What's all the fuss about Greek Yogurt?

I am totally head over heels crazy about curd. I have to have it daily with my food. Whether it’s lunch or dinner, whether it is plain or in the form of raita, I always enjoy it.

I think my love for it started when I went to college. Our hostel mess food always had curd, and irrespective of what was cooked, the curd used to save the day. It’s been more than a decade since then and I am still habitual of having it as a side dish with my food.

Not just taste, the curd (or yogurt) also has its health benefits. It’s good for digestion owing to the bacteria which turned the milk into yogurt in the first place. The same bacteria acts as cooling agents against the acids in our stomachs which make the digestion process go smooth. Also, it is considered full of nutrients and that’s the reason our mothers have been at our throats the entire life for eating it.

But for all my love for it, one thing I have particularly no appetite for is sweetened curd. Or flavoured or the fruit version of it. And maybe that’s the reason I didn't quite notice when the world was taken over by the Greek Yogurts. Am I exaggerating in saying this? I’m sure not.

Right from the umpteen shelves at my regular supermarket to the latest web-series on the block, Greek Yogurt is everywhere. And though it is available in almost all dairy brands currently, the one making the most waves is Epigamia.

The first time I tried Epigamia was when my husband brought it home. And as much as I hated sweetened curd, he sure loves it.

So anyway it was there, lying in my fridge and every time I opened it, I saw a little can of fruity yogurt sitting in the corner.

It took just one spoon of the thick creamy curd to have me sold. It wasn’t anything I had tasted before. It wasn’t overly sweet for my taste and it also had a good fruity flavour to it. But mostly, it was the texture that kept me going back for it.

And the best part is, the greek yogurt is not looking to replace my afternoon raita, only to get rid of the evening samosa. And there is a lot one can do with greek yogurt to make that happen.

Till now, I have made smoothies out of it, have had it as a parfait, have eaten it just as it is, but my favorite version is the snack pack from Epigamia which has a combination of the yogurt with crunchy granola. All you need to do it mix it up and eat!

But if I sit down to think about it, all these things can be accomplished with our homemade curd as well. The greek version of the yogurt just removes the whey (water you see floating on top of the curd) to make it more creamy.

In fact, The whole ‘let’s sell greek yogurt’ plan started in India after the success stories of Yoplait and Chobani in US. After-all, the last decade has seen the revolution of the yogurt category in US, and 90% of it can be attributed just to greek yogurt. And it’s a no brainer that India would have followed on that path soon enough.

But the guys behind marketing the greek yogurt have come up with an interesting way of selling it as a new product in a new category (premium dairy), rather than something we already consumed in large quantities. And after a long time I believe someone has tried to make the snack section healthier, successfully at that. The market was dominated by namkeens and chips for quite a while.

And I applaud them for it. But the extensive marketing behind Epigamia (rather greek yogurt in itself) is trying to make us believe that we are having some greek god version of the curd. When in reality, India has been eating both curd and hung curd for centuries now. Haven’t all our moms squeezed the curd in muslin cloth when she has to serve the guests?

I bet if I ask my mother to add some fresh mango puree to that hung curd, it will taste better than any greek yogurt in the market.

And though I have already admitted that it’s a great product and I can’t keep my hands off it, I think we should know that we have been eating the same stuff for years without giving it the time of the day.

Originally published on https://halfbottlesoda.com