Creamy, Delicious, Healthful, Kosher

Chobani is a phenomenon! Its popularity is evident in its availability on more and more supermarket shelves throughout the U.S. Its fans write “love letters” to the company and its customer base keeps growing, we think, by word of mouth.  How does a company attract such a devoted following? Well, here is our own KosherEye love letter to Chobani and its tasty, healthful deliciousness. We truly love it, but why?

First a note about its origins:
Agro Farma is the parent company of Chobani and was founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya. Hamdi, who was born and raised in Turkey, is a third–generation maker of Mediterranean foods. He started Agro Farma with the vision of bringing high quality products made with only natural ingredients to the U.S.  In just a few years, the company has become the largest yogurt manufacturer in New York State. Agro Farma launched the brand Chobani in 2007, with Kyle O’Brien as Vice President of sales. The name Chobani was selected, derived from the Greek word “chopani,” shepherd, a symbol of safety and good.

What is Greek yogurt?  Many people think that “Greek yogurt” refers to where the yogurt is made; however, the term “Greek” yogurt actually describes how it is made. Chobani uses a centuries–old straining technique to remove excess liquid. This is why Chobani is so thick, creamy and packed with protein − no thickeners, gelatins or stabilizers are ever added.

What makes Greek yogurt unique?  Well, to us it tastes so rich and creamy that it is hard to believe how healthy it actually is. Chobani uses only natural ingredients, which are free of preservatives and artificial flavors. Mustafa Dogan, Chobani’s master yogurt maker, has years of yogurt–making experience. Mustafa custom blends special yogurt cultures just for Chobani. “The special cultures are added to our milk which is then strained with care to create yogurt that's outrageously creamy and ridiculously high in protein."

And then there is the health benefit: It takes three pounds of milk to make just one pound of Chobani. The yogurts are free of synthetic growth hormones, include five live and active cultures, three probiotics, and are made with real fruit. Chobani offers twice the protein of most regular yogurts, is rich in calcium and is gluten free and kosher certified. WOW!

If you visit the Chobani website, you can read the “Chobani Love Stories”. As you can see, we have written our own. We think that Chobani Greek yogurt is simply sensational. We use it often for breakfast or lunch, topped with granola or nuts, and alongside fruit. We enjoy it as a healthy snack, and as an ingredient in dairy dips, cakes, pies and sauces.

In writing our feature we learned something new about Chobani We discovered the benefits of the amazing “FroCho” frozen Chobani, “The yogurts can be frozen and stored for up to three months. While frozen, the live and active cultures present in Chobani become dormant. But once thawed, either in the refrigerator or by your body heat when eaten, they become live and active again.”  Yes, we are hopelessly in love with Chobani. Are you?

Enjoy the following delicious recipes that use Chobani Yogurt as an ingredient:
Yogurt Cheesecake, Mixed Berry Cream Pie, Spinach Quiche, and 3-Layer Tex–Mex Dip.

Please read the remainder of our Chat with Chobani Greek Yogurt – it includes two additional yummy cheesecake recipes and a yogurt substitution chart for sour cream, mayonnaise, and other ingrredients.

Use the following link to print two Chobani yogurt coupons – great savings on your next Chobani purchase.

Visit Chobani.com for more yogurt related information and recipes.

June 1, 2011