Fro-yo girl here. Salt & Straw started the new year with an all vegan line-up of limited time (January) flavors. I think it’s the first time they’ve offered a “frozen yogurt” flavor, though they call it “faux-yo” and it’s plant-based. Their faux-yo is made with coconut cream and it’s scoopable.
Their Candied Mango Faux-Yo is described as: “We’ve done it! We’ve figured out how to make frozen yogurt using coconut cream. We hit it with a little lime and let it thicken. And then we add some sugar, mango puree, salt, vanilla, and yes, that is a little green cardamom you’re tasting. Then we fold in more pieces of candied mango for texture and fun, for a flavor that tastes like a fresh-fruit sorbet.”
Candied Mango Faux-Yo is available in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego scoop shops. Portland is serving Candied Apricot Faux-Yo. The Candied Apricot Faux-Yo sounds similar to the Candied Mango Faux-Yo based on the description: “We’ve done it! We’ve figured out how to make frozen yogurt using coconut cream. We hit it with a little lime and let it thicken. And then we add some sugar, apricot puree, salt, vanilla, and yes, that is a little green cardamom you’re tasting. Then we fold in more pieces of candied apricot for texture and fun, for a flavor that tastes like a fresh-fruit sorbet.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect. Candied mango sounded like it could be very sweet. Well, Salt & Straw’s faux-yo did not disappoint. The texture was super thick, dense, and creamy. It was hard to believe that it was vegan. The sweet mango flavor was the dominant, intense flavor, but I was also surprised that the faux-yo was tangy. The coconut cream flavor was noticeable but not strong. The backnotes of coconut cream, lime, and green cardamom just added to the complexity and deliciousness. There were very few candied mango pieces but the ones that I encountered were small and not overly sweet. The tang is different from yogurt tang but different can still be wonderful. The texture was much creamier and richer than a typical sorbet.
Try any faux-yo flavor you can, before it’s too late. Get a pint or two. I hope there are more faux-yo flavors in the future.
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 first spotted Yogurtland’s new spoons about two weeks ago. I’ve been seeing them in pictures of other locations in San Diego, Boyle Heights, Claremont, Azusa, Pico Rivera, etc. I found the new spoons at the newest Yogurtland location in Irvine, CA at the Woodbridge Shopping Center.
These are the everyday spoons, not the limited edition spoons that they offer for limited time promotions. The new spoons feature the outline of their “Y” from their logo. The rest of the spoon is similar to the design that’s being replaced, though the new pink spoon is a different shade of pink, one that’s more bluish. The green spoon looks a little darker. The backside of the spoon no longer has fun facts about Yogurtland. The logo outline gives the spoon a more distinctive, recognizable look.
The new spoons are biodegradeable.
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. It’s almost time for my favorite day of the year, International/National Frozen Yogurt Day. This year will mark the seventh annual International Frozen Yogurt Day (formerly known as National Frozen Yogurt Day) at Yogurtland and yes, they’ll have free froyo, free soft serve ice cream, and free toppings from 4 PM – 7 PM on Tuesday, February 6. They’ll also have two new flavors, Hershey’s®, Chocolate Malt Ball Ice Cream made with Whoppers® and Chocolate Wafer Bar Frozen Yogurt made with KitKat®.
My friend and I visited Yogurtland’s headquarters in Irvine today to try the new flavors and learn more about their IFYD celebration. We both like Whoppers and Kit Kat. Who doesn’t like Kit Kat?
* Chocolate Malt Ball Ice Cream made with Whoppers: a lighter chocolate flavor but a richer, heavier soft serve, creamy, smooth in flavor. I think Yogurtland Chocolate Milkshake fans will like Chocolate Malt Ball ice cream. Recommended toppings: chocolate shell, almonds, Butterfinger
* Chocolate Wafer Bar Frozen Yogurt made with Kit Kat: darker in color, not as rich (it’s lowfat) as the malt ball ice cream, good chocolate flavor but the wafer bar flavor was difficult to detect. Recommended toppings: Nilla wafers, chocolate wafer roll cookies, chocolate chips
The special IFYD toppings are mini Kit Kats and Whoppers. There’s also a new IFYD cup design and the Hershey’s chocolate bar spoons.
Thank you, Yogurtland! Looking forward to IFYD 2018!
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 spotted Ildong She’s Pro drinks at California Market in Koreatown. It’s a yogurt flavored drink imported from Korea and made by ILDONG Pharmaceutical Co. The bottle says Probiotics in a large font. A bottle is 450ml, 210 calories, 0g fat and 43g sugars. The regular price was $2.49.
Calpis is a Japanese milk based beverage. It’s made with milk that is skimmed. Yeast and lactic acid are added and the mixture is allowed to ferment. Sugar is added and the mixture ferments further until it becomes Calpis.
The drink is sweet, lightly tangy, light and refreshing. The grapefruit helps by adding a subtle fruity flavor. The liquid is clear and milky. It was better than I expected though I wouldn’t drink it regularly because of the amount of sugar. The Japanese Calpis has a milder flavor that I find more pleasant.
Ingredients: Lactobacillus rhamnosus culture fluid, concentrated grapefruit, fructooligosaccharide, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, powdered skim milk, soybean polysaccharide, citric acid anhydrous, sodium citrate, indigestible maltodextrin, yogurt flavor, grapefruit flavor, water
3 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* CALIFORNIA MARKET: 450 S Western Ave., Los Angeles (Koreatown), CA 90020
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. Kreation Organic just opened in Pasadena, CA. I thought it was just a juice shop, but it has much more than juice. The refrigerated section has cold pressed juices, almond milk, housemade yogurt, salads, meals, snacks, desserts, etc. You can also order custom juices and acai/healthy bowls with different bases, organic coffee drinks, teas, etc. They also had snacks like dried fruit, kale chips, protein/energy balls, gluten free cookies, etc.
And yes, they make their own line of yogurt, called Yogi. It’s raw, gluten free, organic, and probiotic. They come in heavy glass jars. A jar of Yogi is $7.95.
* Vanilla yogi: The vanilla flavor is mild. It tastes like cinnamon spiced almond milk. The chia seeds don’t have much flavor, but they add texture and thicken the yogurt. The yogurt itself is quite thin, so it’s like a yogurt soup. I’m not used to such runny yogurt but the flavor was definitely good and the chia seeds make it filling. It’s like a chia seed pudding that’s slightly sweet and tangy. Ingredients: almonds, chia seeds, raw honey, vanilla extract, Ceylon cinnamon, probiotics.
* Strawberry yogi: The strawberries are pureed and blended throughout the yogurt. It tasted like strawberries and honey. The flavor was sweet and slightly tangy. The texture was thin and soupy again, but thickened by the chia seeds. Ingredients: almonds, strawberries, chia seeds, raw honey probiotics.
Kreation describes their yogurt as: “The original infusion of probiotics and protein is the perfect snack! Our housemade Persian Yogurt contains the active probiotic cultures that regulate digestion, reduce the effects of lactose intolerance, and help prevent colon cancer. Packed with protein from the yogurt and chia seeds, a pot of our Persian yogurt can substitute a meal without leaving you hungry. Great for breakfast!”
Yogi flavors:
- Vanilla
- Strawberry
- Mango
- Matcha pineapple
- Cacao almond
Yogi yogurt is tasty but different than the other yogurts that I’m used to eating. I would definitely recommend topping Yogi with fresh fruit. Kreation offers free local delivery and currently has 15 locations in Southern California.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* KREATION ORGANIC: 167 S Lake Ave., Pasadena, CA 91101
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. Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in San Gabriel, CA had assorted So Delicious non-dairy frozen dessert pints for $2.49 each. The listed retail price is $5.99 and Sprouts sells it for $6.49, so that's quite a good deal. The location that I went to only had one flavor of So Delicious Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert, Cappuccino. I went to a different location of Grocery Outlet Bargain Market and they also only had the Cappuccino flavor The Cashewmilk line has ten flavors, including Dark Chocolate Truffle, Salted Caramel Cluster, Snickerdoodle, Very Vanilla, etc. The ingredients are Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten-Free and Certified Vegan.
* Cappuccino Cashewmilk Frozen Dessert: The Cappuccino flavor is made with fair trade coffee beans. The texture was thick, smooth, dense, and very creamy, just like dairy based ice cream. The flavor was like a lighter, sweeter coffee (appropriate for the cappuccino name) with a hint of cinnamon and salt. It had an interesting nutty, buttery taste. Overall, the cashew milk frozen dessert did not taste like a lowfat, diet ice cream. It still tasted indulgent and nutty. I'm not sure how I feel about the buttery flavor though.
One half-cup serving has 150 calories, 7g total fat, 21g total carbohydrate, 17g sugar and 3g protein. It’s about half the calories and fat as a premium ice cream and lower in sugar too.
Ingredients: Cashew milk (water, cashews, non-GMO canola oil), organic dried cane syrup, gum acacia, natural flavor, sea salt, organic fair trade coffee, cinnamon.
So Delicious also makes frozen non-dairy desserts with coconut milk, almond milk, and soy milk.
4 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* GROCERY OUTLET BARGAIN MARKET: 7260 Rosemead Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91775
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. Bi-Rite is such an amazing market filled with hard to find products. During a recent visit, I spotted Kayak Greek Frozen Yogurt. They had two flavors: Madagascar Vanilla and Pure (no added sugar). I’d seen pictures of Kayak, which is made in Greece with real Greek yogurt, before, but I had never encountered the product in person. Bi-Rite was selling Kayak frozen yogurt for $6.99 each. The container is 500 ml (16.9 fl oz).
I was intrigued by the no sugar added Pure (plain flavor) and expected it to have a strong yogurt flavor.
* Pure Greek frozen yogurt: The frozen yogurt was creamy and thick, easily scoopable. It didn’t have a sour yogurt flavor or yogurt tang. It tasted like plain milk ice cream, sweet, with a cream aftertaste. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was very mild, to the point of being bland. It was sweeter than I expected.
One serving (1/2 a cup) of Pure frozen yogurt has 6g total fat, 5g sugars, and 4g protein.
Ingredients: Milk, Greek strained yogurt (skim milk, condensed skim milk, cream, milk proteins, bacterial culture), isomalt, cream, skim milk, sorbitol syrup, less than 0.5% of mono and diglycerides of fatty acids, guar gum, cellulose gum, carrageenan, steviol glycosides. The ingredients are non GMO.
Isomalt is a sugar substitute. Steviol glycosides are another term for stevia. Sorbitol syrup is also a sweetener. It’s too bad that they added so many sugar substitutes to their frozen yogurt.
3 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
* BI-RITE MARKET: 550 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117
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.
