Katjes Yogurt Candy Review

Fro-yo girl here. Lolli and Pops in the Glendale Galleria has an impressive selection of international candy from Japan, the UK, Germany, etc. During a recent visit I found two German yogurt candies to try.

Katjes Yoghurt Gums is Katje’s best seller, featuring no gelatin or artificial colors. The treats come in a big 7.1 ounce pouch. Each pouch contains six flavors of candy: zitrone (lemon), birne (pear), kirsche (cherry), erdbeere (strawberry), heidelbeere (blueberry), and himbeere (raspberry). A pouch was $4 at Lolli and Pops. The candies come in fruit shapes; each candy shape represents the candy flavor.

Yoghurt Gums are known for their softness. I found the soft texture strange and not very pleasant. The candy isn’t chewy but it’s like a soft jelly candy.The flavors taste natural and tart but the texture is odd – soft and gritty.

Ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, lowfat yogurt, fruit pulp, sweet whey powder, pectin, citric acid, lactic acid, lactose, fruit and vegetable concentrate, natural flavors, beeswax

3 out of 5 stars

Katjes YoguBerries is a gummy candy that’s meant to taste like berries dipped in yogurt. A 5.3 ounce pouch ($4.50 at Lolli and Pops) contains three flavors: strawberry, blueberry and raspberry. The white part of the candy tastes like yogurt but doesn’t have much flavor on it’s own. It tastes better with the fruit gummy part of the candy. The raspberry has the strongest flavor, tart yet sweet. The candy had a pleasant texture: firm, chewy but not too hard.

Ingredients: Corn syrup, sugar, gelatin, fruit juice concentrate, lowfat yogurt, citric acid, lactic acid, sweet whey powder, strawberry pulp, pectin, lactose, natural flavors, beeswax

4 out of 5 stars

* LOLLI AND POPS: 1128 Glendale Galleria, Glendale, CA 91210

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.

Yogurtland Flavor Quest New Flavors: Salted Dark Chocolate, Pom Berry Lemon Tart

Fro-yo girl here. Yogurtland’s Third Annual Flavor Quest continues with two new flavors introduced today. The new flavors were inspired by France (Salted Dark Chocolate) and Egypt (Pom Berry Lemon Tart).

• Salted Dark Chocolate: “In honor of the one of the finest culinary locations on the planet, France, Yogurtland’s flavorologists balanced perfect salt tones to complement the sweet melodies of dark cocoa.” Salted chocolate is popular this year. Pinkberry introduced Sea Salt Chocolate in January and now Yogurtland has Salted Dark Chocolate. Yogurtland’s version had a subtle hint of salt with rich fudge/cocoa flavor. 
• Recommended toppings: Nuts, granola, coconut, Cinnamon Toast Crunch 
• Pom Berry Lemon Tart: “What better way of admiring Egypt than flattering yogurt by incorporating the savory fruits that grow in this beautiful country.” This flavor sounds like it was made for me since I love pomegranate, raspberry and lemon as froyo flavors. I was expecting it to be tarter than it was. The mellowness worked in its favor since lemon can be a strong, overwhelming flavor. I loved how this flavor resembled a yogurty/milky pomberry lemonade. I’ll be getting more. 
• Recommended toppings: Nilla wafers, white chocolate chips, fresh berries 

Real Reward members, remember to collect Sweet Spot visits. Five Sweet Spots equals 5 free ounces and 10 Sweet Spots entitles you to 10 free ounces.

Save the date for the next round of new flavors (Blood Orange Ice, NSA Espresso Float) on April 13.

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.

Frozen Yogurt at Quenelle

Fro-yo girl here. Quenelle, an ice cream shop known for its creative and Asian flavors, first opened in Burbank in 2013. The owners, John and Christina Park, opened Ice Que, a shaved ice/snow dessert house, in Alhambra last year. Quenelle’s second shop has just opened in San Marino.

The man behind the scoop, John Park was the pastry chef at Lukshon and has worked in the dessert kitchens of Providence, XIV and Water Grill. Quenelle an Marino features Park’s housemade ice cream(16 flavors, including non-dairy varieties), popsicles, pies and baked goods. Yes, he bakes cookies, brownies, bars and pies. You can top your ice cream with (mostly) housemade toppings like bourbon caramel, graham cracker streusel, caramelized rice and candied pecans.

Some scoop flavors are always available, like customer favorite, blueberry pie. Once in awhile, but not very often, frozen Greek yogurt shows up in scoopable and stick form. Greek froyo flavors include orange, kaffir lime, and cucumber.

The orange Greek frozen yogurt tasted like orange juice sherbet and was noticeably icier than their ice cream. I was disappointed by the lack of yogurt tang/yogurt flavor. The orange frozen yogurt I’ve made at home had more yogurt flavor and a thicker, creamier texture.

The misugaru (roasted grain) ice cream was much more interesting though the flavor was on the subtle side. The best thing I had was the blueberry snickerdoodle cookie – chewy, soft, slightly crispy with blueberry flavor explosions.

You can also get cold pressed juices at the San Marino location.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* QUENELLE: 2136 Huntington Dr., San Marino, CA 91108

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.

Yogofina to Open in Elmwood Neighborhood of Berkeley

Fro-yo girl here. Thanks Berkeleyside for the heads up on the future location of Yogofina. Yogofina will have seven froyo machines (14 flavors) and will have a self-serve format. It's taking over the Body Time spot. There will be no seating. 

Yogofina has locations in Oakland, San Leandro, Alameda, Pleasanton and Central California.

* YOGOFINA: 2911 College Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705

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.

Royal Greek Yogurt Pudding Mix Review

Fro-yo girl here. I’m not much of a creamy pudding fan because of the mushy texture but I was intrigued by the idea of Greek yogurt pudding. By creamy pudding I mean the type of pudding made out of sugar, milk and a thickener like gelatin or cornstarch. Granted, yogurt is mushy too, so turning it into pudding didn’t seem like it would detract from the existing yogurt texture. It seems to be part of the trend to offer Greek yogurt dessert products.

I found Royal Greek Yogurt Pudding at Ralph’s for 90 cents (regular price was $1.29). The cardboard box, powdered mix and preparation are reminiscent of gelatin. The 3.41 oz box yields four ½ cup servings. One serving is 90 calories (dry mix) or 150 calories when prepared with 2% milk. To prepare the pudding, you combine the dry mix with 2 cups of cold milk, whisk and refrigerate. 

Flavors: Blueberry, Strawberry, Peach, Cherry, Vanilla

The blueberry pudding wasn’t visually appealing, nor did it smell appetizing. As for the flavor, it was horrible – even sweeter and more artificial than the worst candy. The texture was softer than gelatin. The milk did make it creamy.

Ingredients: Sugar, food starch modified, dehydrated Greek yogurt (cultured skim milk), contains 2% or less of the following: disodium phosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, salt, natural and artificial flavors, mono-and-diglycerides, calcium sulfate, Red 40, Blue 1, cottonseed oil, TBHQ and citric acid to preserve freshness.

1 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.

Jeni’s Opens First West Coast Scoop Shop

Fro-yo girl here. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has finally arrived on the West Coast and I don’t mean that the pints are available at markets or the Jeni’s ice cream truck. That’s right, Jeni’s just opened her first scoop shop on the west of the Mississippi in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The opening night party was held on Friday, 3/20, from 7-10 PM and included free scoops, an appearance by founder Jeni Britton Bauer (an ice cream/froyo  legend), and free ceramic flavor mugs for the first 50 people in line.  As an added bonus the first 50 people actually got Jeni’s tote bags and flavor mugs, plus free scoops. The line must have had well over 100 people.

Before they opened I spied employees making waffle cones and batches of ice cream. There was a mini Ohio State/Buckeye reunion.

The new flavor mugs come in 8 colors/flavors. I was lucky enough to receive Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt 1997, the only frozen yogurt flavor represented in the flavor mug series. Destiny!

Of course I selected two scoops of froyo: Lemon Buttermilk Tart Frozen Yogurt and Lime Cardamom Buttermilk Frozen Yogurt. Both were luxuriously creamy, silky scoops. They’re made with full fat biodynamic  yogurt. The buttermilk gives it extra tanginess, which I love. The lemon flavor has crunchy shortbread bits and lemon curd ribbons – insanely good.

I’ve been a huge fan of Jeni’s for years (I own both of her cookbooks, went to the book signing to meet Jeni, bought pints, visited the Chicago scoop shop) and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Jeni’s makes the most amazing frozen yogurt!!!!

Proudly handmade in Columbus, Ohio, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams are made with Snowville milk and cream from grassfed cows in Ohio. Their frozen yogurt uses biodynamic organic yogurt and has live and active yogurt cultures.

For my review of some of Jeni’s froyo flavors, check out my older posts:

http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2014/05/jenis-splendid-ice-creams-chicago-scoop.html

http://froyogirl.blogspot.com/2012/12/jenis-splendid-ice-creams-fro-yo-review.html

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* JENI’S SPLENDID ICE CREAMS: 1954 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA  90027

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.

Last Few Days to Enter Contest to Win Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Mix for Your Shop

Fro-yo girl here. Time is running out to enter The Cool Way to Eat Fruit: Win Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Mix for Your Shop. The contest ends this Friday, March 20.

Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit is made with just three ingredients: real fruit, filtered water and a touch of organic sugar. Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Mix offers a unique, high quality, great tasting, healthy upgrade to existing non-dairy alternatives. Shops that carry Chloe’s can appeal to health conscious consumers and differentiate themselves from other frozen yogurt shops. Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Mix can also be served as a smoothie, super food bowl, parfait or as a waffle topping.

Prizes & How to Enter

First prize: 3 cases of Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Mix
Second prize: 1 case of Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Mix

To enter, just complete a short 2 minute survey at http://tinyurl.com/cool-way-contest by March 20, 2015 at 11:59:59 P.M. PST. Winners will be selected at random from eligible entries. Limit one entry per person.

Customer Reviews

Here's what customers are saying about Chloe's:

"Chloe's soft serve fruit is delicious, with the same sweet, cold summer refreshment as any good soft serve. Even better: no guilt!! It's the most delicious serving of fruit you'll ever have. I got raspberry with dark chocolate chips and blackberries and couldn't be happier." - Hannah R., New York, NY (source: Yelp)

"I am absolutely obsessed with this place. It is a healthy foodie's dream come true. Everything is refreshing, healthy and not to mention, delicious! It's perfect for the whole fam-- men, women and children alike. The varieties are all equally delicious as are the wide variety of healthy, indulgent, fruity, salty and sweet toppings. My personal favorites are the mango and banana. Talk about creamy soft serve heaven!" - Katie D., Washington, DC (source: Yelp)

"This place makes me feel completely OK for indulging. Because it's not quite that big of an indulgence. It's fruit! Crazy that fruit can taste better than ice cream!" - Ryan R., Weehawken, NJ (source: Yelp)

Eligibility

The contest is open to all legal residents of the United States who are members of the International Frozen Yogurt Association and current owner/operators or employees of a frozen yogurt shop. Entrants must be 18 years or older. The shop must be in an area that is covered by Chloe’s SSF distribution network.* IFYA membership is free.
* For information about Chloe’s SSF distribution network, contact Max Goldsmith, Director of Business Development at Max@chloesfruit.com

The contest rules can be found at: http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/cool-way-eat-fruit-contest-rules/

About Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co.

The three "sweets" loving, health conscious creators of Chloe's Soft Serve Fruit Co™ go way back. Michael and Jason grew up on the same street in a suburb just outside of Washington, DC, and have been creating businesses together since high school. Chloe, met Jason in College at Tufts University, and the three have been hanging ever since. The Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co.™ brand has been a labor of love, time and imagination, as the trio set out to create a delicious, wholesome, innovative frozen treat. They are proud that, together, they have created the cool way to eat fruit.