Fermented milk may seem like an unlikely food to catch on with U.S. diners, but not long ago few predicted many diners, especially kids, would become hooked on raw fish and rice rolls.
Yogurt, fermented milk coagulated into a creamy mass, is “the food of the day,” says Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst and vice president at The NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm. He says it appeals to a broad market of men, women and children. It is portable and has a “healthy halo,” adds Balzer, who also is the author of “Eating Patterns in America.” Plus, yogurt fits into two hot menu categories of the moment: breakfast and snack.
In fact, sales of probiotics, a fancy term for yogurts with added “healthful” bacteria that are the opposite of antibiotics, are growing even as the Commerce Department reports the deepest decline in consumer spending on food in more than 50 years. The recently released findings from the third quarter of 2008 includes sales in both food markets and restaurants.
Super sales at supermarkets Nowadays grocery store shelves overflow with yogurt. Whole Foods carries about 20 brands, and each brand features many varieties and flavors. But Greek-style yogurt is the No. 1 growth item in the grocery-dairy category in supermarkets, says Tina Freedman, executive coordinator of prepared foods, bakery and specialty foods for the Pacific Northwest region of Whole Foods. At Garden of Eden Gourmet Market in South Orange, N.J., Greek-style yogurt as well as strawberry, blueberry, vanilla and low-fat varieties come in stainless-steel containers on a yogurt bar. It offers the yogurt bar for $5.99 a pound and includes toppings. New in quick service Restaurants also are taking steps to cash in on the hot-selling item. Strawberry Granola Parfait featuring low-fat, organic yogurt, fresh strawberries and maple butter-pecan granola with whole-grain oats recently debuted at Richmond Heights, Mo.-based Panera Bread. It is priced at $3.59 at a location in Hoboken, N.J. In conjunction with Valentine’s Day, Pinkberry introduced Belgian white and milk chocolate shavings for 99 cents extra on a small frozen yogurt. Los Angeles-based Pinkberry, which now has grown to about 70 locations in the U.S., sells the yogurt for between $3.15 for a small cup of original flavor and $7.25 for a large pomegranate or green-tea option. Fraiche, an independent store in Palo Alto, Calif., offers an organic house-made, small-batch, European custard-style yogurt topped with Belgian chocolate shavings, local honey and house-made granola. The shop’s bestselling medium portion, with two toppings, is $4.95. Cultured dining It took a while for the Greek yogurt panna cotta dessert with white-truffle honey and kalamata olive biscotti to take off at Zaré restaurant in San Francisco, says consulting pastry chef Marisa Churchill. She blames the dessert’s slow start on the relatively unusual ingredients that it highlights, in this case olives, But now it’s a strong seller and offered for $4 with the purchase of a $21 two-course lunch. For the panna cotta, she heats cream and sugar, and then adds gelatin. Once the mixture cools to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Churchill whips in Greek-style yogurt. She says she favors the strained thick consistency of Greek yogurt. Plus her affinity comes from an ancestral background. “I’m Greek,” she says. “I have been struggling to find out what makes that Greek yogurt so good,” says Bruce Sherman, chef of North Pond in Chicago, “and I got answers ranging from the animal the milk comes from to the fat content.” He flavors a Greek yogurt marinade with ginger, garlic, black pepper, mace, cinnamon and cumin. Then he coats it on leg of lamb for up to 18 hours, but not longer because the yogurt can over-tenderize, he says. He grills the leg and serves it with freekeh, a green smoked rice, and baby carrots for $34. For spring Sherman says he may offer a warm inside-out rhubarb strudel, with yogurt sorbet and pecan-almond streusel, for $9. To prepare the sorbet he adds yogurt to simple syrup with cardamom and rose water. In Denver at Beatrice and Woodsley, a 90-seat restaurant with small plates priced between $7 and $20, chef Pete List teamed yogurt cheese with sweet-pea cakes, sautéed oyster mushrooms and pea shoots last spring. Yogurt cheese is yogurt strained until it has the consistency of cream cheese. Greek-style yogurt “has a nice consistency,” says chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park in New York. For a crab roulade he dabs the thick yogurt on a plate along with white balsamic and lemon oil vinaigrette, tarragon leaves, and edible flowers. The roll is filled with crab tossed with tarragon, mayonnaise, yogurt and lime juice. It’s included on a two-course, $28 lunch menu. At Eleven Madison’s sister restaurant, Tabla, executive chef-partner Floyd Cardoz says one of his signature dishes is bhoondi raita, a yogurt side dish with chickpea dumplings and toasted cumin. Cardoz fries the dumplings, which are made with chickpea flour. He tops the pencil eraser-size crisps with yogurt that is mixed with grated cucumber, lime and cumin. It sells for $6 and is traditionally served with grilled meats and bread, Cardoz says. He adds that in India bhoondi comes with a thinner yogurt sauce and the dumplings are allowed to get soggy. “In India they add water to it,” Cardoz says. “I prefer it thicker so it doesn’t run. Yogurt is a great addition to any dish. If you’re eating something really spicy, it helps cut the heat.”