Farmers Union Greek style yoghurt review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Farmers Union Greek style yoghurt. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition and flavour of this popular yoghurt.
For this review we have tested the full-fat version.
This yoghurt is available widely in Australian supermarkets.
Who owns Farmers Union yoghurt?
One thing you should know about this yoghurt is that you will not be supporting a union of farmers by buying it. It was started by a farmers union a long time ago but has since been sold on numerous times (including to Japanese and Chinese companies) and is now owned by Bega.
Ingredients of Farmers Union yoghurt
Farmers Union has only milk, cream, milk solids and live cultures.
So it is a very clean and natural product without thickeners or flavourings.
Benefits of Farmers Union yoghurt
This yoghurt has a few health benefits (as well as some not so good traits). For context, we’ll compare a few key factors against Tamar Valley yoghurt - which is a similar yoghurt in this category.
Calcium
Farmers Union is very high in calcium and beats many other yoghurts in this category by this measure.
It has 162mg per 100g vs 148mg per 100g for Tamar Valley.
Protein
Farmers Union has a decent amount of protein at 4.2%, but Tamar Valley is higher at 5% (while Chobani is double at 8.6% protein).
Probiotics
Farmers Union has two strains of live cultures - Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus.
In contrast, Tamar Valley gives no information on the strains of bacteria present and Chobani contains five strains.
Like all these brands, Farmers Union gives no information on the amount of bacteria present (ie colony forming units).
Read more about the benefits of probiotic foods.
Other health measures
Farmers Union has quite a lot of fat at 9.4%, which is similar to Tamar Valley’s 9.6%.
Farmers Union has less sodium than Tamar Valley - it has 57mg per 100g vs 76mg per 100g.
Appearance
It appears thick and retains an irregular shape in the bowl, rather than sinking to an even level. This makes me think some nice creaminess is ahead!
Texture
And it does indeed have a thick and creamy mouthfeel - which, let’s be honest, only really comes with a high-fat yoghurt ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Flavour
It has a normal soured milk aroma as you would expect.
Regarding the taste, the sourness is fairly low. And much below the sourness of Tamar Valley. I would prefer a little more sourness to balance out the rich creaminess personally. And it does make me wonder about the amount of probiotics (ie live beneficial bacteria) this yoghurt contains given the low level of sourness.
Overall, the taste is quite good though. And it definitely does come across as a natural yoghurt with clean ingredients.
Cost of Farmers Union yoghurt
The normal retail price for a 1kg tub from Woolworths is $6.50 - which is cheaper than similar brands like Tamar Valley or Chobani.
Summary
4.25 stars out of 5.
A good value, clean and natural yoghurt. A good all rounder as long as you don’t mind the fat content.
Pros
good value
high in calcium
good taste (but I’d prefer more sourness)
Cons
high in fat
more information needed on the amount of probiotics
Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut enthusiast and passionate kombucha maker!
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