Sunday, October 05, 2008

The 0% Solution

Fage (pronounced fa-yeh) yogurt has taken America by storm. This thick, strained, traditional Greek yogurt has become incredibly popular and easy to find over the past year or so. At first it was imported from Greece, but earlier this year the company built a facility in Johnstown, NY to produce the product locally from the original recipe, allowing for longer shelf life and better distribution. The yogurt has the bold flavor common to Mediterranean yogurts and the straining gives it extreme thickness, lending an illusion of creaminess even to the nonfat version. Fage comes in 0%, 2% and 5% milkfat, with flavored versions (peach, strawberry, cherry, and honey) available in 2% only, and the fruit preserves used are nothing special. If you want a fruit flavored 0% Fage you're on your own.

My solution is to mix some St. Dalfour fruit preserves with my 0% Fage. I've mentioned St. Dalfour before, recommending their wonderful kumquat preserves. But kumquat didn't really work with the yogurt (too bitter and not enough liquid). What does mix wonderfully is the Four Fruits (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry and cherry). Both Fage and St. Dalfour are totally natural products. The only ingredients in Fage yogurt are milk and cultures. Besides the fruits, the only additional ingredients in St. Dalfour preserves are grape juice, lemon juice and pectin.

So if you're looking for a delicious nonfat yogurt with fruit, mix some St. Dalfour preserves with your 0% Fage. 6 oz of 0% Fage has 90 calories, and 1 tablespoon of St. Dalfour Four Fruits has 60, for a total of 150 calories for a 6.5 ounce serving (you might want to use less than a full tablespoon of the preserves, though, depending on your sweetness preference).

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Greek food shops in Astoria sell traditional "spoon sweets" that are meant to go on top of plain yogurt. They're fruits or vegetables (eggplant is common) preserved in a very sweet syrup. They're too sweet on their own, but well-matched with tangy yogurt.

3:10 PM  

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