Recently, I watched a woman in Food Emporium buy 20 Siggi’s Yogurts, so I had to ask her why she was stocking up at such an alarming rate. Her reply: "Siggi’s is amazing ... and it gives me a real jolt in the morning!"
She handed me a few grapefruit-flavored Siggi's to try, and I have been hooked ever since. I wanted to meet the man behind the yogurt I had fallen for, so I tracked down Siggi Hilmarsson, and he graciously invited me to his Tribeca apartment for a cup of coffee and a lesson in the many different ways of eating yogurt.
Siggi told me he was homesick for skyr (an Icelandic cultured dairy product, similar to strained yogurt), which he grew up eating in Iceland (he found most of the American yogurt much too sweet). It had to be all-natural with all ingredients sourced from local dairies, and sweetened with agave. So, with that in mind, he started experimenting at home and eventually came up with Siggi’s.
My favorite yogurt concoction of Siggi's is how he grew up eating it (passed on to him from his father). The preparation is easy: he pours heavy cream over plain Siggi’s and tops it with brown sugar or blueberries (if they are in season). For breakfast, Siggi eats the grapefruit flavor with pumpkin seeds, almonds, granola, and blueberries.
Siggi's is versatile. You can use the plain flavor as a substitute for sour cream or serve it over fruit for breakfast; just add chocolate shavings for dessert. Lately, I have been eating grapefruit Siggi’s capped with a crumbled Bear Naked Granola cookie.
Although it’s fat free (it's made from skim milk), it retains a very rich and creamy texture. Siggi's requires 3x as much milk per cup as regular yogurt, and this explains its high cost (about $3 per).
Siggi's is a breath of fresh air next to other yogurts, and is now available at many local stores and markets, including Whole Foods and Stop and Shop.
For more information go to http://www.skyr.com/products.html [1] |