ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140072
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STEVEN PRATT CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Once regarded as a weird-tasting pudding reserved for health-food nuts, ethnic kitchens and Balkan ascetics, yogurt now hogs more space than milk in the supermarket dairy case and comes in as many flavors as ice cream.
Although it is just milk fermented by friendly bacteria, yogurt has been praised as an elixir for everything from lactose intolerance to cancer. But in the United States, it mainly is viewed as a snack and, lately, a dessert rather than a health food.
In line with contemporary tastes, the yogurt in this country has been mellowed, sweetened and flavored into a product that is barely recognizable to Europeans, who relish it tart and plain.
But each year sales grow by as much as 10 percent. And companies have stretched their quest for new variations to include such flavors as tangerine chiffon, lemon chiffon, banana cream pie, key lime pie, apple pie a la mode, cappuccino, chocolate caramel and strawberry cheesecake. And those are just some of the new ones.
That's a long way from the curdled goat milk that the biblical Abraham used to entertain three angels in his tent, says Manfred Kroger, professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
Abraham most likely was eating yogurt - or at least its ancestor, he says.
Before refrigeration, milk could be kept longer by turning it into a tart, slightly acidic, coagulated pudding. It first was boiled, then mixed with a bacterial starter culture from the previous batch, in the same way sourdough bread is made, says Kroger, co-author of ``The Encyclopedia of Fermented Fresh Milk Products'' with Joseph Kurmann and Jeremiah L. Rasic.
``Today, of course, we want to control Mother Nature and predict the outcome, so we know exactly what the bacterial cultures are, namely Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptobacillus thermophilus,'' he says. They are mixed in measured amounts with milk.
Commercial yogurt making uses two basic methods. The traditional way is to ferment the yogurt a cup at a time by adding the bacteria cultures to milk in the container. Fruit also is added, often on the bottom. The cup then is capped, incubated in a warm bath for a set time to allow the bacteria to form lactic acid, which in turn coagulates the milk protein, creating the yogurt pudding or gel.
The second process - called blended, custard or Swiss-style - mixes the milk, fruit, flavorings and cultures in a large vat. Hundreds of gallons are made at one time then pumped into the individual containers.
In either case, if the resulting yogurts are to retain live and active cultures they need to be refrigerated to keep them from fermenting further.
``Yogurts with live and active cultures are dated, but that's not really for a safety factor,'' says Tim Morck, director of nutrition, regulatory and consumer affairs for Dannon Co. ``The bacteria are very protective.'' The date is more indicative of taste and appearance, not spoilage.
A few yogurts, such as those from SnackWell's, are heated or pasteurized after fermentation. This destroys any live cultures and greatly prolongs shelf life. But the consumer doesn't get any of the benefits of the friendly bacteria.
There's no difference between pasteurized yogurt and pudding, says Leslie Sarasin, president of the National Yogurt Association, which represents many of the largest companies and is engaged in a campaign to promote brands containing at least 100 million ``live and active'' cultures per gram. Those brands usually display a National Yogurt Association logo boasting of the fact.
Yogurt has grown into a mainstream supermarket product. Annual sales stand at $1.6 billion in the United States, and Americans eat almost 41/2 pounds per person, says Sarasin. That's up from less than 1/2 pound per person 30 years ago when most people in the Midwest hadn't even tasted it. Yet U.S. consumption is dwarfed by that in France, where people eat more than 40 pounds of yogurt. Says Sarasin: ``We've a long way to go.''
It appears that in the States we're going in a different direction.
Europeans usually consume plain whole-milk yogurt or yogurt enhanced with fruit, but most American consumers know yogurt only in its reduced-fat or nonfat, sweetened varieties, says Morck.
Sweetness seems endemic to American tastes, Morck says, and most authorities say that the popularity of yogurt in the States began to grow with the development of sweet fruit flavors.
That trend may be reaching its extreme with the advent of dessert-derived flavors such as coconut or banana cream pie, Boston cream pie, double chocolate, tangerine chiffon and amaretto cheesecake.
On the other hand, the new yogurts provide a healthful alternative to the desserts after which they are named, especially in those versions with no fat and no added sugar.
An 8-ounce serving of nonfat yogurt provides 452 milligrams of calcium (100 milligrams more than a cup of milk), 13 grams of protein, no fat and about 125 calories, depending on the flavor.
Does it have added health benefits?
At the turn of the century Nobel prize winning scientist Elie Metchnikoff believed yogurt held the secret to longevity. Balkan mountain tribesmen who consumed a quart a day often lived more than 100 years. His theory has yet to be proved: Metchnikoff, who ate up to a gallon of yogurt each day, died at age 71.
But some research is encouraging. People who have difficulty digesting lactose in dairy products have less trouble with yogurt because the yogurt bacteria generate an enzyme that breaks down the lactose.
Yogurt's beneficial bacteria also may be helpful in curbing diarrhea and bacterial infections in the intestines, Kroger says.
Some companies lace their yogurt with a third bacterium - Lactobacillus acidophilus - as an aid to digestion.
Will yogurt cure cancer or help stem the progression of the disease?
Some studies show that acidophilus and other bacteria may have anticancer characteristics, but exactly what they do in the intestines isn't completely known. No pertinent human studies on that have been done, Kroger says.
``There is no scientific consensus that yogurt will help prevent or control cancer, heart disease or immune system problems,'' he says. ``At this point, that's mostly wishful thinking.''
The challenge of delivering the creaminess of a full-fat yogurt without using fat is mostly attacked with stabilizers such as modified food starches, gelatins or a combination, Morck says.
Some makers also use carrageen, other gums and soluble fibers. Some yogurt purists shun any stabilizers. In France, for example, stabilizing additives are not permitted, Morck says.
Calories can be further reduced by using sugar substitutes, in most cases aspartame. Many yogurts still contain sugar that comes naturally from added fruit.
While key lime pie and other yogurt flavors enjoy the limelight now, what about the future?
Considering America's jaded palate, Kroger says he fully expects to see flavors like sauerkraut, tomato, and chicken soup. Even pizza.
Certainly the folks at Dannon have considered savory flavors, Morck says.
``They are possible, but it will depend on the mind-set of the consumer. It may entail a disconnection with associations of yogurt with sweets and desserts.''
On the other hand, that may not take long. People seem to like using plain yogurt for party dips, Morck says.
``It goes quite well with onion soup mix.''
LENGTH: Long : 131 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT< Yogurt flavors now include key lime pie,by CNBcappuccino and strawberry cheese cake. color