yogurt

I've been having a running argument with a friend about yogurt and how it has changed over the years and figured I'd poll the group on their opinion.

I can recall when I had my first taste of frozen yogurt. I was a graduate student, and the student union installed a frozen yogurt stand....I think it was Dannon, but I could be wrong. This had to be about 1975 or so. I don't think I had ever tasted yogurt at all before then, but I really liked the frozen stuff, so I started eating regluar yogurt, too. Now the taste I recall had a real tang to it, especially the frozen yogurt. It didn't taste at all like the frozen "custard" served at Dairy Queen. It wasn't just sour; it was tangy. Sweet, but with a refreshing tartness. These days, I can hardly tell the difference between frozen yogurt and soft-serve "ice cream". Regular, non-frozen yogurt is also bland to me.

So....is it my old taste buds, or have the yogurt manufacturers changed the cultures to eliminate what was good to me but may have turned other folks off?

My friend is convinced the cultures are the same but that there is so much added sugar that the tang I remember is covered up. He swears that I could get the original taste back by using some plain yogurt as a source for a culture to make my own yogurt. However, even the plain yogurt doesn't seem to have the same taste that I remember, so how could that culture make home made yogurt taste like the old stuff?

Chuck

Do a Google.

Yogurt may not be what you think is yogurt.

I believe it originally originated in a culture where people may have been Lactose intolerant. Read, much of our population. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Since then what you find on your store shelves may be something altogether else.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I guess I need to try some yogurt again someday, since I still hear it's supposed to be good for you. I think I've tried it twice in my life. The first time was the "regular" stuff and I decided that it wasn't likely that I'd get hungry enough to try it again. The second time was when someone told me the frozen stuff was "good". I wouldn't say it was really "bad", but I didn't think it was good enough to be worth the effort of lifting a spoon to my mouth.

Is it only eaten because it's supposedly a "health food" or are there people who actually LIKE the stuff?

Frozen yog at places like TCBY is just like soft-serve ice cream to me. I love yogurt with fruit in it (blueberry or boysenberry). I also use it a lot when I cook indian dishes.

So yes!

Bird, many people cannot drink milk or eat dairy products.[ Lactose Intolerance ] The conversion to yogurt allows them to properly digest the milk.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Yeah, Egon, I understand it's "good for you", but I just wondered if anyone actually liked the stuff and I guess they do. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Bird, I knew that eventually there would come along a topic when we would NOT have similar tastes, background, or expectations. It has taken quite a while but finally has happened.

I like yogurt. I have used plain white unflavored low fat yogurt as a sour cream substitute on baked potatoes. I like it better with fruit. Crushed pineapple is a good choice as is canned peaches but grapes or raisins are fine too. Near eastern food without yogurt leaves something missing.

Much of the worlds population (those with no dairy herds or herding in their culture) are typically lactose intolerant by the time they are mature. The survival value to them for having the ability of their body to produce the lactase enzyme (specific for aiding in digestion of lactose, i.e. milk sugar) fades away as they age sufficiently beyond weaning age.

For groups with lots of milk herds in their culture, there is survival value to being able to digest milk later into life. Northern Europeans and selected groups such as the Masai have high incidence of lactase production into later life. Other black Africans besides Masai are typical lactose intolerant at a fairly early age (subsequent to weaning age.) Blood from bleeding cattle (by shooting them in the neck with an arrow) is mixed with milk to form a staple of the Masai diet. Excess milk production is used to make cheese and yogurt so it can be sold at market to other tribes who are lactose intolerant.

I found it to be ironic a few decades ago when Dianne Ross did a series of advertisements where she proclaimed, "Every body needs milk." Ironic as she was black and a large number of blacks are lactose intolerant.

I used to drink milk in great volumes but by the time I was 30 I started suffering lactose intolerance. The lactase enzyme is available without prescription and can be mixed with milk to "predigest", i.e. convert lactose into simpler sugars that cause no digestive difficulty. This treatment comes in a little squeeze bottle to dispense drops. The milk tastes slightly sweeter after a few hours treatment. Alternatively there are caplets that can be taken at the time milk is consumed. I carry the caplets with me as you just never know when a Braums stop (Ice cream store) might present itself. Pretreated milk is in many dairy cases but is rather expensive.

Buttermilk does not require treatment and like yogurt and cottage cheese causes no problems.

Pat

Pat, I've never been lactose intolerant, but I quit drinking milk many years ago because I was putting on too weight. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] Of course, I didn't give up ice cream. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] And almost (not quite all, but almost) anything is good if you put enough crushed pineapple or peaches in it. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] In fact, I bought some fresh peaches (imported from Chili) today that I peeled, chopped, and sugared to freeze for the time being, but will later put them in homemade ice cream. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Bird I am with you the stuff taste like yuk to me. Must be a Texas thing. I don't recall ever milking a steer.