Brands of commercially produced yogurt we love

[Simon_S]

Default yoghurt is probably Glenisk, occasionally Yeo Valley.

[chemprof]

My favorite is Nancy's Organic Nonfat Plain Yogurt - great tang, great texture.

And plus you have all the great containers leftover..."Eugene Tupperware"!

[DanM]

Some commercial yogurts use starches to thicken them, which completely ruins the taste of the yogurt. Others add so much sugar that you lose the tang. I agree with Fat Guy on Trader Joes European Yogurt. Milk, cultures, and nothing else. I add some fruit and maybe some granola. My 1 year old likes it with mashed avocados.

Dan

[jsmeeker]

Lucky Layla Farms makes a nice drinkable yogurt. They are a local producer in the Dallas area

http://www.luckylayla.com/yogurt.php

[Terrasanct]

I've never had any but nonfat Chobani, which was gritty and awful. My favorite Greek style is Greek Gods, the plain and the pomegranate. I mostly eat plain yogurt, as most of them are too sweet. TJ's is also good, and Nancy's is nice and tangy. The best yogurt I ever had was in Israel; thick and sour. It's hard for me to go a day without yogurt of some sort.

[patrickamory]

The various Turkish, Lebanese, Indian and Greek yogurts available at ethnic groceries are so much better than what you find at the supermarket. Kalustyan's in NYC has a huge selection.

[TeakettleSlim]

If you ever find yourself in Indiana, seek out Traderspoint Creamery yogurt. So tart and fresh-tasting. A little on the thinner side of the yogurt spectrum (it comes in milk-style bottles), but highly yummy.

[Jenni]

I'm in the UK and my default yoghurt is yeo valley, because it's the most commonly available organic full fat yoghurt in my area.

[LuckyGirl]

After being a Fage consumer for the past several years I just tried the Trader Joe's Greek Style Yogurt and I am in love! It's even richer and creamier than Fage. I love the velvety texture. I am dying to know who makes it for them. I've scoured the internet but haven't found any tells. The only other yogurt I've had that is the dense, creamy and delicious is Liberte, hmmmm I wonder...

[Simon_S]

This thread is a year old? Only seems like yesterday.

I've recently been enjoying Glenisk goat milk yogurt. You can really taste the goat.

[msiferllc]

Here in the NW we have Tillamook, and it's by far my favorite. Vanilla Bean!!

[SylviaLovegren]

Liberte and fage for eating. Astro Balkan style for cooking.

I LOVE the Astro Balkan full fat, for eating and cooking. Love love love it. Best yoghurt I've ever had. The creamy rich texture with the bright clean sour is just fabulous. Had lots of pretty good yoghurt in the NY/NJ area, including plenty of Middle Eastern ones from the Turkish and Lebanese stores, and a favorite homemade style from a biodynamic farm in upstate NY, but the Astro beats them all.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

My faves in what I'd consider the Four Categories of Yogurt are the following, but it must be said that I'm a total yogurt slut and I'll eat anything that looks or sounds good.

1. Sweet - Chiveria Entera Vainilla - for fruit salads and smoothies. 7% fat, excellent vanilla flavour, and good balance between thickness and pourability.

2. Pourable Sour - Alpina Natural Tipo II - for baking; this is a slightly thinner sour yogurt.

3. Balkan - Dos Pinos Tipo II - for sour yogurt eating; high fat, really thick, and pleasantly sour with no off aftertastes. Made by a local Lebanese co-op.

4. Drinking - Toni Vivaly Frutas Rojas - this is a drinking yogurt, almost a pre-blended smoothie, with strawberries, capuli, and mora (blackberries).

All of these are live cultures (it's illegal to sell dead yogurt here) - and actually when I go to the supermarket there's an entire aisle devoted solely to the various brands and types of yogurts, and it changes depending on which supermarket I'm in and in which province, because there are many small dairies that provide only for their local areas. For example, here in Tungurahua, I can get Pura Crema Trozos de Durazno, which is an insanely high-fat semisweet yogurt with peach chunks in it; this isn't available even in neighbouring provinces. Equally, in Pichincha (where the Alpina dairy reigns supreme), I can get Alpina Yox drinkable yogurts in convenient squeeze tubes.

[Shel_B]

Andie, I feel the same way about the TJ's Greek yogurt. It's so superior in things like raita and other applications where you want thick and creamy. It doesn't break down and get runny, and you don't have to fool around with draining it to get that thick consistency. And the flavor is outstanding. I've noticed it stays fresher, longer, as well. It's a good product.

Another vote in favor of TJ's Greek Yogurt, although that's not the only yogurt we buy. Toots likes TJ's goat milk yogurt, and I enjoy it as well with our morning fruit. Nancy's organic is another favorite of mine.

[Shel_B]

I rarely buy commercial yogurt but when I do, I only buy Trader Joe's Greek Style.

It has an incredibly long life in the fridge after it's sell by date, as long as it is not opened.

Sweetie brought home a small pkg of non-fat TJ's Greek yogurt with fiber the other day. I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison soon.

Edited September 12, 2012 by Shel_B (log)

[DianaB]

Having more or less lived on yoghurt during a past illness I became somewhat obsessed by the subject. I'm in Europe, time largely divided between France and England but brands you have mentioned in this thread are either European or available to us here.

My absolute favourite yoghurts are Langly Farm, fruit flavours or plain unsweetened. The packaging isn't exciting but if you have the chance to try the raspberry, black cherry or lemon I'm sure you won't be disappointed. The plain is great to cook with or as a base for a marinade.

Next come the Activia range, manufactured I think by Danone (originally a glass jar manufacturer, they introduced yoghurt to sell their filled jars) this range can be found easily but the flavours vary from place to place. I could (have) live on their muesli yoghurt, available in every French supermarket for very little money but only from a French supermarket installed in London for the UK. It would be interesting to know if this flavour is available in the US.

At the other end of the scale, a couple of years ago Danone introduced 'drinking' yoghurt in 1 litre cartons. Nice enough but so thick that much of the product sticks to the walls of the container. The only way to avoid a lot of waste is to cut open the container and scrape the yoghurt out, not always practical. Maybe I'm missing something, any hints welcome!

[SylviaLovegren]

And if anyone's in the Lancaster, PA, area, stop by Zimmerman's Country Store on Old Philadelphia Pike (it's actually in Intercourse) and try the locally made yoghurt. The fresh peach will make you cry. The fresh cherry and the lemon are delicious, too. It's available elsewhere in the area but I don't remember the brand name and Zimmerman's always has it in the regular large tub or the supersize extra ginormous tub. You won't be sorry.

[Shel_B]

I think Chobani has raised the bar for yogurt, and I enjoy most every flavor.

Trader Joe's "European style." This almost-liquid yogurt has a brilliant tang to it.

Fruit flavored yogurt really turns me off. I don't like the excessive sweetness and processed fruit in any of the brands I've tried. Much prefer plain yogurt and fresh fruit.

I do like some of TJ's plain yogurts, as well as Nancy's. Safeway's Lucerne brand is awful.

Edited September 23, 2012 by Shel_B (log)

[patrickamory]

Returning to the thread with more specific information. For plain full-fat yogurt, I highly recommend Karoun Dairies.

[mukki]

Liberte coconut yogurt. The only yogurt I really like. Seems to have gotten a bit runnier since they changed the packaging, though... hope it's a temporary glitch.

[Pierogi]

[snippy.....]

Trader Joe's "European style." This almost-liquid yogurt has a brilliant tang to it.

Fruit flavored yogurt really turns me off. I don't like the excessive sweetness and processed fruit in any of the brands I've tried. Much prefer plain yogurt and fresh fruit.

I do like some of TJ's plain yogurts, as well as Nancy's. Safeway's Lucerne brand is awful.

TJs full-fat Greek-style plain yogurt is the best I've tasted. Better than Fage or Chobani by a long shot. It's as thick as sour cream, and much tangier. Of course, it *is* full-fat, but well, that doesn't bother me much.I haven't seen Nancy's around me, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Lucerne is awful across the board on anything they put their brand on. I avoid it assiduously.

My local Sprouts carries labne, and I unfortunately can't remember the brand name right now. If I don't have the TJs, I have their labne. And I, too, prefer to mix in my own fruit, if I want it.

[Shel_B]

TJs full-fat Greek-style plain yogurt is the best I've tasted. Better than Fage or Chobani by a long shot. It's as thick as sour cream, and much tangier. Of course, it *is* full-fat, but well, that doesn't bother me much.I haven't seen Nancy's around me, but I'll keep my eyes open.

I usually buy the non-fat, which is surprisingly good for non-fat. However, there was a time or two when the local TJ's was out of the non-fat, and I purchased a full fat ... very nice, almost decadent.

A local newspaper does taste tests for food items, and TJ's Greek yogurt took top marks. The result was that, for a while, stocks of the yogurt were depleted and it was impossible to find the yogurt (in our locale, a least) for a while.

[AlenChris]

I have heard that Nestle also produces some type of yogurt. Has anybody tried it?

[redfox1939]

I still use Stonyfield when I must, for its convenience, but I make my own yogurt as often as possible. There's just too much conflicting information for me to use Stonyfield wholeheartedly.The guaranteed high, no extra-high, culture density implies the bacteria are not starving during long-distance transport, as you'd expect if the milk were ultra-pasteurized. And the fact that they "know" the casein is not altered, also implies the milk is not ultra-pasteurized.

Edited October 15, 2012 by redfox1939 (log)

[Charcuterer]

I found a brand called Biblos at a local middle eastern market. It is very good but only available in giant tubs (quart). It is rich and thick. When I buy smaller container its usually Fage.