A Spreadable Cream Cheese Substitute and What to Do with it

Attention, cream cheese and sour cream lovers! If you need to cut fat and calories, try this delicious way to make a nutritious, low fat, low calorie cheese spread. You can use this as soft cheese base for any kind of dip or spread. Some people call this "Yo-cheese".

To make your yogurt cheese, you will need:

• A strainer
• A bowl that will support the strainer with space for liquid to drain underneath
• Natural yogurt (no gelatin or thickeners added)
• Plastic wrap

Line a strainer with two layers of cheesecloth. You can also use a cotton flour-sack dish towel. I've heard of using a paper coffee filter, but I've never tried it.

Place a cup of yogurt in the lined strainer, place the strainer over a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 2-3 hours. I just let it sit overnight.

The liquid in the yogurt will separate and drip through into the bowl. What is left in the strainer should have a "softened cream cheese" consistency. You must use natural yogurt for this. If there are any thickening agents or gelatin on the ingredients list, the liquid will not separate and the yogurt will just sit there in a blob in the strainer. If you make your own yogurt, it will make the best yogurt cheese ever.

To use your yogurt cheese, place it in a bowl and add whatever tasty herbs or flavorings you like. I like a simple spread made by mixing in dried chives. You can easily rub dried chives into a nice powder that mixes into the yogurt cheese and gives it lovely green speckles, or snip/chop fresh chives and stir them in. Whichever you use, cover the bowl and allow the flavors to blend in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving. This is great on crackers, or try spreading it on a sandwich instead of mayo.

If you like to make "wraps", yogurt cheese is a tasty substitute for sour cream. Try making your own original cheese blends to use in your wraps, customizing them depending on what happens to be leftover in the refrigerator. If you have leftovers to make Mexican-themed wraps, make your yogurt cheese with some cilantro, chopped peppers of any kind (HOT are very good), and some finely chopped onions. Leftover thick spaghetti sauce (with some solid ingredients like meat, mushrooms, zucchini, etc) or sloppy-joe sauce is good in a wrap with a blend of yogurt cheese and oregano, parsley, thyme, marjoram. Add a little Parmesan or Mozzarella.

Try enclosing a small sprig of fresh rosemary in a container of yogurt cheese for an hour or more. The longer you leave it, the stronger the rosemary flavor will be. Remove the rosemary, and use the cheese as-is or add chives, parsley, or temper the taste with other favorite herbs.

To make a vegetable spread/dip, use carrot, celery, onion, peppers (hot or sweet), zucchini or cucumber, tomato (seeds removed), or whatever other fresh vegetables you like. Grate or pulse these in a food processor. Use the strainer to let the juices drain, or wrap them in a clean white dishtowel and squeeze out the juice. Combine the vegetables with yogurt cheese, using amounts that give you the consistency you want.