From Fountain of Youth to Fruit on the Bottom: How Yoghurt Finally Made it Big in America

Yoghurt is the most diverse section of the dairy case: from Icelandic skyr to creamy Australian, and fruity French Yoplait to full-fat Greek. With something to suit every palate, plus a dose of microbes to support healthy digestion, yoghurt is a staple food in the US, hero of a million smoothies, berry bowls, and snack breaks every day. Which is why it's pretty weird that, until about 50 years ago, most Americans had no idea what it was. This episode, we've got the story of the microbial miracle (and ants?) that gave us yoghurt, as well as the secret connection between those heat-loving bacteria and the evolution of lactose tolerance. Plus, for most of history, yoghurt was wildly popular in large parts of the world—the Middle East, the Balkans, Caucasus, much of Asia, and the Indian subcontinent—and totally unknown elsewhere. Even the promise that yoghurt would cure old age, made by a Nobel prize-winning scientist, couldn't persuade Americans to eat it. So how did yoghurt finally capture the hearts of Americans? Listen in now for the little-known story of our curious relationship with this creamy concoction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can listen to From Fountain of Youth to Fruit on the Bottom: How Yoghurt Finally Made it Big in America online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

From Fountain of Youth to Fruit on the Bottom: How Yoghurt Finally Made it Big in America is an episode from Gastropod by Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley.

This episode is 50:45 long.

This episode was published on Nov 18, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Gastropod when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.