Sheryl Kesey Thompson of Nancy's Yogurt: A Casual Culinary Chat About Yogurt

Summary

The Joy of Cooking Podcast

Episode: Sheryl Kesey Thompson of Nancy's Yogurt: A Casual Culinary Chat About Yogurt

Date: February 4, 2026
Produced by: The Joy of Creation Production House
Hosts: Megan Scott, John Becker, Sarah Marshall
Guest: Cheryl Kesey Thompson, VP of Marketing & 2nd generation co-owner of Springfield Creamery (Nancy’s Yogurt)

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Episode Overview

This week’s episode is a vibrant, affectionate exploration of yogurt, food legacies, and family. The hosts—Megan, John, and Sarah—welcome Cheryl Kesey Thompson from Nancy’s Yogurt for a heartfelt conversation about her family’s iconic Northwest dairy, the pivotal role of probiotics, the legendary Grateful Dead concert that saved the business, the evolution of yogurt in American kitchens, and creative uses for yogurt and cottage cheese. The result is a celebration of culinary heritage, fun storytelling, and practical advice for the kitchen.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Warm-Up Banter and Culinary Catch-Up

[00:39 - 12:30]

• Host Introductions: Megan, John, and Sarah introduce themselves and share what they’ve been cooking, eating, and craving.
• On Sneezing from “Volcano Sparkle”: The crew describes Sarah’s homemade hot pepper blend, which is “so hot and so good" [02:09, Sarah].
• San Diego Eats: Sarah details her love for avocados, tacos, sopes, and unique cocktails in San Diego: “I always get the carnitas… that’s my street taco order” [05:01, Sarah].
• Joy of Cooking Recipe Talk: The bi-weekly featured recipe is “Freekeh with greens, chickpeas and halloumi” (p. 338). Megan and John describe the smoky character of freekeh and adapt the recipe with collards for greens [08:47, John and Megan].

Special Guest Introduction: Cheryl Kesey Thompson

[12:34 - 13:12]

• Megan introduces Cheryl as a key leader at Springfield Creamery, highlighting her family legacy, Eugene community ties, and passion for probiotic-rich foods.
• Cheryl joins the table after a food-focused trip to Atlanta, sharing stories about reverse-engineering restaurant Brussels sprouts and her current favorite method: “Pan fry with olive oil, cut in half, lid on to steam within their own juices… this week, blue cheese, pumpkin seeds, and dried cherries on top” [14:11, Cheryl].

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Yogurt, Brussels Sprouts, and Family Legacies

[13:12 - 18:45]

• The hosts reminisce about their own Brussels sprouts evolutions, changing tastes, and cooking techniques.
• Cheryl shares the story of her inherited copy of Joy of Cooking—“my mom’s 1953 copyright, spine falling apart, vanilla all over, little sticky notes” [16:31, Cheryl]—and the serendipitous joy of flourless nut balls, a recipe cherished by friends and family.
  • Notable exchange: “It’s funny because you continue to think about them. The flavor is so good. They look like you’re serving meatballs…” [18:50, Cheryl]
  • Discussion about recipes disappearing and returning across Joy editions.

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Generational Memory: The Joy of Cooking and Nancy’s Yogurt

[21:48 - 27:32]

• John and Cheryl highlight the universal nostalgia of familiar kitchen brands—Nancy’s Yogurt containers repurposed for leftovers, old Joy copies marked with spills and scribbles.
  • “Sometimes somebody will bring some [old yogurt containers] from their basement… I can’t put them in the recycling. I need to take this one home” [22:08, Cheryl].
  • The hosts and Cheryl reflect on the emotional responsibility of stewarding a family food brand and the intentional decision to honor, but not pressure, younger generations.
  • “There was never that pressure… We actually enjoy being together. If we go on vacation, we still go together, even though we see each other every single day.” [27:21, Cheryl]
  • “Having that moment… that was definitely my come to Joy moment, I guess is the way to put it.” [25:53, John]

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The Origins and History of Nancy’s Yogurt

[27:35 - 44:49]

• Cheryl traces the origins of Springfield Creamery from her grandfather’s Eugene dairy, through her parents’ bootstrapped efforts starting in 1960, to the arrival of Nancy (yes, that Nancy!) as their bookkeeper-turned-yogurt pioneer in 1969.
• The Grateful Dead Save the Dairy:
  • In 1972, the creamery was rescued financially by a Grateful Dead benefit concert, made possible by Cheryl’s uncle, writer Ken Kesey—a seminal, sun-soaked, volunteer-driven moment of countercultural community.
    • “They just got a rubber stamp… and so that was your ticket. Ingenious… tickets were $3 in advance and $3.50 at the door.” [35:04, Cheryl]
  • Huey Lewis once drove yogurt from Oregon to the Bay Area, penning songs along I-5 while making Nancy’s deliveries.
    • “Yeah, he wrote quite a few songs on I-5. Hauling yogurt in the back.” [33:57, Cheryl]
• The collaborative, grassroots foundation of Eugene’s food scene is celebrated.
  • “The natural foods scene at the time was just very collaborative… supporting each other in doing that.” [36:01, Megan]
• Legacy concerts and live music remain core to Nancy’s ethos, even as the next generation handles production [36:54, Cheryl].

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Nancy’s Yogurt Today: Products, Health, and Trends

[38:35 - 46:12]

• Favorite Product:
  • “I am an organic, low-fat cottage cheese eater through and through… I’ll take it in a mug in my car in the morning, put pumpkin seeds on it…” [38:39, Cheryl]
• Cottage Cheese Craze:
  • Cottage cheese is trending, especially on TikTok—Nancy’s expands production to meet demand.
  • “Cottage cheese isn’t a simple product to make… but it’s caught on.” [40:52, Cheryl]
• Influence of Trends:
  • John asks how food trends inform product development—Cheryl explains balancing innovation with production realities [41:28].
• Supplying Hospitals:
  • Megan recounts John receiving Nancy’s yogurt after a hospital procedure; Cheryl explains that Nancy’s is used as protocol for post-surgery/antibiotic recovery in hospitals nationwide [42:56].
  • “Our kefir and yogurt are being used in a lot of hospitals across the country… sometimes as protocol for after surgery or antibiotics.” [43:06, Cheryl]
• Probiotic Magic:
  • Nancy’s distinguishes itself with a diverse strain selection and high culture count (“billions with a B” [44:00, Megan]).
  • “We added rhamnosis to the kefir recently… because it had great research behind it.” [45:51, Cheryl]

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Cooking with Yogurt—Ideas, Tips, and Joy

[46:12 - 51:26]

• Q&A (Caller): How to use yogurt for protein instead of sour cream?
  • Cheryl: “Wise doctors everywhere… Yogurt is such a great substitute. Baking, dips, sauces… Whipped cottage cheese lemon dip is lovely—recipe’s on our website.” [46:40, Cheryl]
  • Megan: Yogurt for sauces—raita, tzatziki, ranch, green sauce, ranch dressing, etc.
    • “Most meals need a sauce… yogurt sauces are so easy.” [48:27, Megan]
  • John: “Gotta mention smoothies and mango lassi…” [49:29]
  • Sarah: Swaps yogurt for mayo in sandwiches, “if a creamy sauce breaks, I’ll stir in yogurt and it’ll bring it back together” [49:38].
  • Megan: Turkish/Chilbur eggs with yogurt, herbs, chile butter (“decadent breakfast” [50:04]).
  • Flatbread miracle: Two-ingredient yogurt flatbread is a quick, tangy, yeast-free bread [50:40].
  • Cheryl: Greek yogurt’s protein power, whipped cottage cheese as a versatile dip.
    • “If you whip a cottage cheese, you can doctor it up any which way.” [53:06, Cheryl]

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Recipe Highlight: Yogurt and Honey Panna Cotta

[53:17 - 55:04]

• Megan describes the week’s Joy Scout featured recipe—“yogurt and honey panna cotta” (pg. 821)—as tender, not too gelatinous, and perfect with seasonal fruit on top [53:17].
  • “Sweetened with honey and it has a combination of cream and then you whisk in yogurt at the end. You avoid cooking the yogurt so it doesn’t separate or break.” [53:17, Megan]

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What’s Cooking Next?

[55:04 - 57:10]

• Sarah: Excited to try winter citrus salads from Salad Freak Fun.
• Megan/John: Testing soups for the 100th anniversary Joy revision. New tweaks for the salmon chowder recipe, including smoked salmon and everything bagel croutons [55:28, Megan].
• Cheryl: Prepping a pearl couscous and vegetable salad with lemon dressing [56:34, Cheryl].

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Live music is delightful and we’re so fortunate to share that with employees… it’s a nice gift.”
— Cheryl Kesey Thompson [37:48]

“There was never that pressure… We actually enjoy being together. If we go on vacation, we still go together, even though we see each other every day.”
— Cheryl Kesey Thompson [27:21]

“Sometimes somebody will bring some [Nancy’s containers] from their basement… I can’t put them in the recycling… I need to take this one home.”
— Cheryl Kesey Thompson [22:08]

“Joy of Cooking book is always that comfortable thing to return to and memories of childhood.”
— Cheryl Kesey Thompson [16:31]

“My father Ethan had been vocally supportive of me going off and doing something else completely… didn’t want me to feel trapped or beholden.”
— John Becker [25:53]

“You still have that fresh feel of yogurt and yogurt tang. It’s a great use.”
— Cheryl Kesey Thompson [49:18]

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Resources & Links

• Nancy’s Yogurt: www.nancysyogurt.com | Instagram @nancysyogurt
• Joy of Cooking Recipes: (2019 edition referenced)
• Featured Recipe: Yogurt and Honey Panna Cotta, p. 821
• Social Call: Share your results with @thejoyofcooking on Instagram
• Podcast Hotline: [phone]
• Marshall’s Haute Sauce: marshallshotsauce.com

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Timestamps for Segments

• Volcano Sparkle & Spicy Snacks: 00:39–03:36
• San Diego Food Adventures: 03:40–08:11
• Joy of Cooking Recipe Check-in: 08:18–12:30
• Guest Introduction & Brussels Sprouts: 12:34–15:37
• Joy of Cooking Nostalgia: 16:31–19:24
• Legacy & Family Business: 21:48–27:35
• History of Nancy’s: 27:35–36:47
• Trends & Health in Yogurt: 38:35–46:12
• Cooking Q&A—Ideas for Using Yogurt: 46:24–53:17
• Recipe of the Week: 53:17–55:04
• What’s Cooking?: 55:04–57:10
• Where to Find Nancy’s: 57:16

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Closing Thoughts

This episode is a warm blend of humor, food wisdom, and family affection—perfect for listeners who love kitchen stories, probiotic dairy, and heartfelt talk about the ties that food can create across generations. Cheryl Kesey Thompson’s stories highlight not only the rich tradition behind Nancy’s Yogurt but also how food, when made and shared with care, remains a comforting, connecting force in American kitchens.

Transcript

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Sa.

[Sarah Marshall]

Welcome to the Joy of Cooking podcast. Each week we set the table for a discussion about recipes and stories from the authors of Joy of Cooking. We talk kitchen victories and misadventures and what we are cooking and eating right now. Thanks for joining us at the table today. I'm Sarah Marshall, producer of this podcast and Marshall's hot sauce owner. And I'm back from San Diego. We where I ate all the tacos and avocados I could possibly cram in.

[Megan Scott]

I'm Megan Scott, co Author of the 2019 edition of the Joy of Cooking. I'm a food editor by day and avoider of dish duty by night. And I've entered my half calf era. Sad.

[John Becker]

Just in the afternoons, you're full, you're full calf in the morning. I'm John Becker, 4th Generation Co author and steward of the Joy of Cooking, America's oldest family run cookbook. And. And this week I am reaching for the jar of chili flakes a lot more than my pepper grinder for some reason. I don't know.

[Megan Scott]

Well, you gassed both of us this morning with your pepper flakes. I came into the kitchen and just started sneezing. I was like, what's going on in here?

[John Becker]

I feel like that was the pepper flake, people. There was maybe a too fine of a grind on it or something. Like there were definitely flakes, but there was also a little bit of atomized fine particles that were making their way into the.

[Megan Scott]

I noticed.

[John Becker]

Yes.

[Sarah Marshall]

That's what happens when we make volcano sparkle. I think every. Everyone down our street sneezes at the same time. Definitely in the air.

[John Becker]

Yeah. No, that volcano sparkle is serious business. Do you want to describe that for listeners? I don't know if we've talked about it on the show.

[Sarah Marshall]

Oh, it's just all my favorite spicy chilies ground into a powder. So we dry the peppers. So it's got like ghost peppers and scorpion peppers and Calabria chilies. Pretty much everything that I like. And it's so hot and so good. But because we powder it ourselves, it's like we do it with a Vitamix. So we put a towel over the top, but it still just like gets everywhere. And it's like we wear goggles, we wear gloves. Dirk sometimes takes a picture of me when I'm doing it because I look like a mad scientist.

[John Becker]

Yeah. It also has like a little citric acid and salt, right?

[Sarah Marshall]

It does. Just because I feel like it makes the pepper flavor pop more.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah.

[John Becker]

No, it's so good.

[Megan Scott]

What was it you were talking about? Using. Wanting to use it on.

[John Becker]

Oh, yeah, the ranch firecrackers.

[Megan Scott]

Oh, yeah, the firecrackers.

[Sarah Marshall]

Oh, my gosh. You guys left those here last time. I wasn't here when you brought them over, but then I saw him on the counter, and I was like, dirk, what are these? And he's like, john made them. They're these crackers that are, like, his specialty. And I like, pretty much just shove them all into my mouth.

[Megan Scott]

They're so good.

[Sarah Marshall]

They're so good.

[Megan Scott]

But they would be great with the volcano sparkle, I think.

[John Becker]

Yeah, yeah, no, that. That was Anaheazel's recipe, so definitely not my specialty. But they are delicious, and I will be making more of them for sure.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah. Feel free to bring them over anytime. I'll give you some volcano sparkle to experiment with, because I think that'd be rad.

[John Becker]

Yeah. Serving that at a party would produce some surprises, I bet.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, you'd have to put out a little warning.

[Megan Scott]

What was your highlight of your trip to San Diego, Sarah?

[Sarah Marshall]

Well, I mean, for sure, I. I said tacos and avocados because I think being in Oregon, I have a really hard time finding avocados. I don't know if that's true for you guys, but I can't ever find good ones. Like, I'm one of those people that buys a whole bag and you just open them up and they're all brown and stringy.

[Megan Scott]

I know. Yeah, it's hard. There's like a. There's such a narrow window.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, it's really hard here, and especially during this time of year. So when I go down there, we usually go in the winter and our winter, but it's like, it's summer there, it's Oregon summer there. It's like 72, 73 degrees. You go to the farmer's market, there's, like, berries, there's avocados, there's citrus. So I try to eat as many avocados as I can, and they're so good. And you, like, buy them from the farmer's market.

[Megan Scott]

Like, that's amazing.

[Sarah Marshall]

We can't.

[Megan Scott]

I am jealous of that. I'm not jealous of much because I feel like our food is really good here and the produce is amazing. But, yeah, avocados, that's one area.

[Sarah Marshall]

It's wild. It's wild to be able to do that.

[John Becker]

Yeah, please, please don't tell me how much they cost. I just don't want to know.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, you don't. I definitely do that. I stop at every. You know, when I'm in New York, I stop at every, like, pizza slice shop and eat the pizza. Well, that's what I do at San Diego. I stop at every, like, taco stand. I'm like, I could. I could definitely cram one more taco in just to try it, you know. So I did that. We.

[Megan Scott]

What's your taco order? What do you. What do you get?

[Sarah Marshall]

I always get the carnitas because at home, I don't, like, refry that meat, you know, and so, like, when other people do that for you, it feels like it's not as naughty to eat it. So. So that's what I get kind of everywhere. That's like my street taco order. So I had, like, a million of those everywhere. But then also in San Diego, they make a lot of the sopas, like, with the, you know, where it's kind of like this little dish of masa. But they'll do, like, the different color style where it'll be like, dark on one side, light on another side, and then it holds all the goodies inside. So I got a lot of those as well.

[Megan Scott]

That's one of our favorites to make at home. Because it's. I. I don't know. It's. We. We're not experts at making tortillas. We try, but the sopes are a little easier because they're just a little thicker. And you don't have to be as.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[Megan Scott]

Skilled, maybe. Maybe someone would disagree, but they're a bit easier.

[John Becker]

Yeah. When we bring, like, fresh matzo home, which, you know, we don't do often enough, but it's almost like it's just ready to go.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. Ready to make. Mold it. It's like. And it's. It's a little bit like play. Playing with play. D'oh. It's very satisfying.

[Sarah Marshall]

Well, and it's like, you can. It's the perfect. Even though, like, a taco is a street food, they get. They do get kind of, like, soggy and messy. You have to, like, eat it so fast. But they're like little bowls, and so you can just like, stand there and enjoy it a little bit.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah.

[Sarah Marshall]

A little bit more. And then we also have this favorite restaurant group in San Diego called Consortium Holdings. They open all these what we call adult Disneyland restaurants where they're super fancy and they decorate really nicely, but they really great food. So we went to a bunch of those places. And then there's another restaurant that I love called Wolf in the woods that does. You guys would love it. They do, like, Santa Fe, New Mexico. They have, like, the Chili peppers hanging everywhere. And they have this soup that's like corn and pine nuts. That's, like, kind of what they're known for. And then everything has, like, chili butter and, you know, all these different kinds of roasted hatch peppers. And they do, like, sopapia with roasted pork in, like. Like the red chili sauce. And so every time we go to San Diego, we go there.

[John Becker]

I wonder if, like, the corn that they're using in. In that soup is the chicos. Yeah. The smoke dried corn.

[Sarah Marshall]

I'm not sure.

[John Becker]

Does that kind of have a vaguely smoky flavor to it?

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, it's so good. I recommend anyone goes there. It's a beautiful little, tiny. It's just a neighborhood restaurant, but it's so n. And then we had a new discovery, which is called carne and hueso. And it. It's where they just opened. They're brand new. Lovely couple owns it. And I had this really fun drink that was vodka infused with parmesan and an arugula cordial. Really cool and really wild, but it was completely clear. So it's like, you know, you feel like you're gonna drink, like, straight vodka, but then it tastes sort of like a salad. A salad. So I was really into it. Yeah. And they do, like, a lot of, you know, whole animal meat. It was very good. So recommend all of those things.

[Megan Scott]

There should be more savory cocktails.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, I dig a savory. I love them.

[John Becker]

Yeah, it sounds delicious.

[Megan Scott]

What about you, John? What's on your mind this week?

[Sarah Marshall]

That.

[Megan Scott]

I mean, that we have. That we have been cooking.

[Sarah Marshall]

I know. Sorry. I didn't cook anything. I was on vacay.

[John Becker]

We did. I wouldn't say test. It was more of a reconfirmation that arroz con pollo is really good, and it happens to be very good with half a pound of chorizo in it. So that was. That was delicious. And then, of course, we made the recipe of the week, or I guess every two weeks now.

[Megan Scott]

The bi weekly recipe.

[John Becker]

Bi weekly recipe. The freekeh with greens, chickpeas and halloumi. Do you know?

[Megan Scott]

Oh, yeah, that's on page 338. And the recipe title is Freeka with greens, chickpeas and halloumi. And it was a really. It was nice. We hadn't made that recipe in a long time, and it was a good confirmation that, oh, this is actually really. This is a great recipe.

[John Becker]

I remember being excited about it, like, you know, a long time ago, and it was. It was nice to, you know, revisit it and be like, yes, that. That is indeed how I should have felt about this recipe.

[Megan Scott]

And we, weirdly, we were making it on the same night as Shannon decided to make it. And I'm sorry, I wish she could be here to talk about it. Cause she really liked it as well. But we were kind of trading notes because the freeke that we boug. First of all, I wish we could show the packaging somehow because it had the best, most awesome packaging, like of a. Of a person kind of. I don't know if they were winnowing or sifting or. They had the, you know, the freeke in a big basket looking thing in a beautiful green field under a blue sky. It was like very evocative and made

[Sarah Marshall]

you want to be there.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, you kind of want to be there. But the freeke that we bought, we never encountered this before, had almost like soot on it because they smoke. It's like dried over a fire. And so it's got a little bit of smoky flavor. But we had ended up having to rinse the freeke to get all that extra soot off. But the end result was very delicious and all that, the browned halloumi. And we used collard greens instead of kale or chard.

[Sarah Marshall]

Was that a recipe that you guys added to the book?

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, last time. Cool.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah, I'll have to try it. I. I wasn't here to know that that's. That was the recipe of the week, but I'll be a week behind. But I'm gonna make it.

[John Becker]

Need to work on our communication, I guess.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. And it's Mandarin quat season, which is my favorite citrus fruit. And. Yeah. Been eating them. They're kind of like. I don't know, they're like grown up warheads because they're so sour, but they're so delicious. And that tender, thin skin. You can just eat the whole fruit because it's like a kumquat in that way, but it's bigger because it's crossed with the Mandarin.

[John Becker]

Yeah, it's like a three bite kumquat or four bite, something like that.

[Sarah Marshall]

And you eat the whole thing.

[Megan Scott]

You eat the whole thing? Yeah. And the peel is the sweet part and the inside is sour.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[John Becker]

The seeds are, you know, somewhat substantial.

[Sarah Marshall]

So.

[Megan Scott]

Yes. Seedy.

[John Becker]

Yeah. You got to watch out for that. That is the only downside over the kumquat, in my opinion.

[Megan Scott]

Sure. They have seeds, whatever. I know because I have made this. It's a great. It's called kumquat kompot. That's a mouthful, but you have to thinly slice them and remove all the seeds. And you basically have to use like the tip of a chopstick to get in there and and prize all the seeds out. But also very good. Hey Joy of Cooking listeners, did you know the same family that taught America how to cook also taught California how to make world class Chardonnay. The same joy and passion for life that inspired Irma Rombauer to write the Joy of Cooking inspired her great nephew Kerner Rombauer to establish Rombauer vineyards. Founded in 1980 in the Napa Valley, Rombauer has been producing acclaimed wines from California ever since. While they're famous for their iconic California Chardonnay, Rombauer crafts a diverse collection of delicious wines that bring joy to your table. Ready to taste the legacy? Visit rombauer.com joy or use code joypod, all caps for 15% off your order. That's R O-M-B-A-U-E-R.com joy or code joypod,

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[Megan Scott]

this week we would like to welcome Cheryl Kesey Thompson to the table. Cheryl is a second generation co owner of Springfield Creamery, the family run company behind Nancy's Probiotic Foods in Eugene, Oregon. As VP of Marketing, Cheryl spends her days working alongside multiple generations of her family, which makes each day delightfully entertaining. She is passionate about carrying on Nancy's legacy of bringing healthy, probiotic rich food to as many people as possible. Whether it's supporting the local Eugene community or connecting with customers across the country, Cheryl believes a simple container of yogurt can make a difference. Cheryl, welcome to the show.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Thank you for having me.

[Megan Scott]

What were you cooking and eating this week that you're most excited about?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

What was I cooking and eating this week? We traveled the end of last week and over the weekend to Atlanta to a football game of all things. So there was definitely a lot of fun eating out and southern food. And I think my husband ate multiple fried chicken sandwiches at every stop. I ate a couple chopped salads.

[Megan Scott]

Nice.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

We seem to be this week we seem to be on a brussel sprouts kick. There's always that reverse engineering when we go out. We always will often choose a starter of brussels sprouts if it's available and then we reverse engineer them at our table. It's like this one's crispy, this one must be, you know, air fried. Or does this one have soy sauce? So we had a couple brussels sprout episodes at our house this week and we're getting better at it.

[Megan Scott]

Nice. What's your current method? Are you, are you an air fryer person?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I'm not an air fryer. Our kids all have air fryers. Yeah. Pan fry and, you know, with a lot of, you know, olive oil, cut them in half and put the lid on and just let them sit there so that they can, they can steam within their own, within their own juices, and they end up getting crispy and tender, but not overdone that way. I mean, I like a reduced balsamic vinegar on them and just give them a little bit of sweetness and a little bit of nice color. And then I think toppings are all key. This week we put blue cheese, pumpkin seeds, and dried cherries on top.

[Megan Scott]

Oh, that sounds so good.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

It felt kind of holiday like, but it's all the things we love. So.

[Megan Scott]

Pomegranate seeds are also really great.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Pomegranate seeds are a great idea. I'm going to take note of that. Yeah.

[John Becker]

Do you ever break out a deep pan or a wok to actually do the deep fried Brussels sprouts that seem to be on every restaurant menu for several years or. I mean, I, I really enjoy those.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, no, I've, I've never done that, but yeah, I should play with some different pans. That's a great idea.

[Megan Scott]

It's always more fun to order the fried Brussels sprouts than to actually make them. Yeah, it's true.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

And we always order them. And I always think, I can do this.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

But it's never quite right. They have some secret sauce there that always works no matter where you are. Yeah. So fun.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. I feel like I grew up with Brussels sprouts that were not very good because they were very, very softly cooked.

[John Becker]

My mother a really good cook, but, yeah, she would steam them too long. Like, I, I, I had to be reintroduced to them at.

[Megan Scott]

Didn't they also breed Brussels sprouts in, you know, fairly recent years? Meaning, like the last 50 years to be, to be less bitter?

[John Becker]

Yeah, apparently. Yeah, they used to be.

[Sarah Marshall]

That makes sense because I think you like the people our parents generation all talk about how terrible they are.

[Megan Scott]

Right.

[Sarah Marshall]

And then I'm like, well, just try them again. You know, like. Yeah, we had to reintroduce them to them because she was like, no, they're bitter and gross. And I'm like, no, let's try them one more time. And she likes them now.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. Yeah. And it's wild what a simple change of cooking method can do for them as well. Cheryl, something we ask all of our guests. What is your relationship to the Joy of Cooking?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I'm sure that I have a similar relationship as all of your guests. You know, there's that core memory of childhood where there was the blue Joy of Cooking book, you know, on my mom's shelf whether. And I think that, you know, those relationships and those memories are so fond and everybody's little memory bank. And so, yeah, I mean, I have my mom's 1953 copyright, I think, Joy Cooking cookbook with a spine that's falling apart and vanilla all over and little marks, and there's little sticky notes in there. And one of them is. It's a zucchini and turnip page. And I even asked my mom before she passed away, so why is the sticky note in here? And she said, I don't know. We must have had a lot of zucchini. Didn't make sense. But I thought about it later, and we do CSA veggies in the summer. And I think there was a lot of turnips, because I remember her calling me, saying, what are these things and how do I cook them? So, you know, the Joy of Cooking book is always that comfortable thing to return to. And memories of childhood. My mom has little Christmas cookies and sweet little cookies, X'd and marked in there that are favorites. And I actually had a serendipitous Joy of Cooking moment a month or so ago, actually. We had friends that came in from out of town for my dad's memorial service, and we were preparing the day before, and they were helping me with these flower arrangements. And it's friends that had been roommates, like, 50 years ago. And so they were bantering back and forth as we were doing flowers. And one of them said to the other, well, and then when you left, you took my Joy of Cooking book. And she said, well, I needed the recipe. And so it perked my ears. And I said, wait, wait, what recipe did you need? She said, oh, it's this cookie recipe that I couldn't stop thinking about. And I said, well, what was it? She said, I can't remember the name of it, but when I get home, I'll send it to you. I'm like, okay. So a couple weeks later, she sent me this picture of this text picture, and it was the Flourish nut balls.

[Megan Scott]

Ah, flourless nut balls. We are familiar with this recipe.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

So she. I had her text message, and it wasn't in my version. And so I had her text. I'm like, I have to make these. I mean, this is like a full circle moment. So I've made them twice now. And it is funny because you continue to think about them. The flavor is so good. They look like you're serving meatballs kind of. But I've decided that the lovely trick for me is that you just heat them up a little bit in the microwave and they're soft and have a little cup of tea with them and. But yeah, so that was my. That was my serendipitous joy of cooking moment recently.

[Megan Scott]

Nice. I love that.

[Sarah Marshall]

Are those not in the new version?

[John Becker]

Oh, it's still there.

[Sarah Marshall]

Are they still there?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Is it still there?

[John Becker]

Well, now that I'm not sure and

[Sarah Marshall]

John's gonna have to look it up.

[Megan Scott]

I feel like this one was this.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I didn't. I didn't find it in my. In my old version.

[Megan Scott]

I feel like this is a recipe that somebody on book tour even told us they were like. This recipe that I love is not in this new edition. Yeah, people were already taking us to task.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah. Well, if things not in there, you have to add it back in.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I look for it in the new edition, but the new edition is a hefty edition. You guys congratulated on that breadth of work.

[Megan Scott]

Well, thank you.

[John Becker]

That's what we were aiming for.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, that's very true.

[John Becker]

It's like this isn't heavy. Hefty enough. Yeah. Okay.

[Megan Scott]

You didn't find it.

[John Becker]

I'm mistaken. We.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, I think. I don't know. I think we just need to rebrand it a little bit.

[John Becker]

Yeah, exactly. We need to workshop the name.

[Megan Scott]

I think Flourless nut balls is maybe not the thing. You know, like, I'm sure it is delicious, but we just gotta like judge

[Sarah Marshall]

it up a little.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

You know, I. Yeah, I would agree.

[John Becker]

And you said it was not in your 1953 edition.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I looked at it. I mean, I looked from the index and I tried to reference it, but

[John Becker]

that wouldn't surprise me because, you know, Marian was very aware of people who were trying to avoid gluten and, you know, people who had food allergies. So that that's not surprising at all.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I'm going to have to go back and search. There's so much love in this book as I go through it.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, I love those old inherited editions that have just the markings and, you know, asterisks and folded down pages. Yeah, it's the best.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

The page that has the crepes on it. My dad made crepes a lot when we were K and I never remember my dad using a Cookbook. But somewhere that must have happened because he made the crepes, but it has vanilla all over it. And yeah, you open it up like, oh, yeah, I remember we got to fill our crepes with anything we wanted. Once we had the outer crepe to make the blanket.

[Megan Scott]

What was your crepe filling of choice?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

We had pear trees at our house when I was growing up, so I remember doing pears and berries and usually a fruit version. Yeah.

[Megan Scott]

Any yogurt involved in that?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I don't remember any early yogurt involved in that. Yeah, I mean, definitely modern day. We could definitely add yogurt, by all means. Yeah. The perfect little dog.

[John Becker]

Well, speaking of yogurt, I. I don't want to turn this into a mutual family, family business admiration society meeting of some sort, but. Yeah, no, I have very similar memories as you do of Joy of Nancy's yogurt in my mom's kitchen. I. I grew up with Nancy's. Love it so much.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Thank you, thank you. Yeah, I love the fact that legacy brands bring back those fond memories and. Yeah, I feel that way. When we do our recycling roundup, we collect our used containers locally here in Eugene from customers every six or eight weeks. And sometimes somebody will bring some from their basement, and they're definitely, you know, 30, 40 years old. And I can't put them in the recycling. I'm like, oh, I need. I need to take this one home. We're just going to save this one.

[John Becker]

I'm sure they've been used as, like, food storage containers for many of those years.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Many, many of those years. Yep. Absolutely. And yeah, it's always fun to see how what people have written on, especially their 64 ounce tubs, you know, it'll be like split pea soup crossed out, spaghetti sauce crossed out, meatballs crossed out. Yeah.

[Sarah Marshall]

So that was kind of the question that I had for both of you guys leading into this is, you know, you're both from these, like, legacy family businesses and kind of like specifically being in the Pacific Northwest, I just wonder how you, you know, uphold the connection to your family, but also while reaching all of these other people across the country. Because you both do. And so I was just wondering how you do that and how you continue to do that over the generations.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

John's got a couple generations on me, which is like, so admirable. Yeah, you're my inspiration, John.

[John Becker]

Oh.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

But, yeah, I mean, I. I think from where I sit, it's a huge honor. And I think that, you know, when you're, when you're in the family and busy every day doing, you know, making your yogurt or doing whatever you do, you kind of lose track of the fact that, you know, what you do is so important to people. And when you stop and reflect on that, that's it. We're honored to be feeding people good food. That was my parents goal from the very beginning. And my dad would always say, we're not making breakfast, we're making health food and we're making this as health food. And that he did. But I think that you also have to recognize that the core of, you know, what your family started, your grandmother, your great grandmother, my parents, nobody knows that path better than you or your family. And so, you know, it's important to carry that on. Yeah, I mean, and the Pacific Northwest is such a great place to be, really. All these companies that started in our area in Oregon, in Eugene. Eugene is a wonderful natural food hub. So everybody grows and supports each other along the way. It's been great.

[John Becker]

Oh, you guys are looking at me like I'm supposed to have the legacy part of it. I feel like, yeah, it's, it's a big responsibility. And for that reason, that's, I think that's one of the reasons why, like, you and I are both in a position where we're, you know, maybe in a, in a better position than a consultant or somebody else who's trying to take over or carry on a business. You know, just trying to keep true to those original values and feeling beholden to what your parents or grandparents have started. Yeah, yeah.

[Megan Scott]

And also, I mean, you, you kind of started working on joy because of something that your grandmother wrote, which was that she hoped that her sons and their sons or their children would continue the tradition of joy of cooking, which is, I mean, you know, I think you might assume for most family businesses, you may not ever hear like those words, like I expect you to continue my family business, but to actually hear those words or not hear them, but to read them coming from your grandmother was pretty powerful.

[John Becker]

Yeah, it was very powerful. I mean, and my father had, my father Ethan had been vocally supportive of me going off and doing something else completely. He did not want me to feel trapped or beholden like I ended up feeling. But yeah, no, I mean, having that moment, yeah, that was definitely my come to joy moment, I guess is the way to put it. Cheryl, did you have a moment like that with the dairy?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I think what you described there is that, you know, you, that previous generation, you know, doesn't put that pressure on you, it's like, you know, the world is big. Make your choices. And I did other things before I came full time back into the creamery. And right now we're at, you know, I'm a second generation. My three sons are there making the world go around. And. Which is wonderful. A couple of them did other things and then came back and they got other experience and it's a big deal. So, no, there was never that pressure. We never wrote him a letter to say, please stay at the creamery and keep your creamery boots on. I think a big piece of it is that we actually enjoy being together. We enjoyed, you know, being with my parents and, you know, my brother and I. My brother Kit is there at the creamery as well. And my brother and I enjoy being with my parents every day and, you know, I enjoy being with my kids every day and my brother. And if we go on vacation, we still go together, even though we see each other every single day.

[Megan Scott]

How awesome is that to want to be with your fam.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

It's often. It's. It's great most days. Some days, I'm saying, why are you all in my office?

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, Can I get some space, please?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, but no, it's great.

[Megan Scott]

Could you share just briefly for listeners, a little bit about the history of Nancy's yogurt?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

There is a rich history there. My parents founded Springfield Creamery in 1960. My dad's father, Fred Kesey, was a dairy manager and a dairyman, and he, he ran Eugene Farmers Creamery, which became Dairygold in Eugene. And so my memories as a child, I spent a lot of time at Darrygold with my grandfather. I guess my parents were busier than my grandfather, but I went to work. I would go to work with him a lot. They made ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches, and they would save me the broken chocolate outer cookies.

[Megan Scott]

The best.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

And that is the best. But so there was definitely, there was definitely dairy history with my parents. They graduated from Oregon State and my dad graduated in dairy technology. The first 10 years of the creamery were just serious bootstraps. Small creamery. My parents were fresh out of college. They had no money. They bottled milk in glass gallon jugs and other brands. I guess that was an early co pack venture. And so the milk caps would be like a different company. And they did little half pints of milk for their local schools, did delivery of glass milk jugs of milk in the local Springfield area. Their cousins and their friends would come to work. Nancy came to work for us in.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, I Was gonna ask, who's Nancy?

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

In 1969, Nancy Van Brasch Hamron, she came as our bookkeeper. She had some yogurt making experience. And at that time, you know, my parents had been bottling milk for about 10 years. And my dad would tell you, still to this day, he would tell you that bottling milk is boring. It's not creative. It's just, you know, processing milk put in a bottle and sending it off. And so he always had the desire to make a cultured probiotic product. So they tinkered around, and Nancy tinkered around with the recipe that. That she had crafted with her grandmother. My dad made sure that it had Lactobacillus acidophilus. And because he knew all the research for people were that probiotics were good for people. So that was launched in 1970, the first yogurt in the country to have live probiotics. And they struggled along, and in 1972, they found themselves owing more money in taxes than they planned. And it was a fork in the road, you know, that's when they reached out to the Grateful Dead and had the infamous. They had the infamous.

[Megan Scott]

What was the connection to the Grateful Dead?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

That connection was my dad's brother, Ken. Ken Kesey had connection with them through music and art and writing and San Francisco and Haight Ashbury.

[Megan Scott]

And this is the Ken Kesey of the Merry Pranksters. Just for listeners to who. Yes, same person.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

All my wonderful childhood adventure memories are with Ken, I bet. Yeah. And he would be the one that would scoop up all the kids and take us, you know, in the car to San Francisco for a long weekend. You know, we had a great time. And. But, yeah, and so. So the Grateful Dead were friends of my Uncle Ken's. And so there was the connection to be able to have that. Ask and we. Will you do a benefit concert for Springfield Creamery? And they said yes. And my parents put on this concert in 28 days in Veneta, and 20,000 people came. They remember they made about 13,000, $15,000, which was enough to get them over the hump to continue to the Creamery. And I mean, they still. They always said that that was the absolute finite fork in the road for them. Had that not happened, they would have closed the door of the creamery.

[Megan Scott]

That's pretty incredible. And I. So I read this book recently. It's called. I don't know if maybe you've seen it. It's called Free Food by Andrew Barton. He's a local writer. It's Kind of half cookbook and half memoir. But he grew up in Eugene and had a little section of his book about Nancy's yogurt and specifically the Grateful Dead concert. And there were just a few things in here that I wanted to read because I thought they were so cool and interesting. But I guess he attribute these little factoids to the good old Grateful Dead cast. So a podcast specifically about the Grateful Dead. I think they're in. Like this episode was in season six. It's called Veneta Part. Is it Veneta or Venita Part one and two. But I guess he said the show was pretty much only advertised at natural foods stores between Northern California and Seattle, which is amazing. Also, that Huey Lewis of Huey Lewis and the News was one of the first delivery drivers for Nancy.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

That's a true fact. Yeah, Huey was living in the Bay Area and was working with another fella, Gilbert, and they were distributing, I think, comic books. And they somehow they got in the natural food business or in the refrigerated business, and. And they would come up on Fridays in a U Haul truck, that's all they had, and pick up their yogurt, order, cover it with ice, cover it with those. Those heavy blankets, and drive immediately back to the Bay Area, distribute the next morning or that night to the local natural food stores, which were, you know, few and far between. So that's how Nancy's made it to the Bay Area. And so there. There goes your. Your expansion of your distribution. And. Yeah, and Huey still has. I mean, Huey's still a friend of ours. He sent us really nice notes when my parents died and with great little memories that he sent along. And he even said and confirmed in this last note that, yeah, he did a lot of writing of songs because he was playing at night, but he wasn't big yet. And Huey Lewis in the News wasn't a thing yet, but he said, yeah, he wrote quite a few songs on i5. Hauling yogurt in the back.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. I mean, a lot of time to think. I guess also that the. The day of the concert was the hottest in Oregon history up until that point of 108 degrees.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, I think it was. Yeah. Like 104, 106. Yeah. Very, very hot. Yeah. And definitely taking trucks to go get more water. My parents, being the yogurt makers and not concert producers, very novice. They built the stage with this whole crew of local volunteers that, you know, brought timbers and people that knew what they were doing for, you know, to build a stage, but they faced it west and so as the sun was setting, you know, on that very hot day, the sun was right in the eyes of the band. So there was a lot. If you listen to that or watch that. That show, there's a lot of banter about the Sunstroke Serenaders and how the guitars were out of tune because it was so warm.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah.

[Sarah Marshall]

I also love that the tickets to the show were printed on yogurt labels.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, no, that was definitely. I told you, my parents were creative in those days. You know, the yogurt container, you know, there was like an 8 ounce yogurt container and it didn't have. It didn't have print on it. And so our label was that square peel and stick label. And so you would. You crack it and you put them on by hand and it was just that. Nancy's Honey yogurt label, one color. My parents didn't have any money to print tickets, and there was no time to print tickets. And so they just got a rubber stamp from the Springfield stationery shop and just printed, presents the Grateful Dead, August 27th. And so they just added a rubber stamp to the. To each label. And so that was your ticket and. Which was ingenious. And I think tickets were $3 in advance and 3:50 at the dollar.

[Megan Scott]

That is just so wild to think about. I love how collaborative. How collaborative it was. And it sounds like just the entire natural foods scene at the time was just very, very collaborative and just people really kind of following their bliss and doing all. All sorts of really cool things because that's what they were most interested in doing and supporting each other in doing that.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

No, it's very. And that happens over and over again. You're. You're absolutely correct. Just the, you know, the collaborative nature of the industry, and especially then, everything was very grassroots and nobody had any resources. And so everybody reached out for, you know, everybody reached out when. When somebody needed help. And this event in 1972 was definitely one of those full of volunteers. Yeah.

[Sarah Marshall]

Do you think Nancy's yogurt will put on any more concerts in the future?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

That was always the magic question. My parents did a second decadal event in 1982 at the same site. And then when it came to be 92, my brother, who is also yogurt maker by day, he has a concert production business by night, so he's produced quite a few shows, including Grateful Dead and Dead and Company and all that. So we're leaving that to his wing of the business. But, I mean, live music is delightful and we're so fortunate to be able to have that still in our world and share that with our employees. My brother operates Cuthbert Amphitheater that the city owns in Eugene, and we have the opportunity to, you know, share the outdoor events with our employees and our friends. And it's a nice gift to be able to share live music.

[Megan Scott]

You know, we're big fans of Rombauer Vineyards. They're sponsoring today's episode, actually. But honestly, their wines are fantastic with so many joy of cooking dishes. My current favorite is their Sauvignon Blanc with our Khao Soi Gai recipe. That bright, crisp wine cuts right through the richness of the curry. It's perfect.

[John Becker]

Oh, absolutely. Being Oregonians, we take our Pinots seriously. We're excited about their new Pinot Noir, which pairs beautifully with our chicken jambalaya. The wine has enough body to stand up to all those bold creole flavors.

[Megan Scott]

If you want to try these pairings yourself, head to rombauer.com joy or use code joypod all caps for 15% off. That's R-O-M-B-A-U-E-R.com joy or code joypod all

[Announcer]

caps must be 21 to enjoy.

[Megan Scott]

What is your personal favorite? Nancy's product?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I am an organic, low fat cottage cheese eater through and through. And when our kids were that, I mean, three boys when they were, you know, middle school, high school age, it would always be like the joke at dinner, it's like, oh, you're eating cottage cheese again. Because I would put it on everything and they couldn't even tolerate cottage cheese. And the irony is now all they do and all they think about all day long is cottage cheese and curd and whey and cream for the cottage cheese. And they eat a lot of cottage cheese, but that's always my mainstay. And I eat it every. Which I'll eat it. I'll take it in a mug in my car in the morning and put pumpkin seeds on it and a little bit of salt and pepper and maybe a couple berries even in the, in that mix. So, yeah, that's, that's my go to.

[Megan Scott]

Have you tried. So there's a, I think I talked about this several episodes ago, but there's a, it's a TikTok recipe, but one that actually worked out. You take a slice of toast, you toast it, then you top it with. You can just do plain cottage cheese, but you can also mix like you can mix shredded cheddar or scallions or what, chilies, whatever you want. And then you Spread it over the toast and then you broil that until the cottage cheese gets kind of brown. It is delicious.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, I think we shared one of those on our social. Yeah, no, it. And it's a funny color at the end, if I remember right. It kind of looks like a vanilla kind of odd color, but definitely a lot of cottage cheese creativity. Cottage cheese ice cream, cottage cheese pancakes.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, it's kind of had a moment recently, right?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Definitely. Yeah, definitely. It's definitely brought it right back. I mean, the cottage cheese and peaches and pears like your grandmother used to serve with dinner. That's all a thing of the past.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, yeah. Thank God.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, exactly. With a little iceberg lettuce that sat in. Yeah.

[John Becker]

Just out of curiosity, did you see any kind of spike in sales now that there are tiktoks about cottage cheese?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yes, everyone is making a lot of cottage cheese and a lot of demand for cottage cheese. It's right up there as our, one of our top sellers. Yeah. We've expanded our cottage cheese production and continue to work to expand that as well. So yeah, it's a good problem. It's a good problem to have. Cottage cheese isn't a simple product to make. It's a time consuming product and takes a lot of milk resources. But yeah, it's caught on.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah. Having tried making it at home, I much prefer to buy it from someone who knows what they're doing.

[John Becker]

Do trends like that, do they. Does it tempt you guys to kind of branch out into, you know, new products or you know, like super premium cottage cheese or flavored cottage cheeses or how does that work? Because I know you guys, you guys have definitely come out with some newer products over the years.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, no, no, typically it would work just like that. So you would have, you know, like, let's say Greek yogurt. You would have, you know, a trend that is going to stick and then you branch out and say, well, we're going to launch a lemon curd something. I mean, you branch out with flavors and in our case we have lots of great ideas and lots of innovative ideas and. But in our case we always have to go back to, hmm, can we make that? Do we have capacity for that? You know, what's the nutritional level on that? Where are we at with sugars? And so, yeah, I mean, there's lots of opportunity for cottage cheese for sure.

[Megan Scott]

I wanted to ask about a few years ago, John had to have a procedure at our local hospital, Ohsu. And one of the things that they gave him first after his surgery was a little carton of yogurt, and it was Nancy's yogurt. And it said the label had something on it being specifically for, like, hospital use only, which I thought was so interesting. Can you talk a little bit about. I mean, because clearly, like, doctors are serving patients your yogurt specifically.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah. No, I'm glad you got good care there, John.

[John Becker]

Yeah. Quick aside, the little tub of Nancy's was very comforting at that time, but, yeah, a little.

[Megan Scott]

Little bit of home.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

And, yeah, our kefir and yogurt are being used in a lot of hospitals across the country as protocol for after surgery or if you have antibiotics prescribed in the hospital. A lot of times the protocol is that there'll be a Nancy's yogurt or a Nancy's kefir that's prescribed. That probably was the case with you, John, where maybe you got probably four ounces in the morning and four ounces at night. And that's, you know, you want to talk about responsibility and feeling like we have a big responsibility to, you know, make this authentic, good product that. Because it goes into hospitals as well, and we're helping support their health.

[Megan Scott]

What is it about Nancy's cultures? Like, the cultures in the yogurt? Because on the label, I believe it says something about billions of live culture, which billions with a B is a lot. Is it the diversity of cultures that are in the yogurt or the quantity? Like, what makes it so special?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, a combination thereof. And it's those probiotic cultures and the CFUs, or the Count, how high those probiotic strains have been able to grow. And as well as the diversities, I mean, we have some really nice probiotic strains in our kefir and in our yogurts that have the clinical research behind them and to support digestion, to support immune health, and that's all. Those are the pieces of support that you need when, you know, people are sick. And so those are things that have been recognized by medical folks. There's a doctor at Oregon Health Sciences, Dr. Robert Martindale, who has really championed the fact that probiotics in food are really important for you in the hospital and out of the hospital.

[Megan Scott]

That's awesome.

[John Becker]

Yeah. Just out of curiosity about the mix of live cultures that are in Nancy's. How has that changed over? I mean, I imagine that you guys have added a ton and in order to take advantage of these health benefits that you're talking about. But just as far as, like, you know, Nancy's original recipe, I was just kind of curious how often that happens?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

No, that's a very good question. There's strains in there that start from the very beginning. And so, you know, the acidophilus was, you know, the very first probiotic culture that my dad added to the yogurt. And we still use acidophilus today, and it's still a great strain. And, you know, you look at that and there's many strains that are acidophilus, you know, many strains of that. And we've had the opportunity to add probiotic strains as they become available and as good research becomes available on those strains. And so we feel very fortunate with the variety that we're able to offer. And we just added rhamnosis to the kefir recently.

[Megan Scott]

And my personal favorite is the key for.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah, and we, you know, because it had great research behind it and, you know, we added, you know, the. The LA5, which is a acidophilus strain that has great research, or the BB12. It has a great research behind it. So we feel very, very fortunate to be able to send that out into the world.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, helping people. And that's very closely related to our question for the week. So each week we answer a caller question. And this week we're talking about cooking with yogurt.

[Sarah Marshall]

My doctor suggested I add yogurt into my diet for more protein. I recently swapped it out for a recipe calling for sour cream. Do you have any recipe suggestions for using yogurt?

[Megan Scott]

I feel like we should let you take a stab at this first and then we'll chime in.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Wise doctors everywhere. Yeah, no, that's great. Yogurt is such a great substitute for, you know, in baking. And, you know, it fits in there. If you're looking for the live probiotics and the protein. Live probiotics don't like to survive that typical baking. And so you have to be aware of that. So you can definitely bake with it, but have a glass of kefir in the morning. You know, some of some of our favorites are not the baking version. Making dips out of, you know, the Greek yogurt. We have a Greek yogurt dip that's on our website. There's a. Speaking of cottage cheese, having. Wearing new clothes all the time, there's a whipped cottage cheese lemon dip that we have, which is really nice that we have that recipe on our website. And a lot of times people will use cottage cheese, you know, in. In lasagna. We have a recipe for that as well.

[Megan Scott]

Oh, I remember my mom using. I don't think it was lasagna, but I believe it was called spaghetti pie. But it was like a spaghetti in a pie dish, but it had like a cottage cheese layer instead of the ricotta.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

I didn't ever actually know until I became an adult that lasagna actually called for ricotta because my parents always use cottage chips.

[Sarah Marshall]

Yeah.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Another one that is a fan favorite is there's a yogurt fettuccine, and it's a recipe that we love that came from Kathy Wims from Nostrana. And it's really, it's really an easy recipe. And it does, it does cook that yogurt, but you're getting, you know, you're getting your protein in there.

[Megan Scott]

And is that recipe also on your website?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

It is.

[Megan Scott]

Cool.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah. We have a lot of beautiful recipes on our website. So, yeah, definitely check those out because they're fun.

[Megan Scott]

I was gonna say we use yogurt all the time in sauces. There's just a kind of an embarrassment of delicious yogurt sauces that can be made. And I feel like most, most meals need a sauce of some kind. I think Sarah would agree. But we are always making like raita or tzatziki or like, we'll make a horseradish yogurt sauce with dill or salmon. We also sometimes will mix yogurt and mayo to make a ranch dressing. So all those herbs and garlic powder and all of that. But sauces. Yeah, yogurt sauces are so easy. And you can also blend plain yogurt with lots of herbs and garlic and lemon and make a beautiful green sauce that goes well with chicken, fish, all kinds of stuff. So definitely leaning into the. The yogurt sauces, I feel like.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah. And definitely sauces and dips are so lovely because you still have that fresh feel of yogurt and you have still that. That yogurt tang. It's a great use.

[John Becker]

Yeah, of course. Gotta mention smoothies and mango lassi.

[Megan Scott]

Yeah, mango lassi.

[John Becker]

That's a wonderful way to consume more yogurt. Yeah.

[Sarah Marshall]

We are a non mayo family, so we always have Nancy's yogurt in the fridge and we use it, like, to sub in for any. Any way people would normally use mayo. So like, we make like chicken salad or tuna fish sandwiches or anything like that. We use it like that. But then also when you mention sauces, it's also kind of my trick. If I have a sauce that, a creamy sauce that breaks, I'll like stir in yogurt and it'll kind of like bring it back together. So that's like a trick.

[Megan Scott]

There's also a dish that we make called, it's Turkish eggs, Chilbur eggs. You basically just mix yogurt with a little bit of garlic and then you poach some eggs and serve them on top of the garlicky yogurt and then drizzle like a chili infused butter on top. So good. And then dill. It's just like a very, it tastes like a very decadent breakfast. We make it for brunch on the weekend sometimes.

[John Becker]

Yeah. And with like some freshly, freshly warmed flatbread to, you know, try to scoop it all up. So good.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Endless possibilities. Yeah, yeah.

[Megan Scott]

There's also a fun. I've made it a couple times and we don't have a recipe for this in Joy, but there's a two ingredient flatbread recipe that you can probably find all over the Internet. But it's literally just like flour and enough yogurt, like usually Greek yogurt to bring it together into a dough and then you just cook it on a griddle or however you want. But it's a super easy way to make bread and I like that the yogurt kind of adds, it adds that little bit of fermented tanginess that you would normally get from yeast, but you don't have to wait for it to rise. So that's kind of a cool trick.

[John Becker]

Maybe that should be in the new edition along with chilbur eggs. That's definitely going in.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Yeah.

[John Becker]

But two ingredient flatbread sounds like it would be hard to leave out.

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[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Greek yogurt is definitely one that people are reaching to for, for that protein and cottage cheese. And Greek yogurt lends itself so well to any sauces and any dips and eating straight out of the carton as well.

[Megan Scott]

I'm going to try that, the whipped cottage cheese recipe, because I haven't, I haven't done that. Is it in a food processor?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

It is in a food processor and that's a very fresh recipe. If you whip a cottage cheese, you can doctor it up any which way.

[Megan Scott]

Awesome. And on that note, our Joy Scouts recipe of the week is a yogurt related recipe, but it's our yogurt and honey panna cotta on page 821. It's a very easy recipe and it's a panna cotta. Like I don't know if you've ever had panna cotta. You know that sometimes it can be pretty gelatinous because it does. It's set with gelatin. This recipe uses just enough to set it so it's very soft and tender and creamy. You do not unmold it because it probably wouldn't hold together. But also that just makes it even easier. And we always serve it topped with, we'll serve it topped with berries or like a berry sauce. Or this time of year I would just slice up some mandarin quats or some other kind of citrus and put it on top. It's very delicious and very easy. Sweetened with honey and it has a combination of cream and then you whisk in yogurt at the end. So you avoid cooking the yogurt because when you do cook yogurt, sometimes it will separate or break. But yeah, that's also a new recipe for the 2019 edition. So if you make that recipe again, it's on page 821. Please post about it and tag us at the Joy of Cooking on Instagram. We would love to see what you make week. If you have a cooking question or joy story to share, call our hotline at 503-395-8858. Leave us a message or send us a text. We would love to hear from You. And next week's question comes from a friend of ours, Maggie. She says, I'm planning a trip to Brittany, Normandy and Paris in the fall. Do you have any recommendations? And while I do not, because I haven't been to France in many years, our guest next week will have a lot more to offer. All right, what is everybody cooking this week?

[Sarah Marshall]

I just got a new cookbook for Christmas called Salad Freak Fun. And I'm very excited to make things from it because it has all different kinds of things you can make in the winter and lots of citrus salad. So I'm gonna do, I'm gonna be like doing some stuff from that.

[Megan Scott]

Love a citrus.

[Sarah Marshall]

And especially after I go on vacation, I only want to eat vegetables.

[Megan Scott]

I know what you mean.

[Sarah Marshall]

I don't eat a lot while I'm gone, so I'm gonna dig into some veggies.

[Megan Scott]

Well, we're, we are starting to gear up for the 100th anniversary revision of Joy of Cooking. And we're starting with the soup chapter, I think just because it's cold right now and we just wanted to make soup. So we're testing a lot of soup recipes. And I think next I have my eye on the salmon chowder, which is a great recipe already, but there's a few tweaks we wanna make to it. Like we wanna increase the, the butter a little bit. It calls for vermouth and we want to make give an option for people who don't have that or don't want to use vermouth. And then also we have to add a new head note to it because in the past we've, it calls for fresh salmon fillets, but we've made it with smoke hot smoked salmon from the Oregon coast. And it is fabulous with the hot smoked salmon and then with croutons made from everything bagels. So good. So kind of like a bagel salmon situation with lots of dill and maybe some capers on top. So yeah, just lots of thinking about how we can gussy up our soup recipes a little bit. What are you cooking this week, Cheryl?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Well, this week I bought some Pearl couscous and there's a salad that my sister in law, Ginger kind of reverse engineered this fall and I had it at a shower, an event that she had hosted. And we're like, we all need the recipe for this salad. She said, well, I just kind of made it up because I had it at a restaurant, but I've made it a good handful of times. And so I just restocked my couscous and so I think it's a beautiful vegetable round couscous with kind of a lemon, a light lemon dressing on it. And so, yeah, we're going to be home this weekend and so I'm going to gear up for that.

[Megan Scott]

That sounds delicious. And before we wrap, where can listeners follow you?

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

Listeners can follow us at Nancy Shokert on Instagram and Facebook and we're even on TikTok with Facebook doing crazy cottage cheese.

[Megan Scott]

Amazing.

[Cheryl Kesey Thompson]

And yeah, check out our [e-mail] and you can see a little bit of our history story and grab some recipes.

[Megan Scott]

Thanks for listening to the Joy of Cooking podcast. Before we go, show some love for your favorite podcast by subscribing to the show and leaving us a review. Follow us at joyofcooking.substack.com and on Instagram @the joyofcooking. Stay tuned for next week where we'll talk about French food. And don't forget to make this week's recipe for yogurt and honey panna cotta on page 821. Call in with questions, hopes, history or where you find joy in the kitchen. Our number is 503-395-8858. That's 503-395-8858.

[Sarah Marshall]

We could not do this without our fantastic team at Joy of Creation production house. Thanks to today's producer, Dirk Marshall and our audio engineer, Haley Bowers. If you love the stories we bring you each week, please consider supporting us on Patreon. As an independent media company, your support is absolutely essential. It allows us to continue creating high quality professional episodes that amplify the voices of women, small business owners, writers, artists and creatives and keep their stories free from commercial pressure. By becoming a Patreon member, you're not just supporting us, you're investing in the future of independent media. Please visit Patreon.com the Joy of Creation production House to join our community today. Thank you for listening and supporting our podcast dreams.