There’s more to yogurt than meets the mouth, and you sell yourself short when you limit your yogurt consumption to the commercially manufactured dessert-like versions that fill the shelves in supermarkets and cafeterias.

The first step to restoring yogurt to its healthful place in smart eating is to buy it plain. Plain, by the way, is what I would call yogurt if I wanted consumers to be more interested in sweeter options, especially if I could increase profits by doing so. But that, of course, is not what you want, and that’s why the first step to enjoying yogurt is to buy pure, unadulterated yogurt. If you aren’t ready for whole-milk yogurt, do check the label to make sure it has live, active cultures. You can try your hand at making your own yogurt if you’d like, but you’ll still need some plain yogurt to get started. 

I have watched people make all kinds of miraculous dishes with yogurt, and I’ve included as many here as I could remember. Some are sweetened, but most are not. Some are for meat eaters, but most are not. Some are more complex, but most are not. Cooking with real food requires more planning, but it does not usually require more time. Except for a few, these recipes can mostly be made in just a little more time than it takes to open a container of yogurt. They can also be made with non-dairy yogurts. As always, bon appetit!

1. Mix yogurt with curry powder and brush on grilled corn.
2. Sprinkle yogurt with fresh raspberries.
3. Add finely diced cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions to yogurt.
4. Slice 1/2 banana, add walnut pieces, and sprinkle cinnamon on yogurt. 
5. Mix 1-2 Tbsp. yogurt with 1/2 cup steel cut oats and 1 cup water. Allow to sit at room temperature overnight, and then heat and eat for breakfast. 
6. Marinate chicken in yogurt, paprika and garlic for several hours prior to baking.
7. Add 1-2 tsp. fresh dill, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice to a cup of yogurt, and spread on a serving plate. Lay roasted zucchini slices on top of the sauce. 
8. Marinate lamb chops in yogurt, lemon, mint and cardamom for several hours prior to cooking.
9. Halve several apples or pears, and grill. When they’re done, drizzle with a mixture of yogurt, honey and a pinch of cardamom.
10. Peel and slice a mango, and stir into yogurt.  
11. Make your own yogurt: Pour 1 quart of whole milk (heated and cooled) into a casserole dish, add 3 Tbsp. pure, room temperature, whole-milk yogurt (this is your starter), stir well, cover, and allow the dish to sit overnight in a warm 100 F oven with the heat off. Yogurt can be made in a thermos, on a heating pad, in the sun, or in a crockpot. One trick for conserving your container of starter yogurt is to empty the contents into an ice cube tray, freeze the cubes individually, collect them in a container, and store all your yogurt starters in the freezer for later use.
12. Finally, you can make cheese from yogurt. My father taught this recipe to me, and it is fabulously smooth, tangy, and satisfying. You will need a large container (1 quart) of pure yogurt, and either a dishcloth or cheesecloth (3-4 layers thick). Empty the carton of yogurt onto the cloth, approx. 15 inches square. Draw up the 4 corners of the cloth and tie them together with string or a rubber band. Tie the knot to the handle of a large wooden spoon, and hang the spoon and its attached bundle over a large saucepan (the bundle hangs free). Leave it for 8-12 hours, until the liquid stops dripping. You can discard the liquid, feed it to your dog, or drink it if you’re inclined. When you unwrap the cloth you will find a fresh yogurt cheese imprinted with the shape of the cloth fibers. You can roll the ball in fresh thyme or basil, stir in garlic, or sweeten it with honey or jam. You could sprinkle a generous spoonful with a little bit of oregano and olive oil, and then add it to a plate of fresh tomatoes. You could spread your cheese on a slice of sourdough bread, or you could make small, 1/2-inch balls and add them to a salad. The last time I made yogurt cheese, none was left by the end of the day.