The Yogurt Project: Liberté Méditerranée Yogourt, Plum & Walnut

This is the second post in my yogurt project. If you missed the first one, I've quoted my writeup about how it works below:

What's the deal with little cups of yogurt? Just a few years ago, fermented-dairy eaters had a choice between Dannon and Columbo. Remember Columbo? I didn't...I had to ask my coworker to help me come up with the name of "that other major yogurt company when we were growing up."

Now, I see customers standing dumbstruck before the yogurt shelf, not knowing whether to reach for full-fat sheeps' milk, low-fat cows' milk or even a soy.  So,  I figure, it's time for a massive yogurt taste test.  You ready?

If I were a purist I would taste only plain yogurt, but this is my game, and I don't wanna. So I'm going to do the best I can comparing different brands by eating their most enticing flavors.

Liberté Méditerranée Yogourt: Plum & Walnut

Packaging: The packaging for this product is fine. Writing on the white, plastic cup is in purple, black and blue, and there's a very simple drawing of plums and walnuts with a blue swirl above it. It doesn't get me excited, but it doesn't turn me off, either.
     It's labeled free of rGBH. The product is made in Canada with milk from the St. Albans Creamery Cooperative in Vermont.

Nutrition Info: 6 oz. serving. 250 calories. 22% fat. 0% fiber. 24 g. sugars. 6 g. protein. 20% calcium, 20% vitamin A, 4% vitamin C.

Live Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Acidophilus, Bifidus, L. Bulgaricus

Appearance: White and thick, the consistency of really dense whipped cream. The plums and walnuts are on the bottom. When mixed into the yogurt, the whole turns a very pale purple with bits of walnut strewn throughout.

Aroma: This product has a nice, sweet, milky aroma with just a hint of sourness. When the fruit is mixed in, it smells like plums, too.

Mouthfeel: Thick, but not too thick, and very pleasant. The fruit mixture alone has the consistency of applesauce with nut bits mixed in. Those who don't like chunks in their food may be turned off by the walnuts.

Taste: Completely delightful. The yogurt itself is slightly sweet and tastes like cream, with the smallest hint of sourness on the finish. The fruit and walnut combo is intensely plummy. The walnuts add textural interest --  if you like that kind of thing. -- but not much flavor. Overall, I can't imagine many things I'd rather eat.

Notes: Some may balk at the calorie content or the amount of fat in this product: Don't. Please. Fat and fiber help make you feel full. When I eat low-fat yogurt with no added fiber (yes, some yogurts are "enhanced" with a fibrous ingredient called inulin, which is often extracted from chicory plants), I want to eat again in about 10 minutes. The Liberté. on the other hand, actually fills you up.  Sorry for being a  Liberté proselytizer, but this is the first yogurt that I've ever loved.

Visit the Liberté website, here. 

Comments

[Jessica]

I couldn't agree with you more. I have never been a big yogurt lover, regardless of how good it is for me. Liberte is the first yogurt that I can get excited about eating. Even the low fat Liberte (the one with grains added) tastes good to me...but, of course, the full fat is the best! Plus, Liberte is a fairly local product: Vermont milk processed right over the border.

[suzanne]

Hi Jessica.

Creamy, delightful local yogurt...healthy and environmentally friendly doesn't get better than that! I'm going to do a separate "taste test" on the lower fat stuff. I do agree that it still tastes pretty good, although not nearly as decadent.

[Yo! Gurl in Philly]

The plum & walnut is very fine, but my fav decadent hi-fat mediterrane is the strawberry! Incredible creamy mouthfeel and a taste better than Haagen-Daz but without it hurting my teeth or causing brain-freeze headaches! It is absolutely fantastic and at over 6% fat it's like eating solid half-and-half. Also very tasty is the Greek Fage yogurt, which can easily substitute for sour cream in any dish. The most fabulous is the Fage Total with the honey side dish that you blend in. Makes "going Greek" a memorable experience.

[Sarah]

I totally agree. I have been eating Liberte for years and it is by FAR my favourite yogurt. They used to make a delicious coconut dessert yogurt (which was, in my opinion, the best flavor) but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

[Jill]

Sarah, I've been missing that coconut yogurt too. After eating Liberte for the last few years I can't stand any other brands anymore; they're too watery, chalky and artificial tasting.

[Lolo]

Sarah and Jill,

Not sure where you live but I just found the Liberte coconut yogurt at Gourmet Garage in NYC (the store on 7th Ave). I love Liberte yogurt and discovered the coconut while in Montreal. You can also email them at the Liberte (US) website and ask them. This all sounds a little obsessive for yogurt, but it is truly delicious. Try their new goat milk yogurt!

[Suzanne Podhaizer]

Yep, I've now seen the coconut in Vermont, too, as well as another new one: lemon. Although coconut is one of my favorite things, I'm currently crazy for the citrus flavor, topped with local blueberries.

I mentioned Liberté in my "Food News" column this week.

[Greta Quintin]

I love this yogurt. The plum walnut has always been my fav, but I just got a case of the coconut at Cheese Traders and it is to die for.

[Geri]

Oh yes, the coconut is divine! Better than coconut cream pie! It's just recently come to our rural Massachusetts market!