Greek Yogurt Going Mainstream

[MarkG]

YOPLAIT now has a greek style yogurt but i wasnt impressed and definitely prefer the real deal-- Fage, which now has a plant in NY State instead of schlepping the product all the way from Greece. there are also some other USA Greek style brands.

[Amber_Lamps]

YOPLAIT Greek Yogurt is TERRIBLE. Do not buy if you even have coupons. It contains gelatin, and as soon as you look at it you can tell. It also tastes terrible. Completely wrong consistency was the main breaker for me-- it did somewhat have the characteristic sour aftertaste of a Greek yogurt, but it looked and the mouth feel was just completely wrong.

DANNON'S Greek was a pleasant surprise. The actual taste and texture was remarkably similar to Chobani and Fage. The top has the characteristic little "crater pits" you often see on the tops of the good Greek yogurts (Yoplait's Greek was so smooth and shiny looking you could probably slide a bowling ball over it). Slip a spoon into the Dannon Greek and it is the right thick, creamy texture. A blind taste test would probably fool a lot of people who think they would know the difference.

Dannon's Greek has one ingredient, cultured grade A non fat milk. It looks and tastes drained of whey-- which it should be (duh). Yoplait's Greek has several ingredients (acetate, added vitamins, kosher GELATIN) and looks like slick, opaquely white jell-o. Bad, bad, bad.

I won't be switching from Chobani/Fage to Dannon, but I wouldn't dismiss it either.

Just my two cents. Full disclosure, I am a yogurt hound, and usually go through one or two plain, fat-free 35/32 oz. Fage or Chobani containers a week from my local farmer's market. I also sometimes make my own yogurt using organic milk and some freeze dried yogurt cultures. And when I see a new brand of plain yogurt anywhere, I usually buy the smallest size to check it out, which is why I had to try Yoplait and Dannon's new Greek ones.

[JASONBEY]

To me both tasted like garbage and why would they name it "Greek" that bothers me the yogurt comes from Asia! (google it) the best yogurt I've ever bought is the omur yogurt, I 've bought it in an arabic store on kedzie ave by wilson in chicago, if you could find one try it and you will never buy any other brand!

[MarkG]

is $6.75 for the big size plain Fagre a normal price??

[Caitlin McGrath]

Where I currently live, the 500g cartons range from $4.59 (Trader Joe's) to around a dollar more. Some Costcos have 1000g ones for $6.99; Whole Foods has those for $8.19.

[HillJ]

I paid $6.59 for 1000g Fage 0% @ Costco on Tues. Which I now consider a bargain price compared to units sold elsewhere and some WF avail. brands charging nearly $2.00 for an 8 oz. cup.

[HillJ]

10 for $10.00 @ WF's yesterday for the Liberte Mediterranee yogurt. So I bought 1/2 coconut and 1/2 strawberry. Turned 5 of the coconut 6oz. cups into frozen yogurt with the addition of coconut flakes and dried pineapple bits into the mix. Very tasty and a cost savings from buying the equiv. premade.

[otnorot]

I recently discovered Skotidakis yogourt. It's 9% and made from cow and goat milk. I've only seen it at one store in Toronto so far. It's so thick and creamy and delicious, and better priced than the Fage and Chobani on shelves next to it.

[EatNLoveLife]

Yea, I think G-Yogurt is all the rage now. Just saw coupons in my Sunday paper for Dannon Greek Yogurt. wth? I had to ell o ell at that.

[sweetTooth]

I like Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt. Haven't checked for stabilizers, fillers and the like. Anybody know?

[HillJ]

Going mainstream has meant Fage is readily avail and prices are a bit more competitive. When Costco began offering Fage 0% I was very happy. Reading labels is just a regular part of my routine. I try to be as healthful as possible but not every label makes me put the product down. I like Chobani plain, I really like siggi's which is very expensive and I bake with Trader Joe's plain Greek yogurt all the time about the least expensive around.

[Val]

I've also been enjoying the Chobani plain....I'm not brand loyal but my first acquaintance with Greek yogurt was with Fage so it kind of sets a standard especially for INGREDIENTS..LOL...stoneyfield's Oikos isn't too bad either and both Publix and Whole Foods have had that one on sale for the past few weeks for $1.00 per 5.3 ounce cup, so I gladly purchased....much better than $2.00 per cup that Publix used to charge way back when.

[coney with everything]

I saw the Yoplait Greek in the store--picked it up, looked at the ingredients, saw a bunch of non-yogurty goodness stabilizers and gelatin, and put it down :)

[Val]

Saw that too, Coney...didn't even bother to pick it up and read ingredients...know we definitely know!!! It's a fake.

[BobB]

From my perspective it started going mainstream when my local supermarket (regular market, not Whole Foods) started carrying Fage several years ago.

[MarkG]

even Target is carrying Fage

[taiwanesesmalleats]

Costco as well.

[wojiparu]

Chobani!

[almansa]

Color me crazy, but I prefer Sunrise Lebany (New Hampshire) to Fage, and it's half the price. It's the closest thing to my own strained yogurt. My favorite is still strained Old Chatham Sheepherding Company yogurt.

[poptart]

Agreed! That is by far the best tasting...just heavenly.

[dmoutsop]

Fage is really the best and most authentic that you'll find in mainstream shops - don't bother w/ others like Yoplait, Dannon, Chobani, Oikos, etc. They aren't true Greek yoghurts, in that they aren't strained. Most aren't thick enough as a result, and they also add thickeners like pectin to save on straining. Fage is definitely the way to go. If you live near a Greek grocery, it is definitely worth seeking out the Krinos brand Greek yoghurt, which they call 'Yiourti sakoulas'. This is THE BEST Greek yoghurt I've found in the US. Good luck!!!

[mrsjoujou]

For years I ate Fage out of habit, but now I prefer Chobani.

[Antigone]

likewise. the peach chobani has become my dessert of choice.

[Bob W]

I tried some blueberry Chobani yesterday at Costco -- excellent. My kid loved it too. As soon as we free up some fridge space by finishing the Yoplaits we have now, I'm heading right to Costco to buy the Chobani 12-pack (strawberry, blueberry, and PEACH)

[plum]

According to their nutritional facts, plain Chobani and Oikos don't contain starches, stabilizers or powdered milk. (I couldn't find nutritional facts for Greek-style yogurt from Yoplait or Dannon online, although I wouldn't buy them anyway because I haven't liked other yogurts from Yoplait or Dannon.)

I switch back and forth between Fage and Chobani depending on availability and price. I like them both, and don't find Chobani less thick than Fage.

[Flavor of Italy]

Yes, Mark,stick with the real deal. Try putting it in a blender with frozen fresh figs. so good you'll think you died and went to heaven!

[chocolatetartguy]

Or just buy Voskos fig yogurt. I have so many of those cute little containers that my sister is constantly asking me to move them when she visits.