I Love Yogurt

Above, one-quarter of the glorious yogurt isle in Carrefour.

Dairy products - outside of 1-gallon milk jugs, pre-sliced American cheese and ice cream - being completely absent from my Chinese mother's kitchen, yogurt probably made a very late appearance in my life. I don't really even remember eating yogurt, much less enjoying it, before living in France. But I do remember suddenly liking yogurt very much the semester I studied abroad - so much so that I wrote home about it on several occasions. Why the change? Possibly because there is a significant difference between when Americans eat yogurt and when the French eat yogurt; Americans eat yogurt as a breakfast food, or as a snack whereas traditionally, the French eat yogurt as a dessert. There is something particularly satisfying in a cool, sweet, light dessert after a meal. But mostly because there was a significant difference in taste. I remember eating tiny tubs of unctuous stracciatella from Danone, fruit tarts in yogurt form from la Latière... I even enjoyed the creamy prune yogurt!

One of the pleasures, then, of living in France is the yogurt. Besides the typical strawberry-, peach- and cherry-flavored yogurt, there are more local flavors available in the supermarket aisles here.

Above, Danone's Velouté Fruix, Yoplaît's Caresse and Littée's Mixé.

Danone's Velouté Fruix has Guava, Coconut, Mango, and Passion Fruit/Peach. Yoplaît's Caresse has Guava, Piña Colada, Litchi, and Passion Fruit/Peach. Littée's Mixé has pineapple, mango, guava and vanilla. Veoluté Fruix and Caresse are fairly similar - quite tasty - and when we are at the store, we choose whichever one happens to be on sale at the moment. Littée, whose neon-colored labelling might serve as indication, is a bit too sweet.

Occasionally, when there is some pineapple in the house, I will cut up some pieces and add them to some coconut yogurt, with a splash of rum. A bit rich? ... not at all.