Dry yogurt can be made by baking or freeze-drying, and is often used to make sweet snacks like yogurt-coated pretzels. It can also be a healthy snack if it retains active cultures. Commercial varieties are available, but homemade versions are easy to make.
Dry yogurt is a surprisingly versatile form of ordinary yogurt that is often used in fairly healthy yogurt snacks. Yogurt can be dried by baking, a process commonly used to create yogurt-coated versions of snack foods, such as pretzels. Alternatively, yogurt can be freeze-dried. This process produces a smooth, rich, sweet finished product that makes for a very tasty snack.
It’s simple to make oven-dried yogurt. The relatively low heat is enough to dry the yogurt quickly, leaving only the milk solids and flavoring elements. Recipes for yogurt-coated pretzels or similar treats are based on this process. These recipes typically combine flavored yogurt and powdered sugar.
This sweet coating is used to cover pretzels or other snacks. Salty foods are often preferred, because the salt in snacks contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the sugary coating of the yogurt. A short cooking time dries the coating and leaves sweet and savory treats covered in dry yogurt. This variety of foods, while tasty, tends to be high in calories and lack some of the health benefits of other types of dry yogurt.
Yogurt normally contains active microbial cultures that live in a milk base. Eating yogurt typically promotes good digestive health, as these microbes help keep the digestive system on an even keel. Some forms of dry yogurt retain many active cultures and may aid in digestive health.
Freeze-dried yogurt often allows active cultures to survive because the microbes are typically better able to handle cold conditions than they are with the heat of cooking. The freeze-drying process allows the moisture content of the yogurt to gradually sublimate in a cold, dry freezer. This type of dried yogurt can be made from any variety of yogurt and may or may not have added sweeteners.
The dry yogurt that results from this process has a fairly solid consistency and retains all the flavor of the yogurt. This type of yoghurt snack can be made at home just as easily as you can make yoghurt treats in the oven. Adventurous cooks can also easily make their own yogurt with a bacterial culture started.
Commercial varieties of both types of dried yogurt are available. Yogurt-covered pretzels and similar treats are typically considered candy due to their high sugar content. Freeze-dried yogurt, however, is often healthier, and some brands are even marketed as healthy treats for infants, who can benefit from the active cultures that survive in these products.
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