DIY Yogurt chips?

[Zuzu]

Ok, full disclosure: I am making these for my hamster ?

I want to make my own fruity yogurt chips like you can buy as small animal treats. They are like regular yogurt chips but fruit flavored. However I cannot for the life of me find a recipe anywhere for them! There are so many recipes for things called “yogurt melts” or “yogurt drops” but they are all freeze dried, dehydrated, or baked, and therefore they have a VERY different texture.

I have a mold for them, and have settled on my “most likely to succeed” ingredients, and I had a process I thought would work, but have only met with failure and disappointment.

Here is my general thinking: the second ingredient (after sugar) is always fat, and it is always hydrolyzed to make it relatively solid at room temperature. I am using coconut oil just because it might be better for Floof (my hamster) than shortening. Other than that it is pretty much the same ingredients as store bought ones. Dry yogurt powder, whey protein isolate, soy lecithin, soy milk, tapioca starch, and powdered, freeze-dried strawberries and bananas.

I got past the difficulty of trying to dissolve the lecithin and have managed to get a thick “batter” that I can put into the molds, and it holds its form, but it doesn’t solidify. It is still goop. I tried refrigeration and it just made it cold goop.

I gave up on my last batch 10 minutes ago. I just threw in some gelatin to make weird yogurt jellies that don’t really hold their shape once they are room temperature.

But what do I do? The chemistry is off. Clearly. My proportions could be off or the whole process or something but what is driving me crazy is the total lack of information that I have ???

Help!!

 

[Mad Cook]

Given the cost of the ingredients, the time involved in the experiments and the aggravation of trying to get them right I would have thought that you (and you hamster) would be far better off if you bought the treats from the nearest pet shop and spent the time enjoying each other's company. After all you only have a limited time to spend with him or her as hamsters don't live long.

The manufacturers of the treats have spent time and money perfecting their recipe and making sure that the hamsters will thrive and be happy with their treats. Take advantage of that.

 

[Zuzu]

Given the cost of the ingredients, the time involved in the experiments and the aggravation of trying to get them right I would have thought that you (and you hamster) would be far better off if you bought the treats from the nearest pet shop and spent the time enjoying each other's company. After all you only have a limited time to spend with him or her as hamsters don't live long.

The manufacturers of the treats have spent time and money perfecting their recipe and making sure that the hamsters will thrive and be happy with their treats. Take advantage of that.

The store bought ones always have some form of sugar as the first ingredient. I don’t want him to have too much sugar, it isn’t good for him.

Thanks for your evaluation of my relationship with my hamster. Super helpful.

 

[Zuzu]

Just in case anyone else wants to chime in on the lifespan of my hamster, how I spend my free time, or the option of store bought yogurt chips...

1. I am not a casual pet owner. This is my field of study. Animal science is something I know a lot about, and that includes animal nutrition.
2. In point of fact, animal food companies do NOT spend a lot of time or money researching animal nutritional needs, nor do they design their foods to fit these needs, at least not when it comes to small animals. Small animal foods as a rule do NOT have the appropriate levels of protein, fiber, or fat, for the animal for which they are labeled. Mouse food frequently has levels of protein high enough to cause permanent liver damage in mice. Food specifically labeled for dwarf hamster, who are omnivores and require significantly higher levels of protein than Syrian or “Teddy Bear” hamsters, have a protein level more appropriate for a mouse, which cannot process the levels found in their own food. Syrian hamster food generally also has an inadequate amount of protein, but the dwarf hamster food is the worst offender. It is well documented that the levels of sugar, fat, fiber, and protein found in dwarf hamster food will inevitably lead to diabetes in a significant portion of animals who eat it. Dwarf hamsters are prone to diabetes. So much so that medical studies use them to test diabetes treatments.

If you would like, I can cite my sources.

Please don’t try to tell me what to feed my hamster, or how to spend time with him. You know nothing about him, or me.

All I asked for was help making yogurt chips. I didn’t know I needed to explain why.

 

[GotGarlic]

You don't have to explain why. The person who responded was out of line.

I'm not sure whether anyone here has the answer to your question. As far as I know, nothing like this has come up before. I hope you can figure it out.

 

[Mad Cook]

You don't have to explain why. The person who responded was out of line.

I'm not sure whether anyone here has the answer to your question. As far as I know, nothing like this has come up before. I hope you can figure it out.

No she wasn't. And at least she wasn't rude unlike another person.

Zuzu, you didn't make it clear in your first post that this was part of an academic study. You allowed the assumption that you were inviting comment on a conversational level. It would be interesting to hear more about your research.

 

[GotGarlic]

No she wasn't. And at least she wasn't rude unlike another person.

Zuzu, you didn't make it clear in your first post that this was part of an academic study. You allowed the assumption that you were inviting comment on a conversational level. It would be interesting to hear more about your research.

Apparently she was, since the OP took offense.