It’s almost Shavuos, and you’re thinking, here comes yet another article about dairy, with the requisite cheesecake recipes. Well, yes and no. I am indeed writing about dairy, and there will in fact be some cheesecake recipes – but with a twist. The focus will be on a dairy food that is most likely not at the top of everyone’s ingredient list for this holiday: yogurt.
Yogurt is simply a form of soured milk. This fact ties into one of the reasons we eat dairy on Shavuot: When the Jews returned to their camp after receiving the Torah, according to one medrash, they found that their milk had soured and turned into cheese. It seems that even in ancient times, people knew how to extend the life of highly perishable dairy products by letting them ferment with acid-producing bacteria in leather bags and gourds. As Job lamented to the Creator, “Have You not poured me out like [fermented] milk and curdled me like cheese?” (Encyclopedia of Jewish Foods by Rabbi Gil Marks)
But let’s get back to “soured milk.” Yogurt is made by adding bacteria cultures to milk in a process similar to that used in cheese making. These cultures convert milk’s lactose sugar to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its distinctive tart flavor and its pudding-like consistency. The bacteria used to make yogurt – with lengthy Latin names like Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophiles – are also responsible for many of yogurt’s unique health benefits. Some companies also add Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis, other “friendly” bacteria known to contribute to intestinal health.
When buying yogurt, look at the label for a list of the active cultures used, or the words “live and active cultures,” or the National Yogurt Association’s stamp of approval, called the “live and active cultures seal.” This seal identifies a product as having at least 100 million live and active cultures per gram at the time of manufacture (10 million for frozen yogurt), an amount, according to the NYA website, that is considered beneficial, “based on a survey of leading research scientists involved in clinical studies of the health attributes associated with live and active culture yogurt.” This seal is a voluntary industry standard, not a law, so not all good-quality yogurts carry it. Stonyfield Farm and Brown Cow Farm, for example, two of the best kosher-certified yogurts available, rely on their reputation for producing an excellent quality product.
Health Benefits of Yogurt
Thanks in part to its bacterial cultures, yogurt is one of the most healthful foods you can eat. The website aboutyogurt.com, offers this concise overview: “Yogurt is a versatile, nutrient-dense food that can be enjoyed alone or as a healthy ingredient in many homemade recipes, while also meeting a wide variety of nutritional needs at every stage of life.”
One health issue that yogurt helps is lactose (milk sugar) intolerance, which is common among Jews and certain other ethnic groups. During fermentation, the live, active cultures produce the enzyme lactase, which breaks down lactose and makes it more digestible. Fermentation also makes the casein (milk protein) in yogurt more digestible. Casein in regular milk is one of the most difficult proteins to digest.
Yogurt has more to offer than its live active cultures, though. It is an excellent source of calcium, best known for its role in building strong teeth and bones. Surprisingly, yogurt has more calcium – a hefty 420 mg. per cup – than an equal amount of milk, which has 300 mg. Yogurt also has more calcium than an ounce of Swiss or cheddar cheese, with 270 to 300 mg.
Yogurt is a good protein source, too. Greek yogurt, which is yogurt that has been strained to remove much of the liquid whey, lactose, and sugar, has a thicker consistency than regular yogurt and almost double the amount of protein: on average, about 20 versus 10 grams per eight-ounce serving. In addition, the levels of vitamins B and C are higher in yogurt than in milk, due to the fermentation process.
These and other factors make yogurt a heart-healthy choice. Research presented at a 2012 American Heart Association scientific meeting suggests that eating yogurt may help lower the risk of high blood pressure. The research was part of the larger Framingham Heart Study and was partly funded by the Dannon Company. (Corporate sponsorship of research should always raise an eyebrow, but it’s a fact of life, and sponsors generally don’t control the outcomes of the studies, or at least they’re not supposed to!) The study tracked more than 2,000 volunteers for 15 years. Based on data from three questionnaires given at intervals, researchers determined that those who ate yogurt were up to 31 percent less likely to develop hypertension that those who didn’t.
A similar study was done by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. More than 6,000 participants kept food logs for three years and underwent clinical exams and lab testing. Yogurt consumption was linked to lower levels of circulating triglycerides and glucose, as well as lower systolic blood pressure and insulin levels. The researchers concluded that “yogurt is a good source of several micronutrients and may help to improve diet quality and maintain metabolic well-being as part of a healthy, energy- balanced dietary pattern.”
Other studies have looked at yogurt’s effects on the immune system and cancer prevention. One epidemiologic study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, in 2011, followed more than 45,000 volunteers for 12 years. The researchers found that high yogurt intake was linked to a decreased risk for colorectal cancer. Another study, this one a clinical trial, had 33 young healthy women eat yogurt for several weeks. Based on several follow-up immune tests, the researchers concluded that daily yogurt consumption has a stimulating effect on cellular immune functions. The study appeared in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism in 2006.
The Jewish History of Yogurt
So, yogurt’s healthy, but is it good for the Jews? Of course. There’s an interesting Jewish connection behind the yogurt story. Yogurt’s rise to stardom in modern times began with a Sefardic Jew from Salonika, Isaac Carasso. A doctor who appreciated the health benefits of yogurt, he wanted to make it more available to his patients as well as to a larger audience. He moved to Barcelona, Spain, to escape the Balkan Wars, and opened a small yogurt business, naming his company Danone, the nickname of his young son Daniel, Dr. Carasso was the first to perfect the first industrial process for making yogurt.
The son, Daniel Carasso, eventually took over the business, expanded the company to France, and partnered with a Swiss- born Jewish businessman. During World War II, both arrived in the United States. They soon opened a branch in New York and Americanized its name to Dannon. The company originally produced only plain yogurt in individual glass containers. When they began adding strawberry preserves on he bottom to sweeten their product, the result was a hit with Americans. The company grew from there, eventually producing a full line of flavored yogurts.
Dannon’s marketing campaign has been hailed as one of the most successful food promotions of the 20th century, according to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Foods, as it transformed a virtually unknown food into “an integral part of the American diet and culture.” Yogurt’s popularity soon spread to France and some 150 other countries. In the 1970s, it caught on in Israel, and by the early 2000s it had become even more popular in the Jewish homeland than the traditional favorite cultured dairy product, leben. (If you’re wondering about the difference between yogurt and leben, leben uses different bacterial cultures to ferment the milk. Also, leben is rooted in the ancient Middle East, while yogurt originated in Bulgaria.)
Well, let’s put aside science and Jewish lore for now and just enjoy the great taste and texture that yogurt adds to a variety of recipes – namely for cheesecake! Actually, these recipes are technically called cheese pies, not cheesecakes. They are also simple – that’s one of my guiding principles in the kitchen – so please don’t compare them to the ultrafancy concoctions you see in the glossy Jewish magazines. Simple, yet tasty and healthy. Enjoy!
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STRAWBERRY YOGURT CHEESECAKE
This is a recipe I modified from the Chobani recipe website (Chobanikitchen.com). If you use a ready-made pie shell crust, this is a quick way to whip up a healthy and tasty cheesecake.
1 ready-made 9-inch pie shell (like Arrowhead Mills graham cracker crust, or Wholly Wholesome whole-wheat, spelt, or gluten-free pie shell)
1 8-oz. package cream cheese or farmer cheese or ricotta cheese
2 6-oz. containers of Chobani Greek yogurt, either 2% strawberry banana, or 0% strawberry (or similar product)
3 large eggs
3 T. whole grain flour
1⁄3 to 1⁄2 c. natural sugar (Florida Crystals or Sucanat)
Put the farmer (or other) cheese, sugar, yogurt, eggs, and flour in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Pour mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until firm but still slightly jiggly in the center. Cool on a wire cake rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, until firm, before slicing and serving.
OAT CRUST CHEESE PIE
I modified a yogurt-based cheesecake recipe that I found on a Dannon-sponsored website called smartswaprecipe.com. It called for a Dannon brand of Greek yogurt called Oikos, which does not have a hechsher, but apparently, through a partnership between the companies, Stonyfield Farm also produces Oikos, with a hechsher.
8 oz. cream cheese or farmer cheese or ricotta cheese, room temperature
16 oz. Oikos vanilla yogurt (or similar product)
1⁄2 c. natural sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1⁄8 tsp. salt
Oat crust
2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 c. whole grain flour
1⁄4 c. natural sugar
1⁄2 tsp. baking soda
6 oz. butter melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 10x13 inch baking pan. In a food processor or bowl, mix all ingredients for oat crust until combined. Spread evenly in pan and press down slightly to compact the mixture. Set aside.
In a food processor, add all remaining ingredients and blend to combine. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Put cheesecake in oven, middle rack, and bake approximately 40 to 50 minutes or until the cheesecake jiggles when moved slightly and is springy to the touch. Do not overcook; it will set further as it cools. Remove from oven and cool on a rack until completely set.
CREAMY YOGURT CHEESECAKE
Another oikosyogurt.com inspired recipe.
1 ready-made pie crust (see first recipe)
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. whole-grain flour
3 c. Greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
1⁄2 c. natural sugar
Beat together the eggs and sugar. Add vanilla and flour and mix to blend thoroughly. Gently whisk in yogurt. Pour batter into the prepared pie crust and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until barely set in center. Turn off oven and cool cake in oven. Bring cake to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cake with berries if desired.
NO-BAKE CHEESE PIE
This recipe is one I have been making for years, adjusting it each time. The basis for it is the “no-bake cheese pie” found in The Spice and the Spirit Cookbook.
1 ready-made pie shell
4 oz. cream cheese and 8 oz. farmer cheese, or 12 oz. farmer cheese
1 c. regular whole-milk yogurt (don’t use low- or no-fat; the texture will not be firm enough)
1⁄2 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
In a large bowl, combine cheese, yogurt, honey, and vanilla. You can do this by hand or in a blender. Beat well. Pour filling into the pie crust. Freeze for 8 hours or overnight. Thaw pie in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving. If desired, garnish generously with fresh strawberries or blueberries.â—†
Lauren Mirkin, CNS, LDN, LGPC, is a licensed nutritionist and counselor. She provides nutritional counseling at the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center at Green Spring Station. Contact her at 443-326-7023 or holisticnutritionhelp@gmail.com.
