Like in Greece...

Christine the supermarkets here have whole walls dedicated to yoghurt in every form and style. It's one of the most popular dairy products sold here and it comes in whole milk, skim milk, Greek, fruit flavoured, with fruit chunks, totally plain or as a drink.

As I'm not familiar with American yoghurt I would use a plain whole-milk variety. A plain yoghurt here is similar to a baked custard, and the fruity yoghurts have a creamier consistency so I don't know if that would be considered strained or not.
The combination of ingredients that you mention though makes me wonder if it would be more like a quark than a yoghurt, which is roughly similar to a creme fraiche. If you can tell me more about the recipe or the name of the restaurant I could look up the Spanish version and let you know what I find.

SharonCb

Sharon, it's called "Delicias de Limón La Venta, Lemon Yogurt Pudding" in the June 1987 Gourmet. La Venta is, or was, a restaurant in Barcelona. You whisk together a cup of yogurt, half a cup of lemon juice, half a cup of sweetened condensed milk,and two teaspoons of grated lemon rind, and chill for four hours or overnight. Divide into six serving bowls, garnish with thin slices of lemon, sugar wafer cookies, and cinnamon.
Have you ever had anything like that? It sounds good.

Christine, that sounds yummy to me! I plan to try this soon! Thanks!

Teresa

Christine they have a lovely website in which they say they serve Mediterranean cuisine, "de mercado".....or Catalan market food. It looks like a beautiful place to dine! They have some lovely food photos on their site so have a look at what they serve. However I can't find a recipe option on their page so I would say just use a plain non-flavoured yoghurt for your recipe. If you can find a lemon-flavoured yoghurt, I'd also try using that. It all sounds delicious!

Let us know how it turns out.....I may try that one myself.

(Open site by clicking on "Welcome"....then click the other options as well as the small photos to open them.)

SharonCb

Here is a link that might be useful: Restaurante La Venta website

Looks like a very nice place. Thank you for finding the site, and for the yogurt advice, Sharon. I'll use plain Dannon ("all-natural") whole-milk yogurt.

I think I'll try it frozen too, in popsicles.
It might make a good lower-fat substitute in the frozen lemon-cream sandwiches we all love.

Christine that's the same brand as I buy here, from the French company Danone and {{gwi:1521623}}
(Click for picture.)

I noticed quite a few recipes on Spanish cooking sites for Delicias de Limon. Some of them used plain yoghurt while others used the lemon-flavoured variety. I definitely will have to try this dessert. I know the combo of lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk is heavenly and as it's very sweet the yoghurt would make it lighter.

SharonCb

Spoon the mixture into a graham cracker crust for a light and delicious chilled warm weather dessert?

I think that if you use a traditional custard like whole milk yogurt, your dessert will be very very soupy. For it to set up at all you will need to use a strained yogurt or a yogurt cheese.
Linda C

Linda, I figured unless Sharon said that in Spanish recipes yogurt usually means the strained, Greek-type, I'd try it with regular first. So I will. I can always freeze it.

Teresa, that sounds great! That could be a frozen dessert too, for very hot days.

It will be about the consistency of un whipped cream...if you use one of those yogurts with thickeners like guar gum it may be a little thicker...but it won't be like pudding, it won't mound in a spoon and for sure it won't do for a pie unless you freeze it.
I'm sure it will taste fine but will be more of a lemon soup than a thick pudding.
Linda C

Christine I have never seen or heard of strained yoghurt, so it isn't something that is sold or advertised here. Greek yoghurt is available in some supermarkets but the Spanish recipe websites I checked for the various recipes for your lemon dessert called for normal yoghurt as in the photo I posted above. The only other option for a thicker fresh cheese

SharonCb

I don't think it would be as thin as unwhipped cream; yogurt's thicker and condensed milk is very think, so the half-cup of lemon juice won't make then really runny.
I'm actually wondering if there may be some action of the acid on the protein that will make it set.

Christine I also had another thought.....you say the recipe is from 1987...? At that time there was little commercially made yoghurt available in Spain, and certainly not Greek yoghurt which has only been in the shops for the past year or two. The yoghurt at that time was plain and came in little glass jars.

I know when I've made that

Also .....what does the recipe do with these ingredients? Are they just blended and refrigerated or are they cooked?
Could you give us the recipe?

SharonCb

Sorry..... I just realized you have already told us it was whisked and chilled overnight ! :-)

SharonCb

There used to be a terrific ice cream and gelato shop at a local theatre in Greensboro that served a Lemon Cream Pie ice cream that was my all-time favorite flavor. It was tart and sweet at the same time with streaks of whipped cream and streaks of graham cracker crumbs running through it. My friend and I would limit ourselves to this indulgence only every few months or so due to its richness and calorie count. Also, I thought that it would lose its 'specialness' if I ate it more often.

I plan to make this recipe this weekend to see if it captures that special flavor.

AS a kid in Jew Jersey in the 50's, the yogurt we got was similar to what is now called Greek yogurt. It didn't get whey pooling when you dipped into it...don't know how don't know why...
When I was buying my own yogurt and realized the cost and decided to make it...I was surprised to see that whey pooling when you dipped into the yogurt.
Now unless you buy one of those individual cups with agar and guar gum added, it all does that, unless you buy Greek yogurt.
I suggest Cloudy just make it and tell us what it's like....and be prepared to freeze it if it's runny.

AS a kid in New Jersey in the 50's, the yogurt we got was similar to what is now called Greek yogurt. It didn't get whey pooling when you dipped into it...don't know how don't know why...
When I was buying my own yogurt and realized the cost and decided to make it...I was surprised to see that whey pooling when you dipped into the yogurt.
Now unless you buy one of those individual cups with agar and guar gum added, it all does that, unless you buy Greek yogurt.
I suggest Cloudy just make it and tell us what it's like....and be prepared to freeze it if it's runny.

CC - be sure to give us a review on the result. It sounds like something I'd love.

I bet it's rich -- might be cute to serve it in espresso cups.

OHHHHH, YUMMMMM!

This stuff is good!! Not too rich at all, good lemony flavor and soft pudding-like consistency. I just had a spoonful after it had been chilling for about 3 hours. I might freeze a small serving of it later just to see how it does frozen.

I think it might look nice layered with buttery graham cracker crumbs in a small glass dessert dish, topped with a few more crumbs and a dollop of whipped cream. I may try that tonight as I have everything on hand. It may be too soft to put in a crust and served in portions.

Thanks, CC, for this dessert idea and recipe!

Teresa

Teresa you've convinced me! For a simple summer dessert from the fridge it sounds perfect......easy to make and dress up as you've suggested.

I'll be doing this one soon as well.

Thanks Christine!

SharonCb

You're welcome!
Teresa, I'm glad you tried it and liked it. I didn't make it yesterday because we were supposed to go to wedding today, but I'm feeling poorly and DH will have to go without me. So I think I'll make the Delicias de Limón today to enjoy tomorrow. Optimistically.

Well, I put on my favorite Spanish CD, The Harp Consort's Spanish Dances by Lucas Ruiz de Ribayaz, and whipped it up, feeling very authentic because I was able to consult Sharon in Spain. The joys of our forum!
I got five sherbet dishes. Tasting it unchilled, I think I could have used a little less lemon juice. There will always be some slight variation in the tartness of the lemon and the yogurt. If I'd tasted it before filling the dishes, I might have added a tiny bit more condensed milk, but the tartness will be refreshing.

CC, I used the juice of one large lemon and it was not quite one-half cup. I thought the taste was just right. I like the way the yogurt cut the richness and sweetness of the Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk.

I have to be careful I don't go back to the fridge and eat the rest of it tonight....ahem.

OK, I'm convinced. *adds lemons to grocery list*

What type of yogurt did ya'll end up using?

Renee, I used Dannon whole milk yogurt. It comes in quart containers and it's just about the only one that doesn't have thickeners added. All the low-fat yogurt does, it seems. When I pick up a low-fat quart by mistake, I find it inedible. The thickener does something disgusting in the blender making smoothies.

Teresa, what are you going to do with the rest of the can of condensed milk? I'm thinking of standing it in some water in the oven and making Dulce de Leche for the first time. Will that work,or should I put it in a dish?

Hey Renee! I used Dannon Non-fat yogurt, but my preference at another store is Stonyfield whole milk yogurt.

CC, I plan to get more lemons and make a second batch! I've convinced myself that this is a pretty "healthy" dessert - LOL!

While under the spell of late night thinking, I remembered a dessert recipe I've had for many years that I think would work with this lemony goodie:

Fruit with Lemon Custard

1 cup diced banana
1 cup seedless green or red grapes, halved
1 cup diced peeled orange

3 egg yolks
3 TB sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 t. lemon rind, grated
1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

Combine fruit in a bowl, cover, chill.

Blend yolks and sugar in saucepan. Stir in milk. Cook over low heat until thick, about 5 minutes. Stir well. Remove from heat, add rind and vanilla, chill well. To serve, drain juice from fruit. Stir in half of the nuts. Spoon fruit/nuts into dessert dishes. Pour custard over. Sprinkle with rest of nuts.

The next time I need a light dessert, I'm going to use the Spanish Lemon Yogurt Pudding recipe instead of the cooked custard and see how I like it. The Spanish recipe is way easier.

made the pudding today and the kids and I gobbled it up! My kids are lemon freaks--their birthday cakes have to be lemon pound cake.

I used non-fat yogurt and fat free condensed milk. I fudged a bit on the amounts as I had 2+ cups of yogurt, the whole can (14 oz) of milk, juice of 3 lemons and a bunch of lemon rind ( I grated until I got tired)

This one's a keeper!

We really liked this dessert. Thanks, Cloudy Christine, for providing the recipe. I have tried it with Dannon plain yogurt and with Greek style yogurt and couldn't tell the difference. I'm guessing the lemon reacting with the milk protein is what determines how thick it is.