Saturday, February 6, 2010

review: siggi's orange & ginger skyr yogurt

A yogurt I've been coveting for years went on sale last week -- siggi's Icelandic-style skyr (strained nonfat yogurt). It usually costs ~3 bucks for a 6-ounce cup, which is why I'd never tried it before, but comes in flavors like pomegranate & passion fruit and orange & ginger, which is why I've been wanting to. I picked up a cup each of the above, and had the latter for breakfast today.

Flavorwise, it's got just a tiny twinge of orange, right there in the front, that gets absolutely eaten by the flavors of the sharp minced ginger and sour yogurt. The ginger bits feel raw (with a crisp texture like tiny pieces of water chestnuts, if you've never chewed raw ginger). I think they'd do better on my palate if they'd been candied just a tad, for that texture as much as for the sweetness.

Re: The sweetness: I'm a huge proponent of low-sugar yogurt -- I think the stuff has a lovely flavor with very little doctoring, and get angry when something that's pitched as a healthy breakfast food has as much sugar as a serving of Coke (or a load of nasty-tasting artificial sweeteners). But the sourness to this yogurt was just on the wrong side of mouth-puckering for me. If I were going to eat this regularly, I might add a teaspoon of honey to it to take the edge off.

a cup of siggi's Icelandic-style skyr strained yogurt, so thick that it won't fall off a spoonThis yogurt is very, very thick -- the sort of thick that's heavy, the sort that you usually only get in something like ice cream. (This picture was not the oh-holy-quick-snap-the-photo sort of thing, but rather the take-several-shots-leisurely-and-consider-the-framing sort. The only reason that the spoonful stopped standing like that was that I ate it.) It's so thick that it's not very smooth -- the best way I can think to describe the texture is powerful. This is a yogurt that has some things to do. It will not suffer nonsense. It will nourish you. It's the Juggernaut of yogurts. And, I mean, it's got 10 grams of sugar (most of that'll be lactose -- unsweetened yogurt has ~9+ grams of sugar per serving) and 16 grams of protein per 6-ounce serving, and is fat free. It can walk the walk.

I'm glad I tried it, but honestly I'd never pay full price for this stuff. It's very interesting, but not quite pleasant, and I'm not looking for so much challenge from my yogurt. But personal taste is personal -- if you love the sharp flavor of plain yogurt and have the dollars to spend, you should try Siggi's. (I'll let you know if the pomegranate & passion fruit flavor changes my mind about the brand.)


For the record, my go-to yogurt of choice right now is Stonyfield Farm's Oikos Greek-style yogurt, vanilla flavor. It's creamy-thick and just a bit sour, with only 11 grams of sugar and a nice 15 grams of protein per serving, and is fat free. Sometimes I sugar-splurge on flavored yogurts, too -- my favorites for texture (thick), flavor (sweet-tart), sugar/protein ratio (low), and price (~$1 per serving) are Cascade Fresh's key lime flavor (16/7 g sugar/protein, nonfat) and, for soy yogurt, WholeSoy's apricot-mango flavor (19/6 g sugar/protein, with 3.5 g fat [0 saturated]). If I'm going for yogurt-as-dessert, nothing I've had compares to Brown Cow's cream top line, and specifically their maple flavor. It tastes and feels like maple custard pie filling (I engage in evasive spoon tactics to save the tongue-coatingly rich cream top for last), and has about as much nutritional value (21/5 g sugar/protein, with 7 g fat [4 saturated]).

What's your favorite yogurt -- food-shaped, dessert-shaped, frozen, or otherwise?


[p.s. -- I've written up a review of siggi's pomegranate & passion fruit yogurt, available for consumption here.]

29 comments:

TheLadysRevenge said...

I normally go for Stonyfield as well. I tried them as they're veggie friendly (lots of yogurt has gelatin in it) and I really like it. Vanilla is usually my flavor of choice if I'm getting flavored otherwise I just go with plain for to eat with granola, mix in smoothies, cook with, etc.

When I do go on the occasional No Dairy kick I usually go with Trader Joe's peach soy yogurt. WholeSoy I've tried as well but I think I like TJ's better.

Lauren V. said...

I never get over to the Trader Joe's in town -- they're a bit of a hike for me. So I haven't tried theirs! Will have to actually get over there and do that sometime.

The siggi's is veggie-friendly -- no gelatin!

TheLadysRevenge said...

Um, so comment number three has SEX randomly in English in the middle of it. Just thought I would point that out.

ANYWAY. Have you tried the pomegranate & passion fruit one yet? I'm gonna have to get myself over to the Whole Foods and try siggi's out.

Lauren V. said...

I have, and it's brilliant! I recommend it very much more than the orange & ginger.

Aaaand yeah, I'm sorta proud to receive my first Japanese pr0nspam. My only other spam has been about cruise ships.

Dona said...

I just ate a cup of the orange and ginger and had the same reaction as you. It was very tangy. It was on sale in my store -- but I'd never seen it before. Not sure if I'll buy it again.

Lauren V. said...

If you like mildly tangy yogurt, it might be worth trying some of the other siggi's flavors! I suspect the orange & ginger one is the most aggressive of the bunch.

Ransford Creek Farm said...

Just happened upon your blog after doing a google search for Siggi's yogurt. My husband and I own a farm in upstate NY that produces the milk for Siggi's products. I'm in the process of starting up a website for us, so it's not completed yet, but if you are interested in a view of the farm and animals Siggi's product comes from you can check us out here....www.ransfordcreekfarm.com

Tammi_Dee said...

This might seem a bit weird, but I can't seem to kick my habit of eating kids' yogurts. Not overly-sweet stuff like Trix or anything. But I really like the new Danonino yogurts. Also I used to live in Canada and we had these small, creamy yogurts called Minigo's and just like the Danonino, they had the perfect amount of sugar and they were extremely creamy and not too watered down. For a more sophisticated option, I like Chobani's peach flavored yogurt.

ME said...

Siggi's is by far the best yogurt I've come across. Perfect flavour and consistency. I'm not huge on flavoured yogurt but I found the Orange and Ginger to be delicious without being overly sweet. The plain is definitely my favorite, drizzle with a little honey and magic will explode in your mouth.

Water Musings said...

Have you tried Fage (pronounced Fa Ya)? It's a favorite for all the health nuts. I eat the non-fat plain kind, and have it on the side with any of my meals. I can't stomach it more than twice a day, but it's helped me lose my last few pounds on my diet.

Lauren V. said...

@c: I've been meaning to try some Siggi's with honey! Right now I'm on a big plain low-fat Stonyfield Farms yogurt drizzled with honey kick. It's inexpensive and so tasty.

@Water Musique: I've been meaning to try Fage! I haven't seen it around Atlanta, though. Nonfat yogurt is definitely good for filling you up when you're trying to lose weight -- but hey, don't stress yourself out about eating it too often if you don't enjoy it! Finding healthy foods that you actually like eating is the best way I've found to make a diet stick.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely LOVE the Ginger and Orange - absolutely perfect. Not too sweet, nor too sour - absolutely perfect. I hope they DON'T candy the ginger. I bought it for around $2, which is still expensive, at least for me, but I bought it with the knowledge that I wasn't buying any filler rubbish - only good food. I also found that I wasn't gulping it down - saved half for later. I went back and bought 10 more the next time I was in Wegman's. I also bought more of the passionfruit and pomegranate which I also love. The passionfruit tastes real. I grew up with a passionfruit vine in the back yard, and candied ginger as a snack. I really appreciated the authentic flavours.

I have bought several of the other flavours to try as well - including the vanilla which I plane to try in my baked potato and other recipes.

Janet Pesaturo said...

I really love the orange and ginger, too. Actually, I really enjoy all of the flavors.

This is exactly the yogurt I've been waiting for -- low in sugar, thick, with satisfying mouth feel.

If you are used to sweet yogurt, this could take some getting used to, but I often eat plain yogurt, so this is a treat for me. Perfect.

Anonymous said...

The Siggi's left me cold. Too thick, too sour, too gritty. Mouth-feel similar to spackling compound. My favorite so far is Fage - creamier, more dairy flavor, and the mix-ins are very true to their fruit.

Anonymous said...

If I may ask, I've always learned that one can't absorb protein without the fat. Does that make the high protein content in this "yogurt" kinda worthless? Just wondering, I love the stuff myself.

Anonymous said...

It's not fair to talk about Skyr as yogurt. It's just not the same. Actually the best way to enjoy Skyr is with cream, sugar and fresh berries.

Janet Pesaturo said...

In response to the 8/14/2011 post, asking about protein absorption: It is my understanding that fat is not required for protein absorption. In the GI tract, proteins are broken down by proteases into single amino acids and short chain amino acids (peptides), which are then absorbed. Neither protease activity nor absorption of amino acids and peptides requires dietary fat.

Anonymous said...

I bought the Siggi's coconut. At first the taste was a bit harsh. I like greek style but this was even more tangy/sour than that. By the end of the cup I was loving it. In fact, I was glad that I bought 2 because I ate it 2 days later. Yum. With a handful of grapes it was the perfect clean snack!

Trisha said...

I agree with Janet here -- as someone who generally eats plain yogurt (occasionally with a scant amount of honey) Siggi's is the only flavored brand that is not too sweet for me. The ginger orange was delicious. That said, it will remain an occasional treat to me because of the price.

Anonymous said...

i wanted to like this. i bought the peach flavor. gritty, chalky, unsweet, made me check the date (again) to make sure it wasn't spoiled. i added a few squeezes of lemon and nonfat milk and SUGAR.
finally edible.

Anonymous said...

O&G is one of the best flavors of Siggi's. The others are the Pomegranate/Passionfruit, Grapefruit, Vanilla and Plain. I love the first four, especially the Grapefruit. Did not like the sour, tangy taste at first but once my tongue and palate adjusted to it I began to really like it. To the extent that I can no longer eat a sweeter, non-tangy Greek yogurt. Chobani tastes like Yoplait to me now.
However, some of the newer Siggi's flavors are not so good. I stay away from the Peach, Strawberry and Blueberry as they do not seem to blend as well with the tart taste of the skyr. If you want these flavors, buy the Plain or Vanilla Skyr and mix in real fruit.

Anonymous said...

I tried Siggi's vanilla. I love the creamy thick texture but had to add a bit of sugar to the agave. Other sweeteners don't do it for me. My favorite is Noosa, an Aussie style yogurt that has a creamy texture and SUGAR!

Anonymous said...

Siggi's is very-good (my second favorite) and better than the Greek yogurts. However, the best IS Noosa...hands-down!

Anonymous said...

I just tried the vanilla for lunch...it was pretty gross

Anonymous said...

Glad I found this post. All the rest are sponsored and rave about the taste. Got Siggi's Coconut last week. Could NOT eat it. Virtually no coconut that we could taste, and too sour/tart for me. And I like sour/tart. Threw out the 2nd one, which I hate to do. I'm sure some people will love it but it is REALLY tart and had very little flavor.

Mesa Mom said...

Only recently has Siggi's started to show up on our store shelves (I live in the West). I first tried it in the kid's tubes because it was on sale. My son didn't like it at all (berry something) - probably because it didn't have enough sugar! But I found it to have a wholesome, authentic and intriguing taste.

I bought a couple of cups of various flavors on the shelf and discovered I LOVE the Siggi's vanilla! It's my favorite above all other Siggi's flavors I have tried. It wasn't love at first bite, however, and I typically do not favor vanilla yogurt - plain, yes, but not vanilla. Yet the Siggi's vanilla has seduced my palate. It's a thick and creamy, tart, and authentic flavor with tiny bits of vanilla bean.

I really enjoyed the story of its origins and hope that the price will come down so that I can afford to buy more of it!

Anonymous said...

I love coconut siggis and plain. It was a little bit acquired taste at first, but now I love them. They sell them for $1.39/container here.

Anonymous said...

I got hooked on Skyr in Iceland and have been trying to find a suitable replacement here in Canada. I tried Siggi's Vanilla Skyr today for the first time. While the texture is right, the taste is too yogurty for me. I like yogurt, but what I loved about Skyr is that it was so smooth that I could eat a tub of it for breakfast, no problem. No yogurt dry tang, just creamy fat-free, high protein awesomeness. Siggi's just tastes like thick tangy yogurt to me.

There is a Canadian company, Shepherd Gourmet that has a vanilla Skyr that isn't quite as thick as I remember the one in Iceland being, but it has the closest to the smooth yogurt-free taste I loved so much. It's so hard to find though! I really had to hunt it down. Until I go back to Iceland, this will have to be how I get my Skyr fix!

Anonymous said...

I was afraid of trying any Greek yogurt bc the word is it tastes like sour cream, and sour yogurt didn't seem appealing to me. I recently had to go on antibiotics and took the advice to eat yogurt while I was medicated. I picked vanilla Greek activia and I absolutely love it, not a sign of a sour taste, but a little too much sugar and not enough protein for my goals. After two weeks of eating the stuff I was convinced that I was a Greek yogurt lover, so I bought ten things of Siggi's vanilla. YUCK. ABSOLUTE YUCK. From the super thick consistency to the OVERPOWERING sour taste, just yuck. Now I'm stuck with 9 more, the garbage can eat them bc I can't, couldn't get past three spoonfuls even with yummy granola mixed in. Hopefully fage or stonyfield will be better with no sour taste or I'm stuck with high sugar activia.