Yogurt. It's not new, but everyone's talking about it. It's a nightly ritual for some, and an essential part of breakfast for others. Store brands are hotly contested while the newest craze might be to just make it at home. So how did yogurt come to be the star of the day?
A recent article by Lindsay Abrams in The Atlantic notes that yogurt has been reinvented in the last few years as "a health product bordering on panacea." Abrams traces yogurt's rise through the last century beginning with Bulgaria in the 1900s and the discovery of probiotics, through the 1980s and the frozen yogurt craze, to the aughts' dependence on high-protein-low-fat Greek yogurt, and most recently, to Brogurt, the latest spinoff. (That's yogurt made especially for men. Don't believe us? See here.)
It's an interesting read. Check it out below:
Read More: Yogurt: Medical Marvel | The Atlantic
(Image: Faith Durand | Make Your Own Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt Cups)
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Fermented food is great for the gut! I prefer to eat kimchi and sauerkraut, though.
Never was really into yogurt...until I got a Toddler. So now I find it economical to make my own every other week; half to thicken for straight eating and the other half unstrained for recipes.
It is my opinion that the reason for the yogurt craze is due to the perfect timing of Greek yogurt entering the American market and the book "French Women Don't Get Fat" which touts Greek yogurt as a perfect food (more or less).
Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife
In my opinion as the population is getting older and as the body falls apart, people are looking for a ways to slow down the aging processes by eating better and healthier.
Alcoholic beverages are out and yogurt is in for me. I make my own yogurt using those cute little jars that make an excellent late night snack. I save the last jar for the next batch and make it before I go to bed. Wake up in the morning, let the dog out, turn off the yogurt machine, seal the jars and refrigerate, let the dog in. A Tuesday Night ritual.
Making my own also reduces my guilt a tiny bit by not throwing away those store bought plastic containers.
Interesting article, although it totally misses the primary driver of yogurt's widespread popularity:
The addition of craploads of sugar.
Now of course I know everyone here only eats all-nautral, home-fermented, organic, hormone-free yogurt made from the milk of cows raised in our own homes. But if you look at the majority of what's on supermarket shelves, Much of it may as well be ice cream.
@Beth G - very, very true, and I totally agree that sugar is probably the big driver among the masses.
I wonder when I hear someone talk about how much they just love yogurt - are they talking about the real thing, or the ice cream-esque dessert that people think passes for yogurt?
To try and reduce sugar, I get plain faye greek yogurt and then add a little brown sugar, almond extract, and cinnamon. It might seem counterproductive to add sugar, but compared to how much is in the sweetened versions, a teaspoon or two isn't bad.
So true. It's also shocking how difficult it is to find actual yogurt that doesn't contain modified starch, carrageenan, whey powder, gelatin, stabilizers, cochineal and the like.
Marketing.
I love making my own at home and adding raw jam to it. It gives it the sweetness from the sugar in the jam, but also extra nutrients from real raw fruit. So much better than the store stuff. You could do the same with real Greek yogurt.