Nancy’s Cultured Soy Isn’t So Cultured

In a perfect vegan world, soy yogurt would be creamy, fruity and satisfying. It’s too bad then that most soy yogurts usually taste pretty bland, too sweet or just have an overall nasty consistency. I’ve tried many types, from Amande (kinda tasteless) to Wholesoy and Co. (my personal favorite), but I’m always looking out for new kinds of vegan yogurts that can rival the taste and texture of its traditional milk-cultured counterpart.

Mango was slightly sweeter than the vanilla, though both still tasted like over-sweetened baby food.
Mango was slightly sweeter than the vanilla, though both still tasted like over-sweetened baby food.

I originally had high hopes for a new little yogurt in the nondairy aisle: Nancy’s Cultured Soy, since the packaging and ingredients looked good enough. This yogurt has an interesting and maybe slightly off-putting brownish color that made me think it had gone bad at first, but it turns out that the yogurt relies on brown rice syrup for its sugar content which probably lead to its curious coloring.

Brown yogurt, anyone?
Brown yogurt, anyone?

After getting past the odd hue, Nancy’s yogurt has quite the runny texture. I myself prefer yogurts that are a bit thicker, and in fact, I’m still hunting for a vegan yogurt that won’t fall if I turn it upside down on my spoon (used to love Yoplait custards when I was little!). The fact that it was runny definitely didn’t make me want to finish the whole container.

Pictured: the vanilla flavor, which is slightly less brown and sweet.
Pictured: the vanilla flavor, which is slightly less brown and sweet.

Aside from the undesirable texture, the actual flavor was also a massive letdown. The mango flavor was entirely too sugary for my taste (23g??), and the vanilla one was slightly less so, which still barred me from chucking in any addons like granola or cranberries since it would just make for a yucky sugar-rush. I thought the whole point of yogurt was to make you feel healthy?

A pretty good ingredient roster nonetheless.
A pretty good ingredient roster nonetheless.
Nutrition fact list reveal a good dosage of vitamin C and E, which should allow you to skip those supplements at least once a week, right?
Nutrition fact list reveal a good dosage of vitamin C and E, which should allow you to skip those supplements at least once a week, right?

Still, this yogurt is made with organic ingredients and has pretty good overall nutrition fact stats. I found I enjoyed using it in healthy shakes instead of eating it up solo. My quick fix involves an easy mix of a few tablespoonfuls with plain soymilk for a refreshing yogurt drink.

Mixing the mango yogurt with soymilk actually made for a yummy yogurt-y drink.
Mixing the mango yogurt with soymilk actually made for a yummy yogurt-y drink.

Overall, though I was not impressed with the sugary taste and brown appearance of Nancy’s yogurt, I wouldn’t mind buying it when it goes on sale as a smoothie ingredient, since it performed excellently then. The regular price is also pretty fair, at $3.99 for 24 oz. of yogurt at my local Whole Foods. No extra sugar needed!

Taste: Fair, but really, can't you do better?

Look: Fair, but really, can't you do better?

Price ($3.99 for large): Fair, but really, can't you do better?

Would buy again? Maybe.