Yogurt Now a Mainstay of the American Diet

In the last few decades, yogurt has become mainstay of American diets, with a profusion of new brands and varieties filling grocery shelves.

There's a lot of science behind 'thick milk' folklore

By Sheila Griffin Llanas, Special to the Journal Sentinel

According to some statistics, more Bulgarians live to be 100 than just about any other population in the world.

Their secret? That would be yogurt. Bulgarians eat a lot of it. Daily. In fact, they may even have invented it.

Yogurt, as we latecomers to yogurt consumption have since learned, is high in vitamins, and some studies suggest that it can reduce cholesterol and prevent cancer.

Yogurt's origins can be traced back many centuries. Supposedly, the word translates as "thick milk" in ancient Thracian (circa 8th century B.C).

According to legend, shepherds made Bulgaria's first yogurt by pouring sheep's milk into lambskin bags and tying it to their waists. Body heat caused the milk to thicken and ferment. Another legend claims that Genghis Khan kept his troops fit with yogurt.

There is a lot of science behind yogurt folklore.

In 1905, a 27-year-old Bulgarian microbiologist, Stamen Grigorov, discovered the Bacillus bacteria strain that makes Bulgarian yogurt so healthy.

To honor the researcher and his homeland (north of Greece and Turkey), the bacteria were named Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Grigorov's research proved yogurt can treat and prevent stomach and intestinal illnesses, ulcers, fatigue and even tuberculosis. Grigorov went on to contribute to the tuberculosis vaccine.

Meanwhile, Nobel-prize winning Russian microbiologist Ilya Mechnikov was working in Paris at the Pasteur Institute, studying microbes and the immune system. In 1908, when he learned of the high number of Bulgarian centenarians, he linked that robust longevity to the country's favorite food - yogurt. (He is also said to have coined the word gerontology.)

Mechnikov believed that toxic intestinal bacteria caused aging, which lactic acid prevented. He advocated a diet rich in bacilli-fermented dairy - in other words, sour milk. Though he drank the stuff every day, Mechnikov did not live to be 100. He died of a heart attack at the age of 71, heartbroken over the eruption of World War I in 1914. Some things yogurt cannot cure.

Today, some yogurt brands still are made by adding healthy bacteria to milk, including Grigorov's Lactobacillus bulgaricus.

The yogurt craze spread to Western Europe after 1919, when a man named Isaac Carasso founded a yogurt business in Spain, calling it Danone, after his son "Little Daniel."

Yogurt was soon a mainstay of the European diet, but few Americans had tried it. Then, in 1942, Daniel Carasso came to the United States and built the Dannon Yogurt factory in Bronx, N.Y. In 1947, Dannon introduced its signature "fruit on the bottom" yogurt dessert cups. Fruit-flavored yogurts (stir from the bottom) have been on dairy shelves ever since.

Despite Dannon's bustling Bronx factory, yogurt still didn't catch on across the country until the 1960s, when counterculture ideas of natural health foods grew in popularity.

Yogurt machines for making your own at home became all the rage in the 1970s. They were based on the age-old principle of yogurt-making, using a warm, steady heat to grow the bacteria. But instead of a shepherd's warm body - the favored method of the old Bulgarians - the new yogurt machines used electricity to generate warmth.

The machines haven't changed much in 40 years. Lots of people still make their own yogurt, using the plug-in makers or simply by placing a bowl over a gas oven's pilot light.

In the last few decades, yogurt has become mainstay of American diets, with a profusion of new brands and varieties filling grocery shelves.

Several varieties yield a consistently thicker yogurt than what can come from a home yogurt-maker. Greek yogurt, for example, is made with full-fat sheep's or cow's milk and strained to eliminate most of the moisture. Once available only in Greek food stores, it now can be found in most supermarkets.

Much of a yogurt's quality and thickness also has to do with the bacteria, also called a "starter." The slower the starter ferments the milk, the more consistently thick it is and the less likely to leak watery whey.

Most Americans tend to eat sweetened yogurts, or they dress their plain yogurt with sweet flavorings. Plain yogurt sweetened with fresh fruit, honey, walnuts, molasses or granola makes a tasty breakfast.

But many Europeans, including the yogurt experts, the Bulgarians, eat yogurt with savory dishes. Savory tangy yogurt sauces are a refreshing complement to salads, vegetables and any kind of meat, chicken, beef, lamb or fish. Bulgarian cuisine has Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern and Eastern European influences - all using savory forms of yogurt.

Recipes

Plain yogurt can take on any and many flavor combinations. This list of ingredients are recommended, and all optional. Choose flavors you like. Keep it simple with just salt and pepper, or add one herb, or try a combination.

This sauce is great on a vegetable salad or plain and simple on sliced tomato and cucumbers. Dollop the sauce liberally on any of the following recipes.

Yogurt Sauce
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup plain, unflavored yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

2 diced green onions

1 tablespoon (or to taste) minced fresh dill or mint or basil or cilantro

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

In bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing well. Cover and chill.

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In tabbouleh salad, herbs are not a background flavor; they are a main ingredient. Finely chopped (the finer the better), a large amount of fresh parsley and mint make the salad bright green and bursting with flavor. In Lebanon, tabbouleh is sometimes eaten scooped up with lettuce leaves.

Tabbouleh
Makes 4 servings

1 cup bulgur wheat

? teaspoon salt

1 cup boiling water

1 cucumber

1 tomato

2 green onions

? cup fresh mint

1 cup fresh parsley

1 clove garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

? cup extra-virgin olive oil

? teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Measure dry bulgur and salt into a bowl. Add boiling water. Let sit 30 minutes to allow bulgur to absorb the water. Bulgur should be soft but slightly chewy.

Dice cucumber and tomato into bite-size pieces. Chop the green onions. Finely mince the mint, parsley and garlic - by hand or using a food processor. Add herbs and vegetables to cooked bulgur. Mix.

To make dressing, squeeze lemon juice into a bowl or jar. Add olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake or whisk. Pour over salad and mix.

Serve tabbouleh chilled or at room temperature with a dollop of plain yogurt or yogurt sauce on top or on the side.

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Fried or baked balls of chickpea dough, falafel is popular across the Middle East, though the recipe may have originated in Egypt or India. Typically, falafel is served sandwich style, in pita (flatbread pockets), topped with vegetables and yogurt or tahini dressing. The sandwich is called Israel's national snack.

Falafel
Makes 4 servings

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained (and rinsed, if desired)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon ground coriander

? teaspoon ground cumin

? teaspoon ground turmeric

Dash of cayenne or chili powder

? teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon tahini (optional)

Pita breads

Diced cucumber, tomato and onion

Yogurt sauce (see recipe) or creamy dressing

Blend chickpeas, onion, garlic and parsley with a potato masher or fork or in a food processor. Mix in seasonings, then remaining ingredients. Bake or fry.

To bake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease mini-muffin tins. Drop ping-pong sized balls of dough into cups. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes. Or: Grease a cookie sheet. Slightly flatten the balls (so they won't roll around). Place on cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. Flip over. Bake 10 more minutes.

To fry:

In a skillet, heat a layer of oil over medium to medium-high heat. Fry falafel a few minutes on each side until they have a browned, crispy crust. Add more cooking oil to the pan as needed.

Pop hot falafel into pita pockets. Top with cucumber, tomato and onion. Top with yogurt sauce or a creamy salad dressing, such as ranch.

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This is a good way to use up those arm-size zucchini you find hidden in your garden.

Fried Zucchini
Makes about 4 appetizer servings

1 zucchini (medium to extra large)

? cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

? teaspoon dried herb or spice of your choice (optional)

1 egg or ? cup milk

? cup vegetable oil

Yogurt sauce (see recipe)

Cut zucchini crosswise into slices about 1/3 inch thick.

In a flat bowl or on a plate, mix flour and salt and, if using, dried herb or spice. In another flat bowl, beat the egg or pour in the milk. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high to high heat. Oil should cover bottom of pan. Add more as needed. Dip zucchini slices into egg or milk. Dredge in the flour mix, lightly dusting both sides.

Place slices in the hot oil. Fry 2 minutes or so on each side until slices are crispy and golden brown. Watch constantly and be careful to guard yourself from spattering hot oil! Set slices on a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the extra oil. Dip hot (or warm) crispy zucchini fries in yogurt sauce.

Notes: If you like softer zucchini, fry longer over lower heat. For a crunchier vegetable, fry quickly over higher heat.

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