Food I'm Eating: The Great Yogurt Taste-off (Now up to 18!)

I just wanted to point out that I've added four more yogurts to the taste comparison--the last four on the Part IV page. I've now tasted 18 different vanilla yogurts. One of the four new ones was a real stand-out--perhaps the most delicious of all 18 I've tasted*. If you missed the yogurt taste-off, start with the Introduction page.

*[Update: Unfortunately, this was an error on my part. While the yogurt in question is undeniably delicious, it turned out to be an inappropriate comparison as it was not a low-fat or nonfat yogurt. See the article for details.]

The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part IV (More Yogurts)

Four more yogurts reviewed. (You may want to start at the beginning--see links below.)
The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part I (Introduction)
The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part II (The Yogurts)
The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part III (The Yogurts--Continued)

Cascade Fresh Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt

($0.85 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.14 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 16 grams sugars, 90mg sodium)

Pale, creamy white. Quite solid. Stays put in the cup. Strong vanilla scent. Nice creamy texture when well stirred. Good texture in the mouth, too. No vanilla bits and nothing to stir up from the bottom. Creamy, but not too thick or sticky. Moderate vanilla flavor. Moderate yogurt tang and not excessively sweet. Good balance. A nice, middle-of-the-road yogurt. Not exciting, but solid. Tastes like yogurt and has no objectionable characteristics. I liked this one more than many. Has more active cultures than any of the other yogurts I've compared (eight rather than the usual four to six). All natural ingredients. Sweetened with fruit juices.

Yoplait Thick & Creamy Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt
($0.99 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.17 an ounce, 1.5% milkfat, 28 grams sugars, 110mg sodium)

Slightly yellowish in color, but there are no colorants listed on the label. Shiny, gelatinous look that put me off immediately. Doesn't mix well. remains in chunks, kind of like stirring Jell-O. No scent of yogurt. Hints of vanilla. No vanilla specks. Nothing to mix up from the bottom. Very thick, sticky texture. Strongly flavored, but tastes mostly of sugar. Had an unpleasant way of sticking to the roof of my mouth. Really doesn't taste like yogurt at all. Sweetened with sugar and corn syrup. Did not care for this. 

Chobani Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt

($1.49 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.25 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 13 grams sugars, 65mg sodium)

Very pale white. Quite thick. Solid in the cup. No vanilla specks. Nothing to mix up from the bottom. Good yogurt scent. Thick, slightly cheesy texture, but quite smooth when well stirred. Nice texture in the mouth. Creamy. Good vanilla flavor and a good yogurty tang. Nice balance of sweetness (just noticeable) and tangy flavors. Sweetened with sugar. Delicious. This is close to my idea of what yogurt should be--thick and creamy, but smooth (and not sticky or gelatinous), distinctly tangy (but not sour) and not with so much sugar that the yogurt flavor is overwhelmed. 

Kirkland* Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt

($0.53 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.09 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 24 grams sugars, 95mg sodium)

Pale, gelatinous look. Slightly runny. No vanilla specks. Nothing to mix up from the bottom. Moderate yogurt scent. The vanilla was more noticeable than yogurt. Tasted very sweet. It immediately reminded me of the frosting on cheap, horrible birthday cake. Very artificial flavor. Slight tang on the finish, but tasted more like an acid addition than like the sourness of yogurt. Looking at the label, this has lime juice added, and I realize now that that is what I was tasting. Thumbs down. One of only two I was unable to finish eating; this was actually unpleasant. Sweetened with sugar and inulin. For more on inulin, see notes to the Weight Watcher's brand yogurt in Part III of this exercise. It's probably no coincidence that that was the other inulin-sweetened yogurt and the other one I was unable to finish. This has the advantage of being inexpensive, but I thought the comparably priced Safeway brand product much better if price is the main consideration. 

* Kirkland is the Costco house brand. Manufactured by Dannon. I'm assuming this is identical to the Dannon product. I wonder who makes the Safeway yogurt?  

Whole Foods Organic Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt 

($0.99 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.17 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 28 grams sugars, 110mg sodium)

Slightly creamy color. Solid in the cup, but a bit watery on top. Smells like yogurt but not much like vanilla. Slightly chunky texture, but quite smooth when stirred up. No vanilla specks, nothing to stir up from the bottom. Not much vanilla flavor. Overall impression is one of tartness--but not a yogurt-like tang. Rather bland actually, except for the tartness, which suggested a cheap white wine that's been balanced after the fact with acid additions. I wasn't surprised to find citric acid among the ingredients. That's what it mostly tastes like. Sweetened with evaporated cane juice. Would have expected better from Whole Foods.

Trader Joe's Organic Greek Style Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt 

($1.69 for a 5.3oz. container, or $0.32 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 17 grams sugars, 45mg sodium)   

Creamy off-white color. Full of vanilla specks. This yogurt looks delicious. Good vanilla scent, but not much scent of yogurt. Thick, rustic texture at first. Creamy when stirred well. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Thick, creamy flavor. Moderate sweetness. Just enough, but doesn't have much in the way of a yogurt tang either. Excellent texture, but a bit disappointing taste-wise. Not bad, but not especially exciting either. Sweetened with cane juice. Contains citric acid, but doesn't have the exaggerated sour taste that some have had when citric acid has been an ingredient.

Brown Cow Nonfat Vanilla Yogurt
($1.59 for a 5.3oz. container, or $0.30 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 12 grams sugars, 55mg sodium)

Quite runny-looking, with liquid on top. Pale, creamy white. Very creamy and smooth when stirred. No vanilla flecks, nothing to stir up from the bottom. Not a lot of scent--of vanilla or of yogurt--, but has a good yogurt flavor. Neither sweet nor especially tart. Great texture again, but not a lot of vanilla flavor. Sweetened with evaporated cane juice.

Liberté Méditerranée French Vanilla Yogurt**
($1.19 for a 6oz. container, or $0.19 an ounce, 12 grams sugars, 55mg sodium)

Beautiful fresh cream color. Fairly liquid appearance, but moderately thick when well stirred. Very nice vanilla scent. WOW! Sweet. Too sweet for my taste, really, but amazing flavor. Decadently creamy and rich tasting. Easily the most delicious of all the sweeter yogurts, yet this one managed to achieve a noticeable yogurt tartness at the same time. Outstanding. Absolutely delicious. Very sweet (sweetened with sugar), but somehow I didn't mind in this case. Will definitely buy this one again! [But see notes below--this was NOT a low-fat or non-fat yogurt.]

Conclusions

What is good yogurt? It seems to depend on whether you like your yogurt to taste like yogurt or sugar. While some of the sweeter yogurts among the 18 yogurts I've tasted so far were quite appealing (notably the Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla and (Wow!) the Liberté Méditeranée French Vanilla**), I prefer yogurt to taste like yogurt--that is, I like it to have a sour yogurt tang. The Icelandic Skyr, at the other end of the spectrum, was a bit over the top--rather too tart for my taste--but still, it was among the most interesting examples simply because it had some character. My favorites among the less sweet yogurts were the Stonyfield "Oiskos" Organic Greek Vanilla Yogurt and the Chobani Vanilla Greek Yogurt. The least interesting yogurts were thin and runny, although bulked up with gelatin, and they tasted mostly like corn syrup (the sweetness overwhelming the yogurt flavor), or they had other artificial-tasting flavors. I was surprised to find that the yogurts I liked least were those made by Yoplait and Dannon (the Kirkland yogurt)--both of which used to be decent brands. I found both really unpleasant, especially the Dannon product. My dislike of these two may be related to the presence in them of inulin as a sweetener.

I hope this taste test will be of use to someone out there. If nothing else, my digestion is back in tip-top shape. One thing bothers me, though. This is Sonoma County. Where are all the handmade artisan yogurts? They must be out there. I guess I go to the wrong grocery stores. Farmer's market maybe?

[**This yogurt is wonderfully delicious, but I was mistaken about the milkfat content. This is not a lowfat yogurt, so should not properly be compared with the other yogurts in the tasting. I was trying to figure out how they packed so much richness into a lowfat product. It turns out they didn't. This one is made with whole milk AND cream. Still--it's delicious.]

Food I'm Eating: The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part II (The Yogurts)

I tasted six vanilla yogurts today to kick off my yogurt comparison project. If you want to know what prompted this, see my previous post on the topic of yogurt--the Introduction.

There were a couple problems from the outset. First, I noticed on careful examination that some of the yogurts I've purchased so far are in fact nonfat yogurts--which underscores the difficulty in choosing yogurts from among the many confusing options. I've decided to include these because the difference in fat content is generally small and, well, the stuff has to be eaten. Second, I had no idea how to do a taste comparison. Do you judge yogurt like wine--using color, aroma, and flavor? I was pretty sure swirling the yogurt containers would be pointless, but decided that, yes, essentially yogurt tasting is like wine tasting. I looked at color, scent, flavor, and texture. Each review also gives information about sugar and milkfat content and price.

Lucerne (Safeway Brand) Low-fat Vanilla Yogurt
($0.40 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.07 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 33 grams sugars)

Very pale whitish color--rather like goat's milk cheese, but semi-transparent. Has a somewhat gelatinous look. Smells like yogurt--a slightly sour scent--and distantly of vanilla. Stirred, it began to look a little creamier. There was nothing to stir up from the bottom. Tastes very sweet with only a moderate vanilla character. Not at all unpleasant, but has no really outstanding characteristics. I did, however, prefer this to what turned out to be the Yoplait yogurt, and it is considerably less expensive. Sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup and sugar. Certainly the best value of any of the yogurts I sampled. This isn't my style, but, if you like it, there doesn't appear to be anything cheaper, and many more expensive yogurts were not necessarily better, in my view.

Siggi's Icelandic Style Non-Fat Vanilla Skyr
($2.49 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.42 an ounce, 0% fat, 10 grams sugars)

A different beast altogether. Skyr is Icelandic for "thick yogurt," according to the label, and that's appropriate. Thick and creamy-looking and heavily flecked with bits of real vanilla bean. Slightly creamy color. Thick enough that you can turn the container upside down and the yogurt doesn't budge. It sticks to the spoon, making it somewhat difficult to stir. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Maintains a rustic, cheesy texture. Not much of a scent, but it has a very distinctive flavor. A real yogurt tang. Not sour like unsweetened plain yogurt, but does not taste sweet either. Thick, sticky texture. Not a lot of vanilla flavor, but distinctive and interesting. Feels authentic. I found myself liking it better and better the more I ate. Probably unappealing if you're used to heavily sweetened yogurts, but delicious if you like real yogurt flavor. Sweetened with agave nectar. Real vanilla beans. On the downside, it's expensive--six times the price of the Lucerne product.

Yoplait Low-fat French Vanilla Yogurt
($0.69 for a 6 oz. container, or about $0.12 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 27 grams sugars)

Noticeably yellowish color (artificially colored with annatto and turmeric extracts; simulated egg yolk to make it French vanilla?). Slightly gelatinous look. Creamier, but still fairly thin after stirring. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Has a strong scent that suggests caramel more than vanilla. The gelatinous texture was a bit unpleasant, but I recognize that there are many styles of yogurt and this may appeal to some people. Very sweet to the taste. Although this has less sugar in it than the Lucerne yogurt, it tastes sweeter for some reason. Flavor a bit suggestive of caramel or something toasty, but not exactly vanilla. Has no real yogurt flavor. Tastes mostly like corn syrup. Sweetened with corn syrup and sugar. I liked this least of the first three.

Wallaby Organic Low-fat Creamy Australian-style yogurt
($0.75 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.13 an ounce, 1.5% milkfat, 20g sugars)

Plain white with a quite liquid look to it, but not at all gelatinous like some brands (see above). Creamier when stirred. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Clean vanilla and yogurt scents with good yogurt flavor. In other words it has tang not overwhelmed by sugar, but it is noticeably sweet. Medium body. Creamy texture, but not especially thick. Not exciting, but good middle-of-the-road yogurt. Wallaby is a brand I often have bought in the past. Moderately priced. Sugar from sugar cane.

Brown Cow Low-fat Vanilla Bean Yogurt 
($0.99 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.17 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 25g sugars)

Firm rather than liquid, but not dry or stiff as in some cases. Smells of cream rather than sour like yogurt. Vanilla on the bottom. Stirring reveals vanilla bean flecks. Very nice creamy texture to this one. Full vanilla flavor, but yogurt tang masked by sugar. Quite sweet. Tastes a little like bananas, although there is no banana in it. Sugar from sugar cane. Excellent for its creamy texture, but doesn't really taste like yogurt because of the excessive sweetness. Overall, though, not bad.   

Stonyfield "Oikos" Organic Greek Vanilla Yogurt

($1.00 for a 5.3 oz. container, or $0.19 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 20g sugars)

Very creamy-looking. Thick and creamy when stirred, not at all dry or cheesy in texture like some Greek-style yogurts (or the Icelandic-style yogurt reviewed above). Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Very nice yogurt tang. Moderate vanilla flavor. Has a distinct cheesy aftertaste balanced by attractive sour yogurt flavors. Tastes like real food. Remarkably rich and creamy despite the 0% fat content. Sweetened with sugar, but not so much that the yogurt flavors are overwhelmed. Excellent balance. Delicious. My favorite so far. 

Continued (see below)--You can eat only so much yogurt at a time.

[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part I--Introduction]
[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part III--The Yogurts, Continued
[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part IV--More Yogurts]