Make it Fro

A CUP OF FROzEN YOGURT and a cup of soft-serve ice cream may appear similar from a distance, but a closer look – OK, a microscopic look – reveals the difference: yogurt’s “live and active cultures.”

The process of making frozen yogurt is so detailed that Jeanie Patrick and John Falor, the cousins behind Cuzzin’s Yogurt on West Lane Avenue, attended yogurt school just to learn how to make, handle and store frozen yogurt.

“They showed us everything about yogurt,” Patrick says. “The probiotic cultures present some challenges; yogurt absolutely can’t be used after the expiration date, so you don’t want to have a bunch of it stored in freezers. The dairy taught us how to run a yogurt store, from taking care of yogurt, to cleaning machines, to handling employees; from A to Z, they laid it all out.”

Probiotics, which can help support the immune system and digestive func- tions, make frozen yogurt a somewhat more nutritious alternative than most commercially available ice creams. Many of the popular frozen yogurt establishments offer low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurts. But just like ice cream, frozen yogurt still has sugar, so consumers should be conscious of portion size –especially at the self-serve establishments popping up all over central Ohio.

Cuzzin’s Yogurt is similar to other local yogurt shops in that it’s a self-serve operation. The store has just one size cup, which patrons can fill with a little or a lot of yogurt in any flavor – and still have room for several of the multifarious toppings offered.

“Little kids cry if their toppings fall off, so we have big cups and price by weight,” says Patrick.

Patrick and Falor came up with the idea for a frozen yogurt store after hearing about Pinkberry, a frozen yogurt shop that began a craze in southern California in 2005.

“(Falor) said that we should do it, but we were too busy at the time,” says Patrick. “But then a year later, I was in Chicago with my daughter and we found a yogurt store that was really good. So I called my cousin back, and I said, ‘We have to do this. It’s too good to pass up.’”

Now an area favorite, Cuzzin’s Yogurt will celebrate its two-year anniversary on Memorial Day weekend. Cuzzin’s offers a variety of rotating flavors – classics such as chocolate and vanilla to popular hits such as peanut butter and cake batter. Even though customers are allowed to sample as many yogurts as they choose, Patrick has some suggestions.

“My favorite tart yogurt is original tart with a lot of fruit, but my favorite sweet yogurt is Pecan Praline and Red Velvet cake,” she says. “It’s hard not to like them all.”

Lisa Aurand is editor of Tri-Village Magazine. Feedback welcome at laurand@pubgroupltd.com.Information was compiled by Cara Laviola.

• Swirl chocolate and peanut butter yogurts.

• Top with crushed Heath bars and crushed chocolate-covered pretzels. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Top with a miniature buckeye candy to garnish.