The skin of young zucchini is thin and need not be removed for most purposes, but the dark green skin of older zucchini can be bitter and should be removed. One garnishing treatment calls for just some of the skin to be discarded: using a potato peeler, shave the vegetable thinly lengthways to produce very thin slices. Throw away the first slice and the last, which consist mostly of green skin, and drop the remaining, green-edged slices into a pan of boiling water. Drain and refresh them under the cold tap as soon as the water returns to the boil.

Yes, yogurt can be used instead of fresh cream in many dessert recipes, such as cheesecakes, ice cream, mousses and cold souffles. The flavor of the finished dessert will be sharper when made with yogurt rather than cream, but it will be just as satisfying.

Yogurt is also an excellent substitute for sour cream in savory dips, marinades and salad dressings. And in the Middle East it is strained overnight through a sieve lined with muslin to produce a soft yogurt cheese, called labne. This is served plain, or flavored with herbs such as thyme.

There are many types of yogurt available, ranging from those with a very low fat content to creamy and thick Greek-style yogurts, which can contain up to 7.5 percent butterfat. But even the thickest yogurt contains less fat and kilojoules than fresh cream, so it makes for healthier dishes.

Full-fat yogurts generally freeze better than lower-fat ones, although they will separate when thawed. All yogurt should be defrosted slowly and given a good whisk before being used. Plain yogurt can be kept frozen for up to two months. Yogurt with added fruit, honey or flavoring freezes slightly better than the plain variety, and can be kept frozen for up to three months in the sealed carton it came in. Homemade flavored yogurt should be frozen in sturdy plastic containers with tightly fitting lids.

Even though complex carbohydrates are a vital component of our overall food intake, refined carbohydrates serve no nutritional purpose whatsoever. When food is mass-produced and processed, it is stripped of fiber and nutrients.

For example, when flour and sugar are turned from brown to white in order to make them look more appealing, they become nutritionally redundant. Processing flour and sugar removes magnesium, zinc and chromium, the three minerals the body needs to metabolize carbohydrates effectively. It also drastically reduces the presence of vitamins B1, B2, B3, calcium and iron.

Junk foods are mostly made up of refined flour and sugar, as well as processed fats, colorings, flavorings and preservatives, which are equally devoid of nutrients. Worryingly, these foods make up 75 per cent of many people's diets.

Yogurt can be made in a vacuum flask or an electric yogurt maker. The latter maintains a constant temperature providing ideal conditions for making yogurt, and the finished product tends to be more consistent in texture. A yogurt thermometer, to test the temperature of the milk as it is heated, is also useful.

But the recipe below shows, it is easy to make delicious, economical yogurt at home using only an ordinary vacuum flask.

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