The Telltale Signs Your Yogurt Has Gone Bad

Yogurt is a staple ingredient that can be eaten on its own or mixed with crunchy granola. You could even add yogurt to cakes for outrageously moist results. While it's nice to have on hand in the fridge, it's also important to know when your yogurt's gone past its prime. The last thing you want is to fix a bowl of yogurt in the morning, only to take a bite and realize it's gone bad! Thankfully, there are many tell-tale signs that make it easy to determine when yogurt has spoiled.

In terms of appearance, any visible mold is a sure sign your yogurt needs to be tossed. However, another sign is an excess of moisture buildup on top of the yogurt that doesn't combine when stirred. Although some moisture is normal, if there's a large amount and it doesn't blend back into the yogurt, that's not a good sign. Similarly, when yogurt starts to spoil, the texture can change and become chunky. At that point, you'll probably also notice a funky, sour smell. Now, if you're unfortunate enough to take a bite of spoiled yogurt, the taste will be very tart, acidic, and off-putting.

If you notice any of these signs, regardless of the expiration date, you're better off being safe than sorry and tossing your yogurt out. Never take a chance and consume questionable yogurt if you can help it because it could lead to food poisoning, which is never fun and potentially dangerous. All that being said, there are ways to prevent yogurt from spoiling if you want to keep it for longer than a week or two.

There are many things that can make yogurt spoil faster than usual, including leaving it unrefrigerated for too long and using unclean utensils. When yogurt gets too warm for too long, bacteria can grow more quickly, while using dirty utensils can introduce extra bacteria. Make sure your fridge is set at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and that any spoons you use are completely clean. Optimally, you should keep your yogurt in the back of your fridge where it's coldest and away from the door to avoid temperature fluctuations. 

If you've bought more yogurt than you can eat in a week or want to keep it for longer, yogurt can be frozen. Yogurt can keep in the fridge for between one and two weeks, while in the freezer, it can last one to two months. However, freezing yogurt can change its consistency, making it thin or grainy, which can be off-putting if you're eating it on its own. Fortunately, the change is largely unnoticeable if the yogurt is used in a recipe or mixed into something like a smoothie. Just make sure to store the yogurt in an airtight container and date it.

Alternatively, there is no shortage of ways to use up yogurt before it goes bad in the first place. Yogurt can be turned into pizza dough, used to make a dressing or dip, blended into smoothies, or transformed into creamy frozen yogurt with only three ingredients! Don't be afraid to think outside the box; just be diligent when your yogurt starts getting past its prime.