Health: Why Does Greek Yogurt Cost So Much
Why Does Greek Yogurt Cost So Much
Greek yogurt
has been strained to remove excess water, and the price has been adjusted
At one time,
I was having digestive trouble, so my doctor recommended a temporary diet to
re-balance the bacteria in my digestive tract. On that diet, I had to make my
own yogurt, since almost all yogurt products had pectin or cornstarch in them.
The idea was to starve out the bad bacteria and then re-populate my digestive
tract with good bacteria or probiotics. I have a very small kitchen, so making
yogurt in my kitchen was difficult, not to mention time consuming. I made the yogurt several times, and then
started looking for yogurt that did not have pectin or cornstarch in it, since
the bad bacteria can eat both of those ingredients.
Making Yogurt
Yogurt is
actually easy to make, given adequate space. You heat the gallon of whole milk
in a large pan to 180 degrees, just under boiling. This step unravels the
protein structure so that it will thicken. Then you cool the milk to between
112 and 115 degrees. Next you add the yogurt starter, which frequently is just
a small amount of regular plain yogurt. You add the yogurt because it contains
the good bacteria, which will grow, turning your milk into yogurt. If the milk
is over 130 degrees the good bacteria may be damaged, and will not be able to
grow. If the yogurt is too cool, the bacteria will grow very slowly. The pan is
then covered and put in a warm, but not hot, place for 6 to 12 hours, so that it
can ferment. Some recipes let it ferment up to 24 hours before refrigerating. Some
bacteria grow faster than others, so time will vary based on the starter used. If
you want Greek yogurt, put a colander lined with cheese cloth over a bowl. Pour
the yogurt into the cheese cloth and let the water drain out of the yogurt for
2 to 6 hours. The longer it is strained the thicker it will become. If you
actually want to make yogurt, you will find more detailed instruction in the
article named: “How to Make Yogurt,” published by the New York Times. [i]
The URL for this article is in the references at the bottom of this post.
Cornstarch and pectin are not bad
There is
nothing wrong with cornstarch or pectin. Cornstarch is used to thicken sauces
or gravies. Pectin is used to thicken cooked fruit and fruit juices, when making
jams and jellies. These two ingredients, along with other carbohydrates, were removed temporarily
from my diet, to starve the bad bacteria, so that they could be replaced with
good bacteria. But what about the sugars, which are natural present in milk? Well,
the probiotics, or good bacteria, eat the milk sugars, there by producing
lactic acid, which curdles the milk protein. [ii]
Consequently the milk sugars never make to your digestive tract, but the probiotics and yogurt do.
When I was
on that restrictive diet, I soon learned that Greek yogurt did not have the two
offending ingredients: cornstarch and pectin. I started by buying Fage Greek
yogurt at Costco, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Aldi’s also sells Friendly Farms
Greek Yogurt, but there were no Aldi’s markets in California then. Walmart has
Fage and other brands of Greek yogurt. Whole Foods has a very large selection
of Greek Yogurt. When I was put on this restrictive diet, Greek yogurt was just
starting to be popular, so access was limited. These days you probably will have no problems
finding Greek yogurt at most super markets.
A matter of personal preference
After eating
Greek yogurt for a while, I found that I preferred the thick, rich texture.
Since yogurt is sold by weight, I personally don’t like paying yogurt prices
for water weight. But it is really a matter of personal preference. If you eat
regular yogurt, you will just have to eat more to get the same amount of
protein and probiotics. Eating more is usually not a problem for most people.
[i] Clark,Melissa. “How to Make Yogurt”.New York Times.
Castellano, Laura. "How Yogurt Works". 2 March 2012.
HowStuffWorks.com. <https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/yogurt.htm>
Dr Oz. Episodes: Greek Yogurt Conversion Chart 23 February 2016.
<https://www.doctoroz.com/article/greek-yogurt-conversion-chart>.
<https://www.doctoroz.com/article/greek-yogurt-conversion-chart>.
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