Yaourt

Today I would like to highlight the joys of living in Paris as a yogurt lover.  I've had this post in the making for awhile, collecting photos and information.  I would wait until the yogurt aisle would clear a little bit and snap a photo of a favorite product.  (Come on, I didn't want the entirety of Paris looking at me funny for taking photos of pots of yogurt.)   Yaourt is a very popular supermarket choice here, as young and old alike enjoy this creamy, milk product.  In the states we find more commonly strawberry, blueberry, vanilla, cherry, and on occasion you will find Yoplait's key lime pie.  That's about as "out of the box" as it gets.  

France on the other hand, has taken yaourt to a whole other level.  We have an entire row dedicated to yogurt (sometimes two...not dairy-just yogurt), which closely resembles the shameful potato chip aisle in the average grocery store in the States.  There are over 100 different kinds and flavors to entice your taste buds on the average Monoprix or Franprix aisle.  The containers are a bit smaller than we find back home, but then again a French portion size is much smaller.  Full-fat, half-fat, no-fat, low sugar, organic, make-you-skinnier, improve your digestive system, Greek, French, and Italian are all words that bombard our brains as we make our careful selection.  

Yes people, this is allllll yogurt.

I enjoy the most simple and delicate fromage blanc, but perhaps the most bizarre I've seen is a cotton candy flavored "yogurt" for kids.  My absolute-hands-down favorite thing on the yogurt aisle?   La Fermière's vanilla is probably the best I've ever tasted.  It's rich and creamy, and full fat of course, and fairly expensive so I only buy it once in a blue moon.  It also comes in these adorable blue clay pots which are so useful around the house.  This yogurt, along with Speculoos spread and Comté cheese are among the few products I will miss when I go back to the States.  It's sour and sweet at the same time.  It's real vanilla and not just vanilla flavored.  It is perfection in a yogurt.

Favorite bite?  The vanilla beans at the bottom of the container.  

Faisselle is another favorite of mine, found on the yogurt aisle but I can't be convinced that it shouldn't be with the cheese because it's a creamy, decadent yogurty-cheese.  Not quite a cream cheese, not quite a yogurt, I suppose the French eat it as a yogurt so that's why its found with the other yogurts.  It's often found on dessert menus accompanied by mixed berries or honey and granola.  

All of these are choices of just "natural" flavored yogurt or fromage blanc.  I have to search the section at Kroger for 5 minutes before I am even able to find the non-flavored yogurt.  Not to mention its not even good.  

Think Activia is big back home?  The French have got the digestive regulating down to a "T."  

A surprisingly delightful flavor.  Rhubarb.

Poire Céréales...sort of like pear crumble, in yogurt form.  

Mixed in with all the flavorful madness is their version of pudding.  They are pudding snacks, but not quite so thick, and kids call them by name.  They aren't called "pudding" but for example Gaspard likes a certain brand, Danette, so when he wants one he will ask for a Danette...not chocolate pudding.  Malo has a distinct presence on the yogurt aisle, as the wax style cups and design that hasn't changed since 1970...and their fromage frais and vanilla flavored offerings are delicious, but my favorite is the chocolate.  Its rich and creamy and if I'm ever in need of a light chocolate fix, this is what I turn to.  

Caramel, Salted Caramel, Expresso, Chocolate, Coconut, Profiterole...the list goes on.  

Then we have yogurt from different regions...Pyrenées, Alps, Normandy.  You name it, that region's got a yogurt.   Yogurt from different kinds of animals...goats, cows, sheep.  The list just keeps going.  This is another one of my favorites.  Caillé, great as an afternoon snack with granola or some fresh strawberries.  It's thick and gelatinous, so it's not one I eat for breakfast...but rich enough to enjoy as dessert.

Yaourt de brebis which comes from sheep's milk...a surprising delicious treat.  

Of course we have our flavors gone wrong just like any other market.  Maybe it is the color of this feuilleté or maybe it is the thought of mint mousse, but for some reason it doesn't sound appetizing to me.  

As you stand in line at Monoprix watching people ahead of you in line load their groceries onto the conveyor belt, I would put money down that 4 out of 5 people have yogurt in their baskets.  And why not?  It's another thing that the French have definitely done right.