What makes our high protein Greek yogurt more special than store bought
posted on
June 2, 2023
Greek yogurt contains 2x as much protein as regular yogurt. Wow!
We don’t do nutritional testing, but we do provide estimated nutritional guidelines. These are based on the comparisons to similar products or research we have done.
We estimate that our Greek yogurt contains 15g of protein per ⅔ cup serving (that’s 29% of the recommended daily value). In comparison, a regular unstrained yogurt contains just 7g of protein per ⅔ cup serving.
Greek yogurt contains more protein because the liquid is strained off, leaving behind a high protein yogurt. Here’s how ours is made in the old fashioned way.
Greek yogurt and regular yogurt start off the same exact way. Milk is heated just enough to create a good environment for culturing. Our yogurt is heated to no more than 110F (specifically for raw yogurt, this preserves all the wonderful and beneficial microbiology).
Then, culture is added. We use a freeze dried culture that contains Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus, delbrueckii subsp. lactis, and Lactose (the lactose is added to to jumpstart the cultures).
The yogurt is left to culture in a temperature controlled room kept at around 108F overnight, for about 12 hours.
For regular yogurt, that’s the end of the process. It’s bottled. But, for Greek yogurt, there’s an extra step - straining!
Our Greek yogurt is put in a fine mesh strainer in the cooler for an additional 12 hours. The cool temp allows liquid to be removed without more culturing, which makes Greek yogurt that’s still a little sweet and not too sour.
This is the natural way of straining Greek yogurt. Many store bought options are strained using lots of energy and pressure and filter paper similar to what’s used with a reverse osmosis water filter. This allows them to speed up the process and get the same consistency every time.
Straining Greek yogurt removes the “yogurt whey” or “acid whey”.
Yogurt whey is mostly liquid and does not contain much protein. Basically, we’re removing the liquid from the yogurt, leaving almost all of the protein behind. On the other hand, “sweet whey” is strained from cheese. It has more protein per serving.
Compared to store bought, our yogurt is super natural. Not only in the process but also in what we don’t add to it.
This comes with a higher price tag for you right now. But, our hope is that by offering the cleanest, most natural, and most nutrient-dense foods to you now, it will save you much more in healthcare costs in the long run.
We don’t add thickeners to our yogurt. The natural, albeit slow, straining process in real Greek yogurt results in a thicker yogurt.
It takes 2-3x more milk to make real Greek yogurt compared to regular yogurt, which obviously adds to the cost.
What do some other companies do? Well, they look to cut costs. If you look closely at labels, you’ll notice that more affordable Greek yogurts may add thickeners like gelatin, corn starch, guar gum, xanthan gum, or milk protein concentrate to thicken the yogurt without using much more milk.
We don’t add sugar to our yogurt. It’s naturally sweet.
Many conventional store bought brands add sugar (fructose, evaporated cane juice, simple syrup, honey, etc) to their yogurt. Or for sugar-free yogurts, they add fake sugar (acesulfame potassium/Aspartame, sucralose/Splenda, neotame, etc).
Why? To make it “taste better”. So you can spoon it directly from the single serve container with an almost candy-like taste.
But I say, don’t mess with nature. Natural yogurt is simply delicious. When made with care, it’s naturally a little sweet. If you prefer a little more sweetness, you can always add some maple syrup, honey, or fruit at home.
We don’t add flavor enhancers to our yogurt. It’s naturally delicious.
Some yogurts have added sodium citrate, made from the natural fruit acid citric acid, which balances the acidity of yogurt to enhance its flavor. Some contain malic acid, a natural compound that is used as a food additive to give foods and candies a tart flavor. This is so the yogurt will taste the same exact way every time.
Again, don’t mess with nature here. Instead, when you notice flavor differences in our yogurt from week to week, take it as a sign that our yogurt is the real deal. The flavor changes with the weather and the seasons.
We don’t add preservatives to our yogurt. It lasts as long as it would naturally.
Some store bought yogurts contain preservatives like potassium sorbate or citric acid. This helps the yogurt taste “fresh” longer. It can also extend the shelf life beyond what’s natural.
We don’t add vitamins to our yogurt. It’s unfortified.
Some store bought yogurts contain added synthetic vitamin D. Vitamin D is super important, and it can be a challenge to get enough naturally. However, getting too much vitamin D can have consequences, too.
Since every body is different and every person’s food choices are different, we leave it to you to manage your vitamin D levels.
Lastly, a very important thing to consider when purchasing yogurt is the quality of the milk.
The quality of milk directly affects the nutritional value. Here are some things to look out for:
- Type of Feed. Our 100% grass-fed cows produce milk with higher levels of omega 3’s and CLAs. It is also safe for people with severe allergies to grains like corn and soy.
- Quality of Feed. The nutritional value of milk is directly linked to the quality of the feed, and the quality of the feed is directly linked to the quality of the soil. The term “regenerative farming” has started to become greenwashed, so it’s very important to know your farmer and their specific soil management practices. Our farm follows regenerative farming practices.
- Fat Content. Milk contains healthy fats that help you absorb fat-soluble vitamins. The more the better! Our yogurt is made with full fat milk.
- Homogenization. Non-homogenized milk is more digestible. Homogenization is when the fat globules in the milk are broken down so they are smaller and become suspended in the milk. Breaking down these fat globules is unnatural and makes it harder for a body to digest. Our yogurt is made with non-homogenized milk.
To recap, here’s a neat chart comparing our Greek yogurt to its conventional counterparts:
