Fro-yo girl here. I recently brought home original tart froyo from Pinkberry, Menchie's and Yogurtland. It’s usually hard to do a side by side comparison of froyo flavors because froyo melts, but I was curious to see how I would perceive and rate the plain tart froyo from three major froyo chains. Of course, since the frozen yogurt had been sitting in my freezer for days, the texture wasn’t as nice as when it comes out of the soft serve machine.
Pinkberry: I found their original tart to be the tangiest and most flavorful and the smoothest, almost lemony/citrusy in flavor, icier in texture.
Yogurtland: Their Plain Tart resembled Pinkberry’s more so than Menchie’s Plain Tart. The icier texture and flavor were similar to Pinkberry, but Yogurtland’s Plain Tart wasn’t as tangy. It was more sweet than tangy.
Menchie’s: Menchie’s Original Tart was the creamiest of the three and it also was the least tangy but sourer than the other two. It more closely resembled plain yogurt and reminded me of Forty Carrots' plain tart. But, it was also less flavorful.
All three versions of Original/Plain Tart were tasty but not tangy enough for me. Since I love tanginess, I crown Pinkberry the winner of the Original/Plain Tart taste test.
Here's a comparison of the ingredients of each.
Pinkberry Original Frozen Yogurt: nonfat milk, sugar, nonfat yogurt [pasteurized nonfat milk, pectin, live and active cultures] or [pasteurized nonfat milk, live and active cultures], nonfat yogurt powder [nonfat milk, culture], fructose, dextrose, natural flavors, citric acid, guar gum
Yogurtland Plain Tart: Pasteurized and Cultured Skim Milk, Water, Sugar, Dextrose, Stabilizer & Emulsifier (Locust Bean Gum, Xanthan gum, Carrageenan), Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin.
Menchie’s Original Tart: Pasteurized & Cultured Skim Milk, Sugar, Water, Corn Syrup, Maltodextrin, Whey, Natural Flavors, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Stabilizer & Emulsifier (Mono & Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Carrageenan), Citric Acid, Disodium Phosphate
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.
