Expired yogurt? Don't throw it away: you can still use it in many different ways - even in the kitchen

Yogurt, a food whose origins date back millennia, is now enjoyed throughout the world. As a result, you probably have a few pots of it at home - and maybe you're even a yogurt addict! But occasionally, we may end up with expired yogurt in the fridge.

Even if the expiry date only indicates a "best-by" date, it is probably best not to consume expired yoghurt much past this date. So, what should we do with expired yogurt? Depending on the context, we can use expired yoghurt in various ways.

Below, we list some ideas for using expired natural plain yogurt.

Reuse yogurt for cooking

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If the yogurt has expired only a few days ago, it is still basically good: perhaps the consistency will be different, the taste more acidic, but if you don't see anything out of the ordinary (like mold or strange coloring), then you can still use the yoghurt:

• To make more yogurt: take half a liter of whole milk, boil it and then wait for it to cool down to around 50°C. Then pour in 50 ml of plain yogurt (natural, without sugars or additives), mix and pour the mixture into a glass jar. Leave the jar overnight and you'll see that it will have thickened. You will have increased the amount of your yogurt on hand tenfold!
• For cooking cakes and other leavened foods, including focaccias, piadinas and similar: you can soften the doughs of foodstuffs like this, be they sweet or savory! An internet search will provide you with a thousand uses.
• Strain it overnight to make a cream cheese: do you buy spreadable cheese at the supermarket? For this, all you need to do is get some yogurt, add just a pinch of table salt, mix well and strain through gauze. What remains is (more or less) a spreadable cheese. The more consistent it is (after straining) the more easily you will be able to create cheese balls to garnish with spices of your choice (thyme, ground chilli, cracked pepper, and more) and serve as accompaniments to an aperitif.

Other uses for expired yogurt

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Expired yogurt, as long as it is natural and without additives or sugars, can be great for skin care. Specifically, its hydrating and exfoliating properties can be exploited positively. Many also use it to lighten scars, acne pock marks and similar blemishes, thanks to the enzymes in yoghurt.

Just spread a little on your face (after first cleansing) and leave on to act for a 15 - 30 minutes. Then, rinse off with cold water and dry your face. Nothing could be simpler!

Additionally, you can exploit the properties of yogurt for your plants: adding it to the compost heap is the safest and most effective way, but it is also possible to make a fertilizer from yoghurt. The procedure is very simple: you just need to dilute the yogurt with an equal quantities of water (for example, 200 ml of yogurt with  200 ml of water), mix well and then use it all by pouring it directly onto the soil at base of the plant (and not on the leaves). Wait a little while to water the plant again so as not to dilute the mixture too much.

Have you ever reused expired yogurt?