I’ve decided the next time I make saag paneer (planning on it this week) I will try using unstrained carrot juice in the yogurt topping.
I’m always very generous with the paneer. I make it to my taste, and someone from New Delhi probably wouldn’t recognize it, but it’s a hit at our table, even at the Shabbes table. We’re vegetarians, and even though I grew up in a home with a lot of Ashkenazic cooking, you find all sorts of stuff at my Shabbes table-- even my Pesach table.
Be really adventurous with the Greek yogurt. Use it in recipes; eat it topped with fruit, or cereal or both; make zaziki sauce, and if you don’t keep kosher, put them on meat. If you keep kosher or are vegetarian, put it on falafel instead of tahini. Make veggie stuffed cabbages, and top them with yogurt sauce.
For what it’s worth, of the several brands of Greek yogurt I’ve tried, Chobani is the only one that just tastes like “regular” yogurt to me. Not that I mind – I like regular yogurt fine, too. But most Greek yogurt is thicker and more tart.
I’d use a lot of words to describe it - as someone who feels there’s more to it than a simple change of consumer preference - but there’s nothing particularly scammy about it.
The brands producing a nominal ‘greek’ product and then loading it with sugar, fruit, and fillers a la Dannon etc. could be said to be scamming off the fad, but I don’t think anything about the product itself is a scam.
When i first started eating Greek yogurt, i bought cheaper brands like Chobani and Trader Joe’s. I avoided Fage, because it was an extra two or three dollars per large container, and it seemed to me that the price difference must be more a reflection of brand image than actual quality.
But then i tried Fage, and there really is no comparison. The creaminess, the mouth feel, and the richness of flavor are all miles ahead of the lesser brands. The 2% Fage is damn good, and if you’re not too worried about a bit of extra fat, the full-fat stuff is fantastic. I usually eat it with fresh berries and a little bit of maple syrup.
Our local Vons has Fage on special at least once a month. It’s normally 8 bucks for the 35oz container, but when on special it’s 6 bucks. It keeps very well, unopened, in the fridge for at least a few weeks, so when it goes on special i usually grab five or six. Sometimes i have to fork out the full price, but the product is so much better than i’m happy to do it.
I really wish that Costco carried more than just the non-fat variety; it’s so much cheaper there. But in my opinion there’s a noticeable difference between the non-fat variety and the other two types.
I can only report that their use apparently cleared up the problems caused by several courses of antibiotics that I had to take prior to surgery. Diarrhea for two months; then not.
You also see this with sour cream and even table/whipping cream. I always buy Daisy brand sour cream because it seems to be the only one that is ubiquitous around here that is made only with cultured cream, and not thickened up with carrageenan or guar gum or whatnot. Look at the labels of cream and sour cream and you’ll see.
Apparently the acidic whey produced by the yogurt industry is different from the whey typically used for feed. It’s more acidic and less nutritious.
It can be used as fertilizer but more is produced than can be utilized by local farms, and using too much in this manner can have environmental consequences.
But there is research being done to find other uses.
It’s not just Greek yogurt that can be artificially thickened. Many brands of regular yogurt contain thickeners such as pectin or starch. Here are a few:
Why does it matter? The culturing process thickens yogurt. Some manufacturers add thickeners as a shortcut so they can get their product to market faster. Their yogurt isn’t fully cultured, and doesn’t have as much lactic acid, so it doesn’t have the tangy flavor that, to me, defines yogurt.
To tell whether a brand uses thickeners, look at the ingredients for their plain yogurt. The flavored yogurts will usually have thickeners added with the flavoring ingredients, but plain yogurt should be just cultured milk.
Agreed! “Low-fat Greek yogurt” is like “low-pasta lassagna.” You can do it, sure, but it misses the point entirely.
I am surprised and heartened to hear that Greek yogurt is displacing other yogurts in the US! Hawaii (at least the Big Island) hasn’t gotten the message yet; our Cosco has a completely useless yogurt selection for those of us seeking real Greek yogurt. They simple do not sell it. I can’t recall if possibly they have Chobani low-fat “Greek” yogurt, but as this thread has established, that ain’t the real thing. And they certainly have no full-fat Greek yogurt in a decent brand.
Is there hope, do you think? Will I see actual Greek yogurt next time I am there? I can only hope.
OK, bought some Fage (fah-yeh) 2% and am eating it right now with some cut up strawberries and bananas. Definitely has a nicer taste and texture, although the texture is a but stiff making it harder to mix up with the fruit. Good call, though. I do like it!!
I’m a big fan of Greek Gods plain 11% which is used as a sour cream substitute in our house as well. Breakfast for me is often a 1/2 cup of berries, 1/2 cup GG plain, a tsp or so of honey or maple syrup and 3 Tbsp of hemp hearts. I’m never going back to low fat yogurt.
I give it a good stir in the container and it loosens it up a fair bit.
