Deep Yogurt

If you've been to France, you might have noticed a couple of things about yogurt: 1) Their Dannon yogurt (called "Danone") is so much better than our Dannon yogurt; and 2) French yogurt in general is less expensive than in the US. A LOT LESS. Recently, French Morning, a publication for French expats living in the US, did some investigative reporting to find out why, for the price of one single-serving container here, you can buy a pack of a dozen ("oui -- douze" they say, incredulously) in France The article is in French, but the gist of the piece is:

• The French eat a lot more of the stuff, so there are economics in the supply chain
• Milk is cheaper in France
• Americans tend to favor the high-protein Greek-style varieties
• No surprise here, but our single-serve container are American-sized -- larger than in France, sometimes quite a bit.

One final thought on French yogurt: When I was staying at a hotel in France a decade ago, containers of plain yogurt were put out at breakfast. Yuch. How do they eat this stuff? I wondered. Then I saw that the people at the next table were sweetening it with some jam that had been put on the table. That's the only way I've even yogurt ever since. It's SO much better than flavored yogurt, which is full of of sugar.

On my most recent trip to France, I had to search for plain yogurt at breakfast spreads. Which means, I've become more French than the French? (At least when it comes to yogurt.) That should every Frenchman cause for concern!