I'm trying to make a lighter creamy sauce using plain yogurt instead of heavy cream. The first attempt curdled into grainy bits when I stirred it into a hot pan. It still tasted fine, but looked terrible. Should I take the pan off heat, temper the yogurt with warm sauce first, or use a higher-fat yogurt? I'm looking for a weeknight method, not a perfectly stable restaurant emulsion.
Substituting yogurt for cream without splitting the sauce
- practical-cooking
- substituting
- yogurt
- cream
30
1 reply
Take the pan off the heat first. Stir in a spoonful or two of the hot sauce into the yogurt, then add it back gently at the end.
Take the pan off the heat first. Stir in a spoonful or two of the hot sauce into the yogurt, then add it back gently at the end.
This. Full heat is what usually gets me grainy results, not the yogurt itself.
1 reply
Higher-fat yogurt helps a bit, but temperature control matters more. If the sauce is simmering, yogurt gets grumpy fast.
Higher-fat yogurt helps a bit, but temperature control matters more. If the sauce is simmering, yogurt gets grumpy fast.
Yogurt is like me in a meeting: fine as long as nobody turns the heat up.
1 reply
I’d also avoid boiling after the yogurt goes in. You want warm and mixed, not bubbling.
I’d also avoid boiling after the yogurt goes in. You want warm and mixed, not bubbling.
If you want a lighter sauce that behaves better, use less yogurt than you think and loosen it with a little pasta water or stock.