Sugar Free Dates Yogurt

Sugar Free Dates Yogurt is an easy, Yogurt maker free, thermometer free homemade creamy yogurt, flavored just with sweet, natural dates.

If you are a lover of fruit flavored yogurt, but abhor all the sugars in them, this is the one for you!

Yogurt is one dairy product I have been making every day to have with our lunch.

Normally, it is a bowl of plain yogurt made with 2% milk or toned milk.

Yogurt made from this makes for a slightly runny and soft yogurt which we love; none of the gelatin or added thickeners in them!

But if you love thick yogurts, then feel free to make using full cream milk.

Whenever we go abroad, I am boggled by the variety of fruit-flavored yogurts available over there.

You can find strawberry, cherry, blueberry, raspberries, vanilla, and sometimes banana flavored too!

In earlier days, yogurt was a creamy, fruity and delicious carton of goodness with chunks of fruit at the bottom or just mixed in. Then came Greek yogurt; a much thicker, sturdier yogurt which you can literally cut into pieces!

My husband and I never became fond of that, although our millennial son loves it! He would get his Greek yogurt cartons and we, our soft and creamy fruit yogurts which are little bit flowing and more runny like a Yoplait or Dannon brand.

The downside of any such yogurt is the amount of sugar in them! If you read the list of ingredients and the percentage of sugar and other chemicals, it is mind boggling! It is best to limit consumption of these as much as possible, maybe once or twice a week.

I had a big packet of dates lying in my pantry and was tempted to try a fruit flavored yogurt but without all that added refined sugar. Being a blogger has rewired my brain to think of new ways to come up with new dishes.

This was one of those times. I decided to sweeten my yogurt with just date puree and then set it. It was an experiment I was willing to try.

So, I chucked the dates in the blender with some milk to form a smooth date paste. I had to sieve it to remove the hard skin dates sometimes have. In went the date paste into the hot milk.

The rest of the procedure was the same as making normal yogurt. The only added extra addition was some milk powder; just a tad. This helps in acquiring a thicker yogurt which sets like firm custard.

I just heated the milk, added some milk powder, stirred in date paste and mixed in the culture (a couple of spoons of plain yogurt which I normally have in the refrigerator) at the right temperature (which is critical) and allowed it to set for about 6 hours.

That is it! Naturally sweetened date flavored yogurt, full of the nutrients you get from dates as well as healthy yogurt, with no additives, gelatin, chemicals or refined sugars was ready! One scoop and the creamy, smooth, satiny yogurt with the mild sweetness and subtle aroma of dates seemed like a winner to me!

No need to rush out and get a yogurt maker or thermometer to gauge the right temperature!

All you need is your stove top, a dash of yogurt (culture needed to make any yogurt), milk, milk powder (optional, but adds a bit of thickness to the yogurt) and some dates.

Homemade sweet yogurt flavored with "the food of paradise", dates, can now be made in the comforts of your own home easily.

UPDATED MAY 2024

Summers of 2024 have been harsh and punishing and chilled yogurt being one of the best to enjoy during summers especially lassis, desserts etc., I could not but think that I should make my infamous Naturally Sweetened Date Yogurt again!

So, here we go! Done and dusted.

Just sprinkled some chopped walnuts and we ended up with a scrumptious, cooling, guilt free after lunch dessert!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!

If you are a yogurt lover, you will love these too:

• Creamy Yogurt Parfait with crunchy cereal
• Pineapple Banana Lassi
• Strawberry Yogurt Lassi

Let’s get to the recipe now shall we?

How to make Homemade Date Flavored Yogurt:

• Blend dates with just enough milk to make a fine paste.

• Run the date paste through a sieve with small holes to remove all the skin. Keep the smooth date paste aside.

• Heat the rest of the milk in a saucepan; stir in powdered milk and mix well.

• Reduce heat and stir in the date paste; whisk until well incorporated and smooth. Heat the whole mixture until it is very hot but not boiling.

• Remove from heat and let cool until it is still lukewarm (you should be able to hold a clean finger in it for at least 10 seconds without feeling uncomfortable). Do not let it cool too much. It should be hot, but cool enough for the finger test.
• Once it reaches that temperature, gently stir in the starter culture; plain yogurt and whisk until smooth.
• Gently decant the date flavored mixture into containers in which you want the yogurt to set.
• There are various ways you can incubate the mixture to form yogurt. I normally place the bowls in an insulated container which has a lid and leave it aside for 6 to 8 hours or until the yogurt has set completely; it all depends upon the culture used, the temperature of the yogurt, and whether you want it sweet or sour.

• If you have an oven, you can turn the oven on and heat it until it reaches 120 degrees F; turn it off, place the yogurt container in the oven, close the door but leave the oven light on.
• Incubate for 4 to 6 hours or more if you want a tarter yogurt. Check in between to see if it has set.
• Once set, refrigerate until serving time.

• Enjoy sugar free date yogurt topped with more dates!

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