When in Greece

SantoriniMy husband and I recently went on a Mediterranean cruise. One of the stops was the beautiful volcanic island of Santorini. I’m sure you’d recognize the place if you saw the photos — it’s a beautiful location with stark white buildings and an occasional blue-roofed church dome overlooking the Aegean Sea. Like thousands of our fellow cruisers, we toured the island and took many photos.

I love visiting local grocery stores when I travel. I like it best if I can check out where the locals really shop — not a tourist attraction. I enjoy looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables, learning about what’s local and what’s in season. It’s also a treat to check out the refrigerated cases and packaged products. During this trip, I found Greek yogurt, pistachios, and olives alongside American foods like Oreos and Starbucks.
Greek store 2

Wanting to prolong our stay on the island and try a little local cuisine, we stopped at a restaurant that had all the pre-requisites — outdoor dining with a view of the ocean, local beer, and an appetizer menu. We ordered tzatziki dip accompanied by a basket of warm pita bread. When I asked the waiter about the ingredients, he said that it was only yogurt, garlic, and cucumbers. I think also tasted a little dill. The tzatziki was thick and rich, but also satisfying. I’m sure that the yogurt they used to make this was full-fat Greek strained yogurt.

Now that we’re home, I’ve recreated this appetizer.

Greek GroceryFirst, I did a lot of research. I found several brands of commercially-prepared tzatziki available in the dairy case. In checking the ingredient lists, I discovered that many contain a yogurt base and sour cream, along with cucumbers, vinegar, garlic, and dill. The nutrition facts vary by brand, but most contain around 40 calories, with 3 grams of fat for a 2 tablespoon serving.

Tzatziki is frequently used as the sauce on gyros, but it can also be a salad dressing, sauce for grilled meats or mild fish, or a dip. Instead of dill you can season tzatziki with mint or parsley.

After I learned about what was available, I asked Chef Judy, President and Founder of Food and Health Communications for an easy recipe for make-at-home tzatziki that is low in fat, but also high in flavor. Judy’s recipe uses low-fat or non-fat plain Greek yogurt and both dill and mint. You can experiment with how much seasoning you like. This recipe contains only 31 calories for ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) and one gram of fat per serving. Serve it by itself as a salad, or as a dip with whole-grain crackers, pita chips, or vegetable crudités.

Tzatziki DipTzatziki Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 cucumber, cut in half and sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, finely minced
  • 1/4 tsp dried dill
  • 1 tsp fresh mint, chopped
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. Toss ingredients together.
  2. Chill until ready to serve.

Thanks, Judy, for helping to recreate these great memories in a healthful way!

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University

Would you like to share this with your clients? Here’s a free handout with the recipe and a few fun tzatziki facts!

Tzatziki Dip

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Why whey? Or why not?

IMGP0198A couple weeks ago I posted about my Great Greek Yogurt Experiment, where I strained regular plain yogurt and made a simple version of Greek Yogurt.  What was amazing to me was the amount of whey that came out during the straining—almost ½ the product.  When I talked to people about this “experiment” the question I frequently got was “so what did you do with the whey?”

I’ll confess. I threw it down the drain.

But since so many people asked, I started investigating possible uses for this whey.

Whey from yogurt is different than whey from cheese. Sweet fluid whey is a byproduct of making cheese and contains protein, milk sugars and some minerals.  There are many commercial uses for this sweet whey.  The whey that comes out of the yogurt is called “acid whey”.  It contains lactic acid from the yogurt fermentation, a small amount of protein and minerals.

It takes two to three times as much milk to make Greek Yogurt as it does to make “regular” yogurt so you would think you get double the nutrition. Not necessarily.  Nutritional analysis shows that the Greek Yogurt has double the protein but not double the calcium. Greek yogurt is also low in potassium and magnesium.  Where did they go?  Into the whey.

Note:  Greek Yogurt is not completely void of calcium.  According to package labels 1 cup of Greek Yogurt  gives you 25% of your % Daily value of Calcium where as plain regular yogurt provides 30%.  Both are still excellent sources of calcium—it just isn’t double in the Greek Yogurt.

So, what could you do with this acid whey? A quick search through Google revealed that some folks use the acid whey in cooking and others put it on their plants.  I’m thinking it could be easily added to smoothies for some additional liquid and calcium. Perhaps you could use it as a liquid ingredient in place if water when baking yeast products.  It could be used as a substitute for buttermilk in quick breads or for marinating meat before barbequing.  Try mixing it in with your dry dog or cat food (I bet some cats are too finicky for that!). Be sure to keep it refrigerated and treat as if it were a fresh dairy product until use.

I talked with an agricultural expert and he cautioned about getting too carried away using it to fertilize your indoor plants.  He said, yes, it would be good for the plants, but it may also smell if you used it in large quantities—after all it is a dairy byproduct.

While making Greek Yogurt at home yields just small amounts of whey—the disposal of this acid whey is also a concern of the large yogurt manufacturers that have one to two pounds of whey for every pound of Greek Yogurt they make.  Most of their “waste” whey is used by farmers as fertilizers or feed for animals.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

The Great Greek Yogurt Experiment


IMGP0055Whenever it’s discussed the conversation is always the same….Greek yogurt. …it’s so good…but so expensive.

I guess I’m not a good yogurt eater.  I buy it and I eat it, but don’t necessarily like it.  I know it’s good for me, it’s a good snack when I want something healthful, low fat and a good source of calcium.  I’m always trying to get folks to eat yogurt for all those reasons, but yogurt was really not on my “yummy” list.

That was until I tried Greek yogurt.  I had it the other morning with strawberries. Wow was it wonderful. I felt like licking the bowl .  The texture is amazing. I had vanilla with the strawberries and just can’t describe how good it tasted.

So, what makes it so good?

Real Greek yogurt is made with sheep or goat  milk and is a blend of cream and milk. In the US most Greek yogurt is made from cow’s milk.  Greek yogurt is also strained. This straining removes more water (whey) from the yogurt and is what helps gives it that desired dense, firm and creamy texture.

In the US there is no legal definition of Greek yogurt. Because it has become so popular, you can now purchase a wide variety of what is called “Greek-style” yogurt. Be sure to read the ingredients label, some lower fat versions have added thickeners to improve the texture and some of the flavored versions have added sugars. It’s really up to the consumer to read and heed what they are purchasing.

One of the reasons you pay more for Greek yogurt is that they need more milk to get the same amount of yogurt.  The straining of the whey concentrates both the texture and the nutrients. While most regular yogurts have a protein content of around 5 to 7 grams per 8 ounce serving, Greek yogurt usually averages anywhere between 12 to 21 grams. It also has more calories. One cup of a popular brand of plain Greek yogurt has 260 calories compared to plain regular or non-fat regular yogurts that can range from 90 to 150 calories.

I decided to make my own. Although I have made yogurt in the past from fresh milk, for this experiment  I started with one cup of already made plain non-fat yogurt. I placed it in a strainer lined with a coffee filter, covered it all with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.  I was amazed at how much whey strained out.  From one cup of yogurt I got just over ½ cup of thick plain “Greek” yogurt and 7 tablespoons of whey.  IMGP0174IMGP0170

How did it taste?  I have to admit, it was tart. Texture-wise  it was thick, really thick and it just didn’t seem to be as creamy as some of the commercially prepared Greek yogurts. It worked, but really I don’t think I’ll be doing this frequently.  It might be good in a pinch if I wanted a really thick yogurt to add to a recipe, but to make it just to eat it took a lot of yogurt and time for a small yield.

I think I’ll be buying my Greek yogurt in the future.

When weighing the higher cost of Greek yogurt,  remember you’re really getting almost double the amount of yogurt (and nutrition)  for the price. The problem is, it tastes so good can you eat just half the amount?

Favorite yogurt recipes

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Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

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