Total-ly smitten with Greek yogurt

Recently - although not THAT recently - I was asked if I would like to try out a particular brand of Greek yogurt. Now, Greek yogurt being my most favourite type of yogurt for its thickness and sweetness – by which I mean that it’s not sour like home-made yogurt gets after a few days – I was only too pleased to accept.

And so a short while later I was contemplating a big box containing all variants of Total Greek yoghurt - nonfat, 2%, regular and 2% with honey, in small- and large-sized containers. There was way too much for just me (even at my most enthusiastic) and Pete to finish up before the use-by date, so I shared some with my favourite neighbour, and some – mainly the 2% with honey – with Pete’s office colleagues.

I have to say that the 2% with honey was favourite with everybody. The yoghurt was creamy and smooth, and the quality of the honey was excellent too – not to mention generous in quantity. I tried the non-fat yoghurt and can’t really say that I was impressed by it – it had a chalky sort of texture/mouthfeel and it just didn’t taste right to me. But then again, I doubt you could do a totally non-fat product that tasted better than the regular product, or even the low-fat product.

The 2% yoghurt and regular yoghurt were lovely. I always buy greek yogurt, because I love the stuff - but I usually get the supermarket brand. (I've tried Tesco, Sainsbury and Asda, with Tesco's winning by a good margin.) I have to admit, though, that the supermarket brands of Greek yogurt are not a patch on Total. Total Greek yogurt is the creamiest, thickest version I've ever had. My mother thinks that the supermarket yogurt I buy is too thick, but the next time she comes here, I'm going to spring Total on her.

I made a few dishes using Total Greek yoghurt , with great success. The 2% yogurt lent itself to being thoroughly heated. The regular Total yogurt can be heated without the danger of it curdling - a big plus, because curdled yogurt in gravy looks indescribably disgusting. Curdled yogurt is edible enough despite looking like baby sick - but I find it very difficult to put it anywhere near my mouth because my eyes reject its appearance.

The non-fat yogurt, though... that was awful. I found the texture and the taste unpleasant, sort of chalky, I suppose. Even thinned with a bit of water to make yogurt-rice, it didnt taste right to me. It might be ok to eat with fresh fruits and honey drizzled, but I couldn't. That's just me, though. I'm sure that health and fitness freaks would go for the non-fat Greek yogurt.