I love to eat, but I don’t have a very discerning palate. Unlike my husband, who’s also a fantastic cook, I’m not particularly good at noticing the nuances in a dish. I can hardly taste the difference between diet and regular soda, and I’ve never been able to distinguish between Coke and Pepsi.
The difference between regular and Greek yogurt, however, has always been obvious, even to me. Greek yogurt is thicker than its traditional counterpart, which is why I’ve never been able to jump on the Greek bandwagon. It may have more protein than regular yogurt, but I’ve never been able to get past its glue-like consistency–and texture plays a big part in my food preferences. (It’s the primary reason why I’m not crazy about bananas.)
So when I was asked to take part in the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off, it was my inherent prejudice against Greek yogurt that prompted me to say yes. The challenge: Yoplait Greek Blueberry vs Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom. 
Levi and I tried both varieties over lunch. Obviously, it wasn’t a blind taste test, as I was the one stirring up the Chobani and scooping both yogurts into tasting bowls!
Levi loved picking out the real pieces of fruit in both of the yogurts, and at one point he mentioned that the Chobani yogurt had “different blueberries.” So I asked him which blueberries he liked better. His reply? “Chocolate.”
He quickly gobbled up his servings and asked for more of both. When I pressed him to pick a favorite, he chose Chobani, although he wasn’t able to articulate why. He is, after all, only two and a half.
My preference? Yoplait Greek Blueberry. Although I didn’t find it quite as flavorful as the Chobani Greek Blueberry Fruit on the Bottom, its lighter, smoother consistency was more palatable; I could more likely finish a cup of the Yoplait than the Chobani.
Surprisingly, the Chobani was not as glue-like as I had anticipated, but it was still thicker and slightly grainer because of the fruit on the bottom that had to be mixed in. Neither were overly sweet nor artificially tasting–a plus for both brands, but the Chobani was definitely more sour.
Naturally, I’m now curious to taste Yoplait’s other Greek yogurt flavors. Have you tried any of them yet? There’s a coupon on the Yoplait Greek Taste-Off website if you’d like to try one (plus, you can see which Greek yogurt other taste-testers preferred). You could even do your own Yoplait vs Chobani taste off!
What do you think is the best Greek yogurt? There are quite a few options besides Yoplait and Chobani, and I’d love to know if you have a favorite I should try (preferably one that isn’t too thick or sour-tasting).
I have a lot of strong opinions about Greek yogurt. First, I like it a lot better than regular yogurt. My very favorite Greek yogurt is Fage. It is the thickest yogurt and not glue like, in my opinion. It also is not sour at all. Chobani is my second choice. I haven’t tried Yoplait but I have tried Oikos which I disliked. It didn’t seem strained – it’s consistency was very close to regular yogurt and it was extremely sour.
I will say that I think that Yoplait is trying to emulate Chobani’s style of greek yogurt which as been adjusted to “American” tastes. Whereas, most of Fage’s lines (other than the new Fruit-yo) are more authentic to Greek yogurt. The November 4th issue of the New Yorker had an interesting article on Chobani called “Just Add Sugar.”
I too love Greek yogurt and now pretty much only eat plain 2% Fage. I add ripe bananas for sweetness, and sometimes Purely Elizabeth granola (http://www.purelyelizabeth.com/) if it’s my whole breakfast/lunch.
Yoplait was the winner of our taste test as well. I’m excited to try the other varieties to see if they are good as the blueberry.