurt.
When frozen yogurt first became popular, it was a soft-serve substitute for ice cream. It was sweet and creamy, but it came in very few identifiable flavors and its main selling point was that it was a lower-fat, more healthful alternative to traditional ice cream. It was hugely popular when it became available in the early 1980s, but growth in the frozen yogurt market slowed after a few years because the yogurt itself was bland and more compelling as a vehicle for toppings like shredded coconut, yogurt chips, and rainbow sprinkles than as a unique treat.
Plain yogurt has a tart, tangy flavor that comes from the natural cultures that are used to turn ordinary milk into what we know as yogurt. Yogurt wasn’t very popular when frozen yogurt was first introduced, except among the very health conscious, but as better-tasting, thicker yogurts grew in popularity, frozen yogurt also started to change — and to taste like yogurt. That signature yogurt tang became a hallmark of high-quality frozen yogurts made with premium ingredients. This new style of frozen yogurt launched a yogurt revolution, and it is now more popular than ever before.
The recipes that follow show you how to make frozen desserts at home with the tangy, fresh flavor of premium frozen yogurts.