Greek Yogurt

[surgtech1956]

Can someone please explain the popularity of Greek Yogurt? I see there's several brands. How is it different than regular yogurt? I see its over a $1.00 for an individual container. I haven't tried it yet. I usually get Kroger's Carbmaster - 80 cal, 1.5 fat, 3 sugars, 12 protein and $.41.

[OakLeaf]

It's strained, is all. You can strain your own with a cheesecloth (and use the whey for baking or whatever).

[indysteel]

It's strained, is all. You can strain your own with a cheesecloth (and use the whey for baking or whatever).

I like it for a change of pace. I particularly like it with some honey before a long morning ride.

[Miranda]

really good with Kashi cereal in the yogurt... yum:)

[channlluv]

The Barefoot Contessa strains hers overnight in a strainer lined with paper towels. I buy organic vanilla and pair it with blueberries and granola, or whatever other fruit is in season. Tres yummy.

Roxy

[GLC1968]

The advantage to the Greek style (other than being thicker) is that it's higher in protien than regular (since it's more condensed) and I think it's more filling, too.

[tulip]

tastes better, too. I often clip coupons from my Sunday paper, making the price on par with "regular" yogurt.

[indysteel]

Tulip, is there a brand that you prefer? FAGE is the only brand I've tried.

[tulip]

Fage and Chobani. Even Dannon makes it now. You can get coupons online for just about anything, including Fage. I find Chobani coupons in the paper regularly, and my local grocery store often has it on special.

Surgetech, I don't know (or care) about the numbers as long as it's healthy (i.e., not loaded with sugar and artificial stuff). But if that's important to you, you could do a comparison to see if there is difference in the numbers of different yogurts.

[GLC1968]

I compared the sugar content in all the flavored ones available to me (Fage, Chobani & Dannon) and found that the Chobani Vanilla was the lowest at 13g (compared to 9g in the plain if I recall correctly). The Chobani vanilla is my favorite one, by far, too. The others are all either too sweet or too creamy and the plain is just too tart.

It's so deliciously awesome with fresh strawberries from our garden - like a desert! I bet it would be amazing with granola too (but I'm not eating granola right now).

[MommyBird]

I have a Donvier "Wave" Yogurt Cheese Maker.
Perfectly sized for a 32oz tub of yogurt.
It has a tub, sieve insert and lid. Takes up minimal fridge space.
We prefer to use plain yogurt and substitute it for cream cheese and mayo.

[surgtech1956]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try it. I usually buy vanilla yogurt, the one with the honey sounds good, or I guess I can just add my own honey. I like the idea thats its more filling. I've seen the Chobani, Oikos(sp?) and the Danon, but not the Fage. I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow.

[Blueberry]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to try it. I usually buy vanilla yogurt, the one with the honey sounds good, or I guess I can just add my own honey. I like the idea thats its more filling. I've seen the Chobani, Oikos(sp?) and the Danon, but not the Fage. I'm going to the grocery store tomorrow.

The kind with the honey usually has less yogurt. I buy the regular yogurt and split it into 2 servings - and add my own local honey.

[abejita]

Mmmm, I love fage too! My current favorite is fage (2%) with mangos and a touch of honey. I also do it with strawberries too. I also love it with Udi Hawaiian granola and pecans.

[nscrbug]

Huge Chobani fan, here!!! I typically eat the plain and add in my own honey, ground flaxseed, and homemade granola...yummmm!!!! But occasionally, I will also buy the blueberry, raspberry, vanilla, and pomegranite flavors for a change of pace. I've tried just about all of the Greek yogurts available - Fage, Dannon, Oikos, Trader Joe's, even Yoplait has come out with their own version. My favorite is the Chobani, with the Organic Trader Joe's version coming in a close second. :D

[Catrin]

Chobani (I get it at Krogers) is my current favorite - I just don't care for Trader Joe's version. I like the texture and tartness of Greek yogurt hands down over any other variety - and it helps that it has more protein :)

[RolliePollie]

I love the taste and texture, but I also love the high protein content. And I love that you can get nonfat and it tastes like full fat!

I'm a big cheapskate so I usually only buy it when they have it at Grocery Outlet. Do any of you have a Grocery Outlet in your town? It's a treasure trove of organic and expensive stuff at rock bottom prices. You just never quite know what they'll have on any given day.

[ColoKate]

Greek yogurt is such a racket! I buy the cheapest plain fat free yogurt tubs I can find, dump the whole thing into a strainer lined with a coffee filter and then next day I have thick, creamy "greek" yogurt for super cheap. I put it into little containers with my own honey and fruit/nuts. Two days of straining makes yogurt "cheese" which I put on bagels. Truly it is effortless and better than paying over a dollar for a 4 oz cup at the store!

I also just learned you can save the liquid whey after straining and add to smoothies. Or add it to dog's food to help with their gas like I do :)

[OakLeaf]

Also, every brand of yogurt uses their own combination of bacteria, but if it's really Greek style (as opposed to just meaning it's strained), it should have a combination of bacteria that's typical of Greece. Different cultures have very different flavors and somewhat different consistencies. Whatever yogurt you like, you can use that as your starter and keep the culture line going.

[Catrin]

Greek yogurt is such a racket! I buy the cheapest plain fat free yogurt tubs I can find, dump the whole thing into a strainer lined with a coffee filter and then next day I have thick, creamy "greek" yogurt for super cheap. I put it into little containers with my own honey and fruit/nuts. Two days of straining makes yogurt "cheese" which I put on bagels. Truly it is effortless and better than paying over a dollar for a 4 oz cup at the store!

I also just learned you can save the liquid whey after straining and add to smoothies. Or add it to dog's food to help with their gas like I do :)

/smacking myself on the head... I KNEW you could do this and had plain forgotten about it. I have moved to cheap Dannon fat-free yogurt for the cost but I really prefer strained yogurt, hands down. I will try this quite soon, thanks!


Also, every brand of yogurt uses their own combination of bacteria, but if it's really Greek style (as opposed to just meaning it's strained), it should have a combination of bacteria that's typical of Greece. Different cultures have very different flavors and somewhat different consistencies. Whatever yogurt you like, you can use that as your starter and keep the culture line going.

I really do prefer real Greek yogurt but the cost does get high since I eat so much of it. A lot of my protein comes from dairy products. This is good to remember as well, thanks!

[Crankin]

I am lazy and gladly buy the Chobani plain. I have tried several brands of Greek yogurt and this one is the best, in my opinion. It even got my DH to eat non-fat yogurt, after years of spending $ on non-fat for me and low fat for him.
I eat it for breakfast at least twice a week, with fresh fruit mixed in, as well as walnuts. I also use it as a substitute for mayo in some recipes, or mix it with low fat mayo.

[Serotta Jim]

I make my own - it is so easy and so much much cheaper! A 1/2 gallon of non-fat milk yields enough for me & DW for a week.

Also I make my own Kefir.

[kelownagirl]

I make my own - it is so easy and so much much cheaper! A 1/2 gallon of non-fat milk yields enough for me & DW for a week.

Also I make my own Kefir.

How?

[Serotta Jim]

Here is the recipe. After I make it I strain it. I find Trader Joe's is the best starter!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

[KnottedYet]

My dog looooooooves whey from yogurt. It gets poured over his kibble, and he thinks it's ambrosia.

I use generic plain yogurt as a starter, and wrap the pan of warmed milk with a towel overnight.

Let home made yogurt drain, press and salt it, and you have a soft cheese which is very nice as a spread. You can use a tea towel (and I have), but cheese cloth works much better.

[WolfGirl]

I've been wanting to make my own yogurt from scratch (via a yogurt maker of some kind) for a couple of years now; I'm tired of the constant yogurt containers, even when recyclable. Anyone do this? There are a lot of makers out there...

(going to check out the make-your-own kefir! thanks for the link!)

[KnottedYet]

I don't use a yogurt maker.

3,000 years ago folks didn't have electric yogurt makers, and they made yogurt just fine....

Heat a pan full of milk to simmer. Turn the heat off. When you can leave a finger in the milk for 10 seconds without pain, add your starter. (about 1/2 cup or so of plain yogurt) Stir it in. Wrap the lidded pan of milk and starter in a big warm towel and leave overnight. (if you have a gas stove with a pilot light, leave it in the oven to be kept warm by the pilot light)

If it's still runny in the morning, either it needs to sit longer or it needs to be kept a bit warmer. Either one will solve the problem. (or you can cheat by adding a lot of starter)

When you are happy with the consistency, put it in the fridge.

To make cheese, dump the yogurt into a "bag" made of cheesecloth, set it on a slanted board, and put a pan of water on top as a weight. Leave it for a day where it can drain without making a mess.

Salt the resulting soft cheese as you like. Add sage, pepper, or other herbs as desired.

[zoom-zoom]

I've made a gallon of yogurt at a time using 4 1qt. containers, a cooler, and a heating pad. Prepare the yogurt as Knotted said (I heat the milk in the microwave, then add starter once it has cooled enough to not kill the cultures), then put the containers in a cooler with a heating pad on top set to low. Works like a charm. I only use about a TB of "starter" in each quart from a previous batch.

We usually drain each finished quart overnight with the paper towel and collander method. Man, I love that stuff!

[Catrin]

I don't use a yogurt maker.

3,000 years ago folks didn't have electric yogurt makers, and they made yogurt just fine....

I really have to try this - does it matter if you use skim milk? I use a LOT of non-fat dairy to get much of my protein and this would be perfect if I can use good organic skim milk...

[Blueberry]

I really have to try this - does it matter if you use skim milk? I use a LOT of non-fat dairy to get much of my protein and this would be perfect if I can use good organic skim milk...

You can use skim milk, but my experience is that it will result in a not very thick yogurt. Lots of recipes have you add extra powdered skim milk to the milk, and that does seem to help.

[Flybye]

I am intrigued and want to try Knots technique.

Anyone tried Greek Gods yogurt? Makes Yoplait taste like, wellll,........:eek:

The only thing that I can see unique about their yogurt is that they use powdered honey - didn't even know powdered honey existed :) Wonder if I could make that in my new food dehydrator that I got for $1.00 at a yard sale :rolleyes::D

[Catrin]

I am intrigued and want to try Knots technique.

Anyone tried Greek Gods yogurt? Makes Yoplait taste like, wellll,........:eek:

The only thing that I can see unique about their yogurt is that they use powdered honey - didn't even know powdered honey existed :) Wonder if I could make that in my new food dehydrator that I got for $1.00 at a yard sale :rolleyes::D

I have wanted to try their yogurt, but it does not appear to come in a low-fat version...

[nscrbug]

I have wanted to try their yogurt, but it does not appear to come in a low-fat version...

Oh it does indeed come in low-fat...found some at my local Whole Foods store. It's good, but I honestly can't tell much difference between it and other greek yogurt brands.

[Reesha]

I thought I would "whey" in here and mention that Cabot's 2% greek yogurt is one of the best I've tried. It's not as thick as some, but it's got some serious tang to it and I like to make honey and kashi GoLean parfaits. It's a little less dessert-like than Fage's Total 2% (which I also enjoy), has equally high protein and costs less where I am.

For the fat free ones, I have really taken to Brown Cow's 0% fat plain. It miraculously doesn't taste like paste, and is very thick. Lovely stuff!

[Reesha]

I am intrigued and want to try Knots technique.

Anyone tried Greek Gods yogurt? Makes Yoplait taste like, wellll,........:eek:

The only thing that I can see unique about their yogurt is that they use powdered honey - didn't even know powdered honey existed :) Wonder if I could make that in my new food dehydrator that I got for $1.00 at a yard sale :rolleyes::D

Greek Gods is good, but I recently bought some fat free GG that was on sale and it had the consistency of regular yogurt :( I was a sad panda. Still very tasty, and their individual full fat cups are divine. The honey kind especially!!!

[Susan]

I made my own Yoghurt a couple of times. Sometimes it turned out great, sometimes it had a strange "grained" consistency and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong? Can someone point me in the right direction?

In Greece you can buy Yoghurt with various fat contents. The typical yoghurt that you would eat with honey and almonds has 10% fat content. It also usually is made in the container it comes in and doesn't get stirred like most yoghurts nowadays do - so it is much more compact than our yoghurt.

The whey can be drained from yoghurts to achieve a thicker consistency (for example for a typical Tzaziki) which makes it a bit richer than the average yoghurt (don't throw it away, you can mix it up with fruit juice and drink it). Still, I find it very strange that nowadays we can buy "low fat" or "fat free" "greek" yoghurt, because for me, the biggest part of what I would consider a typical "greek" yoghurt is the high fat content and the typical compact consistency.
What they sell as "greek" yoghurt in our supermarkets is strictly speaking just less content for more money ;)

[Reesha]

When I make yogurt, I use Fage as the starter and it sometimes comes out lumpy, but a whiz through the food processor takes care of that. It also winds up being whipped and fluffy when it gets strained.

[abejita]

Greek Gods yogurt isn't real greek yogurt. It is just regular yogurt that is thickened to have the same consistency as greek yogurt. Look at the nutritional info...GG yogurt has only 8g of protein per cup and fage has 20g of protein per cup.

[Owlie]

Don't care. The honey one is like crack...and fantastic with strawberries.:D

[nscrbug]

I still think Fage plain non-fat is the best, with Chobani plain 0% running a close second. Both Fage & Chobani don't have that nasty bitter/sour taste that some of the non-real greek yogurts (Yoplait, Dannon, etc.) do. I've tried 'em all, and I always come back to Fage & Chobani...which are also unfortunately, the most expensive....but if I'm lucky, I can find Fage on sale for 4/$5, and sometimes Chobani for $1. Off sale, they both run about $1.50 per single serve container.

[emily_in_nc]

Don't care. The honey one is like crack...and fantastic with strawberries.:D

+1

I assume you mean with actual strawberries, but have you tried the GG Honey/Strawberry flavor? OMG. :eek: I just discovered it this week (on sale at our food co-op), and YUM! "Authentic" or not, it's freakin' amazing.

[PamNY]

Flybye they were handing out sample tastes of Greek Gods at the grocery store and I behaved quite shamefully. Yummy.

[abejita]

GG is very good...just annoys me that they market themselves as authentic greek yogurt when they are not...

When I did the San Antonio Rockn'Roll half marathon, fage was there handing out stacks of $1 off coupons. I swear the guy gave me a stack 1/2 inch thick, hubs and I have used them all though.

Try fage with udi granola and honey, OMG!

[Reesha]

My absolute FAVORITE greek yogurt parfait, is 2% fage, honey, bob's red mill granola, peanut butter and bananas. Oh mannnn.

[marni]

The advantage to the Greek style (other than being thicker) is that it's higher in protien than regular (since it's more condensed) and I think it's more filling, too.

+1 plus it has a little tartness instead of the artificial chemical sweet of other sweetened and low fat yogurts. As far as calories, 6 ounces of grocery store low fat honey greek yogurt (grocery store brand) is 150 calories and will last me three hours of heavy training where as yoplait of the like may only come in at 100 calories and I burn through it in the first hour.

marni

[surgtech1956]

I buy a 12 pack of Chobani at Sam's Club - its less than $1.00 a container that way, but comes in 3 flavors - strawberry, blueberry and peach. I love Dannon Greek Honey tho, haven't tried Fage and they don't sell Greek Gpds around here.

[Owlie]

+1

I assume you mean with actual strawberries, but have you tried the GG Honey/Strawberry flavor? OMG. :eek: I just discovered it this week (on sale at our food co-op), and YUM! "Authentic" or not, it's freakin' amazing.

I'll have to try it. Does it have the jam-like goop in it, or something else?

[nscrbug]

I buy a 12 pack of Chobani at Sam's Club - its less than $1.00 a container that way, but comes in 3 flavors - strawberry, blueberry and peach. I love Dannon Greek Honey tho, haven't tried Fage and they don't sell Greek Gpds around here.

Yup...that's the problem. I only eat the plain Chobani, and I've never seen it in a 12-pack anywhere around me. I've seen the larger (32oz?) tubs of it, but I prefer the single serve cups.

[Cataboo]

I've bought a big tub of the 0% fage at costco before for a good price (I can't remember)

[Pedal Wench]

Yup...that's the problem. I only eat the plain Chobani, and I've never seen it in a 12-pack anywhere around me. I've seen the larger (32oz?) tubs of it, but I prefer the single serve cups.

And my problem is I don't care for the peach flavor. :( The plain on a baked potato roasted with sea salt and olive oil is my idea of the perfect recovery meal. :)

[Catrin]

And my problem is I don't care for the peach flavor. :( The plain on a baked potato roasted with sea salt and olive oil is my idea of the perfect recovery meal. :)

Ooooh, yummy! Trader Joe's has a nice no-fat "European style" plain yogurt that I like as well. It is relatively thin, nice and tart, has a good amount of protein in it and it is pretty multi-purpose.

Chobani is pretty darn good, I just don't care to pay that much for single servings and that is the only way I've seen it sold.

[emily_in_nc]

I'll have to try it. Does it have the jam-like goop in it, or something else?

No jam, no goop, just flavor. :D

[Owlie]

YAY! We picked some up from Kroger today. I'm resisting the urge to stick my face into it until AFTER dinner. :D

[emily_in_nc]

YAY! We picked some up from Kroger today. I'm resisting the urge to stick my face into it until AFTER dinner. :D

Oooh, report back on how you like it. I was amazed at the flavor. YUM! :D:D

[nscrbug]

Ooooh, yummy! Trader Joe's has a nice no-fat "European style" plain yogurt that I like as well. It is relatively thin, nice and tart, has a good amount of protein in it and it is pretty multi-purpose.

Chobani is pretty darn good, I just don't care to pay that much for single servings and that is the only way I've seen it sold.

At the grocery stores in my area (Chicago suburbs), they also sell the Chobani in larger size tubs (32oz?)...but evidently, that isn't the case everywhere. My main gripe, is that I can't find the plain flavor in all stores. My local Jewel store carries all the fruity flavors, but no plain...which seems weird to me. I even spoke with the dairy guy there, and requested that they stock the plain...but have yet to see it on the store shelves. :(

[zoompastmykids]

We needed sour cream. At first we couldn't find a good sour cream replacement. Sour cream there was thick. You could stand a spoon in it. I had to mix it with milk to get a consistency to dollop on tacos or potatoes. It didn't taste very good either. Then I tried Greek yogurt. Someone had told me to give it a try. Fage was all there was and I paid equivalent to $15 for a large tub. It was an immediate favorite in my house. Less fat than sour cream. So when we came back to US I was thrilled to see that it was big here too. I find the fruit add ins are yummy too. IMO.

[WindingRoad]

I'm pretty sure the thread is still around but I started a yogurt maker discussion a while back. Just a bit of insight, a friend bought me a yogurt maker as a gift. I had originally been using a heating pad in a box to make yogurt. Honestly I prefer the box method, the yogurt maker I have makes the milk at the bottom or the jar to get "rubbery" somehow?!?! I never had that issue with the box, or cooler method as zoom-zoom mentioned. I need to try straining some. Do you let the yogurt stain for a long time in the fridge?


You can use skim milk, but my experience is that it will result in a not very thick yogurt. Lots of recipes have you add extra powdered skim milk to the milk, and that does seem to help.

[zoom-zoom]

Do you let the yogurt stain for a long time in the fridge?

Nope, just overnight. :) Man, I need to make some, soon. I can't find full fat greek yogurt very often.

[Owlie]

Oooh, report back on how you like it. I was amazed at the flavor. YUM! :D:D

I had some today with some granola. It's good! It's sweeter than the regular honey version, so my portions will have to be a bit smaller. Still good, though. We're turning the rest of it into frozen yogurt. :D

[Blueberry]

I'm pretty sure the thread is still around but I started a yogurt maker discussion a while back. Just a bit of insight, a friend bought me a yogurt maker as a gift. I had originally been using a heating pad in a box to make yogurt. Honestly I prefer the box method, the yogurt maker I have makes the milk at the bottom or the jar to get "rubbery" somehow?!?! I never had that issue with the box, or cooler method as zoom-zoom mentioned. I need to try straining some. Do you let the yogurt stain for a long time in the fridge?

Interesting - and I'm sorry you're having that happen:( I'm guessing it's the Yogourmet? Very, very odd....

[abejita]

We needed sour cream. At first we couldn't find a good sour cream replacement. Sour cream there was thick. You could stand a spoon in it. I had to mix it with milk to get a consistency to dollop on tacos or potatoes. It didn't taste very good either. Then I tried Greek yogurt. Someone had told me to give it a try. Fage was all there was and I paid equivalent to $15 for a large tub. It was an immediate favorite in my house. Less fat than sour cream. So when we came back to US I was thrilled to see that it was big here too. I find the fruit add ins are yummy too. IMO.

Fage is all we use instead of sour cream anymore. We would usually buy a tub of sour cream for something, eat a little bit, then the rest would go bad. Now we just use fage. I also add a little bit of half and half to the fage if I need some mexican crema for something.

good stuff!

[Cataboo]

I looked in Costco when I was there earlier this week... The big tub of fage 0% is like $5.89...

But they do have a two pack of kirkland brand non-fat greek yogurt for about $5.50. it's two 32 ounce tubs.

I don't know a lot about greek yogurt (I've had fage a couple times), so my opinion maybe suspect given that I don't know what good greek yogurt is really supposed to taste like... But I like the kirkland brand yogurt and from looking at the nutritional information, it seems high in protein - 20 grams per 227 grams of yogurt, 120 calories 10 grams of carbohydrates.

I've been adding blueberries & strawberries to it and eating it for lunch this week.

[Catrin]

Sounds yummy Cataboo! Some of the non-fat "Greek" yogurt out there is just awful - I picked up some the other day that had no flavor at all...

I keep toying with the idea of a Costco membership, but for a single person it is hard to justify.

[Cataboo]

one of the greek yogurt connoisseurs on here may not agree with my assessment of the Kirkland brand yogurt, but I like it.

Share a costco membership with someone & split the cost - you can put 2 cards on a membership. Chances are if you get the executive membership with the rebate you get at the end of the year, it pays for the cost of the membership.

I'm on my Mom's membership, and yes, as 1 person living alone, sometimes the quantity that food comes in can be daunting.

Gas is consistently cheaper at costco than elsewhere. Their tires are the cheapest when I need to get good tires (i have to do all 4 on my awd subaru when I do)... It ends up being around $750 for the good tires as opposed to $1200 going to NTB or the other places I check, where the mid or bad tires would cost me $750. They rotate & fill my tires while I'm in there shopping.

Glasses & contacts are also cheaper at costco. It costs me about $80-100 to get prescription polarized sunglasses which is great given my penchant for ocassionally losing my glasses kayaking.

Fruit & vegetables at costco tend to be organic, and you get about 3-4 times as much of them as what you'd pay at the regular grocery store. At the regular grocery store, I can't afford to splurge on organic stuff - at costco, it's fine. I tend to buy lots of vegetables/fruit to make salad and try to eat it all before it starts to wilt or go bad, and then if they start to, I just make a big pot of soup or pasta sauce out of it all... So, I might eat 7 days of salad, and then have another weeks worth of soup to eat or freeze to eat later. At any given time, there's always frozen spinach soup in my freezer which is great to take out when I need a quick healthy meal. I will often do that with things I buy at costco, split things in half and just immediately freeze half - I do that with their hummus & a lot of their spreads and breads. That way I'm not wasting food.

The caveat is that I'm quite happy to eat the same food every day for a week. I know some people like more variety. I'm kinda lazy when I'm only cooking for one.

I also find their warranty/return policy on electronics well worth it. You can return electronics within 3 months of buying them, so it's great for trying out a camera. You also get an additional year's warranty on all electronics you buy at costco, and if you have the costco american express card, that adds another additional year's warranty. So if I have a choice between buying electronics online for maybe $20 cheaper or buying them at costco, I buy at costco for the piece of mind of knowing that I can get an additional 2 years warranty free and have up to 3 months to return things. You may not buy that much electronics, but I like my gadgets and cameras.

[Catrin]

Hmmm, this is interesting. I will have to think about it and see if I have any current Costco friends who might want to go in on a membership to save money :)

[Poleride]

Greek yogurt is a type of yogurt that is celebrated for its very thick and creamy texture. The process for making it includes extra steps that result in its thickness.