The smoothest, creamiest, plain yogurt....

April 17, 2012 4:45 PM

I'm searching for the creamiest, smoothest plain yogurt.

I like plain yogurt; I like it even more with the perfect texture, but I'm having trouble finding the right brand. I find even Dannon and Stonyfield to be chunky and less-than-satisfying. I found some in France that was SO GOOD (Grand Jury was the brand). And I've had some at hotels' continental breakfasts so I know it can be found in America! Can you suggest some kinds that may fit the bill?


P.S. I'm not looking for Greek yogurt, although that is delicious as well.

posted by la_rousse to food & drink (25 answers total)

La Fermiere (yep, french yogurt) is available here in the US! But only on the West Coast, apparently, because of unspecified cruelties.
posted by elizardbits at 4:48 PM on April 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Do you live near a Trader Joes? They're European Style Organic Yogurt sounds like what you want. The nonfat is pretty good, but the whole milk one is even better!
posted by apricot at 4:51 PM on April 17, 2012 [3 favorites]

Trader Joe's cream line yogurt is the bestest.
posted by bq at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I like Nancy's plain yogurt over TJ's.
posted by victory_laser at 4:57 PM on April 17, 2012

Stonyfield Farm's whole milk yogurt is thick, creamy, smooth, and very good!
posted by tetralix at 4:57 PM on April 17, 2012

I am a huge fan of Liberté yogurt; they do a plain yogurt that is 2% fat, and "Méditérranée" that is 7% (Méditérranée has fruit). I have never had better, smoother, creamier yogurt; the texture is amazing. As far as I can tell, it's available all over the east coast of the US and Canada.
posted by shamash at 4:59 PM on April 17, 2012 [7 favorites]

Try your local food co-op or equivalent. Mine has so many amazing yogurts.
posted by aniola at 6:05 PM on April 17, 2012

Try Wallaby. Both the lowfat and full fat versions are extremely smooth and creamy; not a lot of bite.

You can also make your own deliciously mild and creamy yogurt without any special equipment. Let Manjula show you how. It's way easy -- just bring the milk to a boil, cool, mix in the starter, then let sit for a few hours. Crazy good.
posted by apparently at 6:09 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Fage Greek yogurt is fantastic. It's practically ice cream.
posted by MexicanYenta at 6:24 PM on April 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

You can try Siggi's Skyr, a line of Icelandic-style yogurt. In Iceland, skyr is incredibly creamy and lovely, and I haven't found Siggi's to be quite the same but it's worth a try.

Also, try full-fat yogurts of the various kinds, if you haven't.

Finally: stir it up. Stirring before you scoop smooths out the texture variation and makes any yogurt creamier.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:33 PM on April 17, 2012

Fage. It's Greek yogurt, but so delicious. Even the fat free kind.
posted by elizeh at 6:37 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Stir, stir, stir. (We generally buy Stonyfield Farms here.)
posted by introp at 6:46 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Brown Cow. It's the only kind of yogurt that I genuinely ENJOY eating.
posted by sarahnicolesays at 6:48 PM on April 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

Check the ingredient list and avoid the ones containing pectin. This is what makes a lot of American yogurts "chunky".
posted by needled at 7:05 PM on April 17, 2012 [4 favorites]

nthing stir-stir-stir, but along with Liberté (Quebéc company, but using organic Vermont milk for its US products) I'm going to say Seven Star Farms, which you can find in hippie-groceries / Whole Wallet along the east coast. It's not as thick as some other makers', and it's not La Fermière (oh those earthenware pots) but it's very good yogurt from happy cows.
posted by holgate at 7:05 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Or Seven Stars Farm, even. And they don't use pectin or any other artificial thickeners. The whole milk varieties have a gold-tinged cream top, which is a little bit too luxurious for me, but may be your thing.
posted by holgate at 7:10 PM on April 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

I just discovered Cabot Greek 10 % milkfat. Creamy, and delicious.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 7:11 PM on April 17, 2012

Seconding Nancy's, mentioned above. Their plain yogurt is my absolute favorite, and they make a honey yogurt that's a bit sweeter without being too sweet. If you're looking for something a little thinner, Traderspoint Creamery makes a pourable yogurt in a glass jar that's ridiculously good. Both are more likely to be at organic/natural foods stores or in the organic section at the supermarket.
posted by dizziest at 7:28 PM on April 17, 2012

Liberté yogurt all the way. It is smooth and contains a lot more milk solids than other brands that tend to rely on pectin or thickners.
posted by saradarlin at 7:35 PM on April 17, 2012

If you live where you can get Nancy's Yogurt their whole milk organic plain yogurt is the best they make. Super smooth and creamy. Best yogurt I've eaten. Noticeably smoother and creamier than the whole milk honey yogurt.
posted by leahwrenn at 7:50 PM on April 17, 2012

Have you tried 3 Greek Gods traditional plain yogurt? It is not a super high protein type of greek yogurt but does have a high fat content.
posted by catseatcheese at 7:56 PM on April 17, 2012

You can try Siggi's Skyr, a line of Icelandic-style yogurt. In Iceland, skyr is incredibly creamy and lovely, and I haven't found Siggi's to be quite the same but it's worth a try.

Hm. I love creamy yogurt and don't much like the pectin-ed brands. But I tried Siggi's Skyr once and found it chalky, almost gritty -- very much like 0% Greek yogurt.
posted by palliser at 8:22 PM on April 18, 2012

Seconding Brown Cow: when I can't find my favorite local yogurt that's my preferred brand.

Not sure where you are located, but Sidehill Farm in Western Massachusetts makes the best, creamiest, silkiest loveliest yogurt. I find plain Dannon, Yoplait, and yes, even TJ's European yogurt too strong and sour tasting (great for burritos, not so much for granola.) Sidehill is my absolute favorite.
posted by absquatulate at 12:01 PM on April 30, 2012

Mountain High Original Style
posted by sulaine at 1:14 PM on April 30, 2012

If you're in the Northern California area I suggest you try Straus Organic Yogurt. It is made locally in the town of Petaluma, CA.

Straus Yogurt is super smooth, very creamy and has a great flavor. It is less tart Trader Joe's Euro style yogurt and has a very nice, sweet, fresh milk flavor.

Reading from their site..."And unlike other yogurt companies that cook their yogurt in their plastic cups (yuck!), we incubate our yogurt in stainless steel vats, then pour the cooling yogurt into the cups before quickly refrigerating them to maintain their fresh flavors."

http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/?title=Yogurt

We love all of their dairy products, great quality stuff. Here i also a "fan post" from a famous local bakery. http://miettecakes.blogspot.com/2009/10/from-miette-oh-straus-family-creamery.html

Because Strauss products are harder to come by we usually buy the Trader Joe's European yogurts in the red (whole milk) container and blue (non fat) container and we like them a lot but when we want to splurge we buy Strauss yogurt. It is not sold in all of our local grocery stores but we have been able to locate it in Lucky and Whole Food stores.
posted by RK at 3:15 PM on April 30, 2012