# Why no "light" yogurt with fruit on the bottom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082 "2008-03-20T15:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/1 "2008-03-20T15:55:07Z")
I love fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt. I love mixing it up only slightly, with ribbons of fruity syrupy goodness running through solid yogurt. mmmmm… But man, there’s a lot of calories in regular yogurt. So I eat “light” yogurt, but I’m always disappointed that it’s been mixed for me, and mixed way more than I like. So… see thread title. Is there something inherent about using Splenda or Nutrasweet instead of sugar that precludes keeping the yogurt and fruit separated? ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/2 "2008-03-20T16:54:32Z")
A quick trip to the googles says that Breyers does make a lighter fruit on the bottom yogurt. Read about it [here](http://www.breyersyogurt.com/products/smart/index.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/3 "2008-03-20T17:10:21Z")
Just buy plain or vanilla light yogurt and add a tablespoon or so of whatever jam/jelly you like, or even fresh or frozen fruit. It’s better than the fruit-on-the-bottom varieties IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/4 "2008-03-20T17:31:46Z")
[QUOTE=Athena] Just buy plain or vanilla light yogurt and add a tablespoon or so of whatever jam/jelly you like, or even fresh or frozen fruit. It’s better than the fruit-on-the-bottom varieties IMO. [/QUOTE] OR! make your own yogurt, and put exactly what you want in it. I use fat-free milk, powdered milk, and frozen fruit. No high fructose corn syrup for me. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/5 "2008-03-20T18:04:51Z")
[QUOTE=MissMossie] A quick trip to the googles says that Breyers does make a lighter fruit on the bottom yogurt. Read about it [here](http://www.breyersyogurt.com/products/smart/index.asp). [/QUOTE] If you’re referring to “smart”, it’s not light, it’s still got 170 calories per serving (compared to 80 in the “light” version). I can and do sometimes get plain yogurt and add fruit, and it’s good, but just not the same. Anyway, I’m not looking for alternatives really, just wondering why the disparity? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/6 "2008-03-20T18:19:20Z")
I think one of the easiest ways to cut calories, once you’ve already made it fat-free, is to get rid of the sugary fruit preserves (which is what fruit-on-the-bottom really is) and substitute food coloring, artificial sweetener and the occasional bit of sawdust dyed a peach color. If you saw that combo en masse, it would look disgusting, but premixed, it looks like fruit flavored yogurt. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/7 "2008-03-20T20:27:20Z")
[QUOTE=gonzoron] If you’re referring to “smart”, it’s not light, it’s still got 170 calories per serving (compared to 80 in the “light” version). [/QUOTE] Sorry, I was looking at the lowfat label. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/8 "2008-03-20T21:16:13Z")
When stores have to carry regular, no fat and low fat, it’s no surprise when they don’t carry entire lines. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/9 "2008-03-20T21:51:52Z")
[QUOTE=gonzoron] Is there something inherent about using Splenda or Nutrasweet instead of sugar that precludes keeping the yogurt and fruit separated? [/QUOTE] Yes–you can’t make a syrup with the requisite syrupy goodness with aspartame or sucralose. There are commercial versions of Splenda and Equal syrup out there, but they are expensive, too expensive for use in mass market yogurt (and aspartame syrup is used mainly in pharmaceuticals and in chewing gum manufacture, which should tell you something), and don’t have the same ooey-gooey mouthfeel as classic sugar syrup. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/10 "2008-03-20T21:56:33Z")
There’s probably more “light” yoghurt with fruit here than there is the regular stuff. In fact, “light” everything seems to dominate the shelves these days. The problem here is that I can’t find my favourite in “light” or otherwise - apple and cinnamon. I have to mix it up myself. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/11 "2008-03-21T15:19:16Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] Yes–you can’t make a syrup with the requisite syrupy goodness with aspartame or sucralose. There are commercial versions of Splenda and Equal syrup out there, but they are expensive, too expensive for use in mass market yogurt (and aspartame syrup is used mainly in pharmaceuticals and in chewing gum manufacture, which should tell you something), and don’t have the same ooey-gooey mouthfeel as classic sugar syrup. [/QUOTE] Ahh, thank you **DDG**. That’s the answer I was looking for, sad as it may be… ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-light-yogurt-with-fruit-on-the-bottom/442082/12 "2008-03-21T23:53:01Z")
…hope On Top!