Fro-yo girl here. Happy National Pumpkin Month and National Pumpkin Spice Day! It’s also time for the annual pumpkin yogurt rankings. I was surprised that many markets had little to no pumpkin yogurt. Whole Foods had the best selection of pumpkin yogurt this year. This year, I’m ranking five pumpkin yogurt products, all sourced from Whole Foods. I tried all five side by side but not blind.
The contenders:
- Chobani Pumpkin Spice, 5.3 oz, lowfat blended Greek yogurt
- Culina Pumpkin Spice, 5 oz, Greek-style blended dairy-free yogurt (coconut-based), sweetened with maple syrup
- Ellenos Pumpkin Pie, 6 oz, whole milk Greek yogurt, with pie toppings in a separate compartment
- Noosa Pumpkin, 8 oz, whole milk Australian yogurt
- Siggi’s Pumpkin & Spice, 5.3 oz, lowfat blended Icelandic skyr
The rankings (in order of preference):
- Ellenos: Last year’s winner was still the best pumpkin yogurt, even without the buttery spiced cookie crumble topping that they provide. It tastes the most like pumpkin pie, especially with the cookie crumble.
- Culina: The most spice-forward pumpkin yogurt, I also enjoyed the tang. I could taste the coconut, ginger, and clove, but the pumpkin, not so much. It was less sweet than all but Siggi’s.
- Siggi’s: The most sour of the yogurts that I tried, it also had a hint of nutmeg.
- Chobani: I could taste the nutmeg and cinnamon. It was not super sweet but had an aftertaste that the others didn’t.
- Noosa: I do like Noosa in general, but the yogurt was just too sweet and didn’t have much pumpkin or spice.
I haven’t seen La Fermiere’s pumpkin yogurt yet this year.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. Thor’s Skyr recently opened in the old Milk space near Silver Lake Reservoir in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ironically, what was once the spot for sugary treats is now the spot for low sugar, high protein treats. Thor’s Skyr makes its own skyr in Pennsylvania and emphasizes the probiotics, high protein, and low sugar content of the product, compared to Greek yogurt. It is all natural, lowfat, kosher, lactose-free, gluten-free, and GMO-free.
Thor’s Skyr was available in supermarkets and only recently opened cafes in Phoenix and Los Angeles. The restaurants serve skyr and acai bowls, shakes, and sandwiches, all inspired by the flavors of Iceland. The bowls feature a base (skyr or acai), a middle (blended), and toppings. The middle contains fruit, peanut butter, acai, dates, almond milk, etc. The toppings include granola (not made in-house), fruit, coconut, honey, chia seeds, etc. It’s similar to an acai shop but with fewer toppings. The skyr is plain with no added sugar.
Odin’s Treasure Bowl, without banana: skyr base, middle (skyr, raspberries, strawberries, peanut butter), toppings (granola, strawberries). The bowl takes awhile because they blend the middle to order. I liked it because nothing was too sweet. It was healthy and filling. The skyr tastes like plain yogurt but thicker. It’s sour. The middle reminded me of mix-in style froyo since they blended skyr with berries and ice (or frozen berries) with a bit of peanut butter. The peanut butter flavor wasn’t strong. It wasn’t as sweet as your typical froyo, by far.
Prices are reasonable. You can enjoy their complimentary drip coffee and a high protein waffle with any purchase. They’re going to offer grab & go items soon.
One 170g serving of Thor’s Skyr’s plain is 140 kcals, 3.5g total fat, 5g total carbs, and 21g protein compared to Siggi’s plain which has 170 kcals, 7g total fat, 8g total carbs, and 18g protein. Thor’s Skyr uses reduced fat ultra-filtered milk, whereas Siggi’s uses pasteurized whole milk Both are made with two ingredients, milk and cultures. Thor’s Skyr didn’t seem thicker than Siggi’s.
Thor’s Skyr was founded by three actors, Terry Crews, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Dylan Sprouse and an Icelandic entrepreneur, Unnar Beck Danielsson. They wanted to make the best skyr in the US, using the same process used in Iceland.
I noticed that Thor’s Skyr’s website has several recipes for frozen skyr.
Icelandic style skyr has been available in the US for a long time. Siggi’s, the market leader, was founded in 2005. Trader Joe’s has been offering Icelandic style skyr for several years. I’ve tried most of the brands over the years, including Norr, Icelandic Provisions, Painterland Sisters, and others that have been discontinued.
* Thor’s Skyr, 1639 1/2 Silver Lake Blvd, Los Angeles (Silver Lake), CA 90026
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. I’ve been a long time fan of Siggi’s and I was curious about their new plant-based yogurt made with coconut, pea protein and macadamia nuts. I looked for it at Target and Sprouts – no luck. But Whole Foods had three of the four non-dairy Siggi’s flavors. One cup is 5.3 oz and $1.99 at Whole Foods.
The idea of plant-based yogurt by Siggi’s seemed odd to me, but they’ve been expanding the product line so that they offer more than skyr. The products are connected by offering more protein and less sugar than leading alternatives. They say that “Siggi’s plant-based coconut blend has 3x more protein & 40% less sugar than leading yogurt alternatives.”
* Vanilla & Cinnamon: The texture is thinner than skyr and more like regular yogurt. The flavor was definitely sour and though I could see vanilla bean specks, the vanilla flavor was hard to detect. It tasted like sour cinnamon coconut with a powdery, chalky aftertaste thanks to the pea protein. It was somewhat odd. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I think it would taste better without pea protein. One serving is 190 calories, 11g fat, 13g carbs, 9g sugars and 10g protein.
* Raspberry: It was very flavorful. I tasted the sour raspberry first and then the chalky pea protein. The flavor is a bit odd but I did like the raspberry flavor and the bits of raspberry. I can’t get over the chalky protein flavor though. And the brownish color wasn’t visually appealing.
Available flavors: Raspberry, Vanilla & Cinnamon, Mixed Berries, Mango
3 out of 5 stars
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. In my area, many grocery stores that carry Siggi’s do not carry their newer Triple Cream Skyr Yogurt product, and it’s unfortunate because Triple Cream is fabulous. I found it at Whole Foods for $1.59 (regular price). Each cup is 4 oz.
Siggi’s Triple Cream Skyr Yogurt is inspired by a concoction created by Siggi’s mom, which featured half skyr mixed with half whipped cream. Siggi’s version is made with whole milk and pasteurized cream. Like their other products, it’s low sugar, high quality, and made with a few simple, all-natural ingredients.
* Vanilla: It’s richer, creamier, and smoother than their regular skyr. The vanilla had visible vanilla specks throughout and a strong vanilla flavor. It was tangy with a sour, clean finish. While the size was smaller than average, the richness made it filling. You can definitely taste the cream.
* Raspberry: Raspberries are blended throughout and they add tang and flavor. Love it.
* Lemon: The lemon flavor is there and it adds extra tang, but it needed more lemon flavor. The cream flavor was stronger.
One serving of vanilla contains 170 calories, 10g total fat, 10g total carbohydrates, 8g sugars, and 9g protein.
Available flavors: Vanilla, Raspberry, Plain, Chocolate, Lemon
Ingredients (Vanilla): Pasteurized whole milk, pasteurized cream, organic agave nectar, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, fruit pectin, live active cultures.
Triple Cream would be perfect for breakfast or a snack.
5 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
