FROZEN YOGURT: HEALTHY, SMOOTH, FRESH, AND YUMMMM.......

Frozen yogurt (also known as frozen yoghurt or by the tradenames Froyo and Frogurt) is a dessert similar to ice cream, but lower in fat. It is typically made with yogurt, but non-dairy versions also exist. Frozen yogurt may be sweet or sour and may or may not contain the live bacteria cultures present in regular yogurt. Like ice cream, frozen yogurt can be made in nearly any flavor imaginable. Frozen yogurt is often sold as soft serve, but may also be purchased in cartons like ice cream.

Frozen Yogurt was introduced as a healthier alternative to ice cream but consumers complained about the tart taste and yogurt-like consistency. Frozen yogurt was introduced in the 1970s. While frozen yogurt was originally fairly sour, with Dannon producing one of the first commercial frozen yogurt products in the 1970s, the dessert became sweeter through the years.

Manufacturers began production of a recipe that consumers would enjoy and frozen yogurt made a comeback in the 1980s, reaching sales of $25 million in 1986. In the early 1990s, frozen yogurt was 10% of the dessert market.

Frozen yogurt is made in the same way as ice cream, constantly churned at a very low temperature. In addition to yogurt, most recipes include gelatin, some sort of sweetener, and additional flavors and colors. Fat-free and sugar-free frozen yogurt recipes also exist.

Frozen yogurt shops like offering soft serve in a rotating variety of flavors with an offering of wet and dry toppings, led the trend of sweeter frozen yogurts. Frozen yogurt gained in popularity throughout the 1980s and 1990s as a lowfat alternative to ice cream.

In recent years, sour frozen yogurt has seen somewhat of a resurgence.

Frozen yogurt is easy to make at home with an ice cream maker, and you can make it sour or sweet to suit your taste and experiment with your favorite flavors. Keep in mind that yogurt is slower both to freeze and to melt than cream, so mixing time will be a bit longer than for ice cream. Some ice cream makers include a frozen yogurt recipe or two in their literature, and many recipes -- from the standard chocolate and vanilla to unusual creations like lemon-ginger and vanilla-lime, can be found online.