Rather than buying the fancy-brand small cups, and paying through the nose for all that excess plastic and additives like cornstarch and high-fructose corn syrup, how about getting the quart tub of something like Brown Cow or Cloverfield, which contain only the actual yogurt? Add a small spoon of jam, or a bit of maple syrup, it's at least as tasty as any of those freak-show gelatinous Yoplait concoctions. They make mildly sweet flavors (vanilla, maple), but I prefer to just get the tart plain stuff, which is more versatile -- I can use it as the base for a tasty salad dressing*, or a topping on spicy food (home-made Indian raita or Greek tzatziki).

* ~2/3 cup plain yogurt, ~1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about an ounce of olive oil or tahini, a tablespoon of mustard, a splash worcestershire sauce, about a teaspoon of onion powder, a handful of chopped fresh dill and fennel, and a dash of paprika for color. Note: I don't actually measure things, I just mix and taste repeatedly, so the measurements are guesses. The ingredients vary depending on what I have on hand, this is just what I made most recently. Makes enough dressing for two large dinner salads.

@auros,

I'm with you on the gussied-up non-yogurt imitations - and I do like Brown Cow (I get the "plain") when I run out of home-made or when on the road.

But it doesn't work for me as a starter - the very best being my own 2nd gen.+ brew (per my comment, below).

And why do the big brands add Jello to their concoctions? Instead of tasting creamy, it gives their product the consistency of mucus.

Thanks for the suggestion for topping. I'm turning it over to the boss.

Boss == wife?

I'm the chef in my household. My girl has a Master's in Mechanical Engineering and knows more about engines than I've ever wanted to. (She also flew around the country testing the engines of F-16s before they were deployed into the current cycle of wars...) I do the cooking and cleaning... Who needs gender stereotypes?

It occurs to me to add -- I forgot to mention, in the recipe, "salt and pepper to taste"...

Another good real yogurt is Cultural Revolution, if you can find it. The ingredients are just milk, cream, cultures, and pureed fruit in the flavored ones. I've seen Brown Cow but never tasted it, so I'll pick some up next time. I don't know why people eat processed yogurt thinking it's somehow good for them and will help them lose weight when there's usually 20+ grams of sugar in each cup!

I'm guessing they probably don't sell in CA, where I live; it looks (from their website) like the company is in IA. But I'll have a look at the local earthy-crunchy market. My gf and I disagree on our favs (mine is Straus Creamery, hers is St Benoit, which comes in deposit/return containers), but both are local, and I don't think either sells out of state...

I think as the price of transporation rises, there's going to be some re-localization of food commerce, and (I sincerely hope) a transition back from energy- and fertilizer-intensive farming to more labor-intensive farming. If you can spend the money on oil, or on people's labor, the labor makes a lot more sense; it puts money into your community so they can buy your products, rather than sending the money overseas to regimes that hate us.

what a very good idea. You are very right. However why stress adding sugary stuff like jam or maple syup, educate your palate into shunning sugar is the way to a good life.

Try mixing your fine yoghurt with full fat cream as fat cream is very good for you and see how delicious it is all by itself.

Add salt and a little lemon and you have a luxurious salad dressing. Personally I prefer

full fat crème fraîche because of its elegant sour taste however I do not know if this is what it is called in English.

.

kerstin:

shunning sugar is the way to a good life.

Sez you.

There's a difference between liking a bit of sweetness with one's breakfast, and even the occasional indulgent dessert, and gorging on high-fructose corn-syrup. Moderation in all things -- including moderation.