Aldi part two - Brooklea fat free Greek-style natural yogurt

On the same visit to the feted German discount chain I purchased a Greek-style natural yogurt by their in-house brand. I was interested in this product because the calories are almost identical to most Greek or Greek-style yogurts I’ve reviewed but the macros after very different. Per 100g we have 62 cals, 0.2g fat, but 9.1g carbs (of which 7.7g are sugar) and 5.9g of protein.

Upon opening the tub, there is a slight yellowish hue to the yogurt in comparison to the sparkling white tub, and the texture is softer and runnier than a standard Greek yogurt but it actually seems to firm up slightly after stirring, and doesn’t really slip off the spoon. It is however much more pourable than other comparable products.

There was quite a strong milk smell after opening which dissipated fairly quickly.

There is a pronounced visible graininess which thankfully isn’t that noticeable when eating the yogurt - there is the slightest hint of it in the back of the throat but nothing offputting and actually gives the product some body.

The code gb r0 030 indicates this comes from Pakeeza dairies in Rochdale, which is a first for me as far as I’m aware. It makes a nice change from Yeo Valley.

Google informs me that they produce the Lancashire farm brand, which is ‘the UK’s third most popular choice of natural yoghurt’. That is a product that has interested me for a while as it comes in big 1litre tubs that look like paint buckets, but I tend not to buy natural or Greek-style yogurt very often (as is probably self-evident from the blog’s history), so until now I have kept it at arm’s-length.

Clearly this is less strained than more expensive options. Despite the doubling of sugar, I would say this tastes ‘not tart’ rather than sweet, although the lactose has a pronounced feeling at the back of the throat. The lack of sweetness may in part be due to the 0.19g of salt (which I feel they rounded down on purpose) which to my memory seems quite high compared to others.

There is no ingredients list which I usually take to mean that there is nothing added to the milk, but also means it is hard to know what bacteria was used - again based on the carb content my immediate reaction would be ‘not very much’. I don’t think we’re dealing with anything bespoke here.

The blue on white packaging places this into the ‘everyday’ or default category of yogurts - it isn’t claiming any special processing, cultures, or macro profile. It is simply a more strained version of their natural yogurt.

The use of the marketing term ‘deliciously creamy’ on the front irks me slightly, as although I know this isn’t meant literally I feel that there’s not much that could be further from ‘cream’ than fat free yogurt.

Moreover, neither the taste nor texture is creamy to me. Once again we find ourselves confronting the simulacra of modern marketing, which impels us to do the work for them and imagine we experience something that is not really there.