Creamy and Sweet: Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr

While wandering the aisles of Whole Foods, looking for a new food to inspire my taste buds, I stumbled upon Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr. It was in a light container with a removable sleeve so that it coule be recycled. The flavor dancing in front of my was Pomegranate & Passion Fruit ("what yummy sounding combination" I thought). Oh, and it was on sale. So I had to buy it!

Upon my return home, I had to figure out what the skyr was. I figured out it was yogurt from the label... but I had never heard of Icelandic yogurt. The following is taken directly from the Siggi's Web site:

"Skyr is the traditional yogurt of Iceland. It is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures. The whey, the water naturally found in milk, is then strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt. So to make just one cup of skyr, with all that water going out, you need 3 - 4 times the amount of milk required to make a regular cup of yogurt. As a result of this process skyr comes out with 2-3 times the protein count of standard yogurt.

According to the Sagas, the original stories of the Norse Vikings, Icelanders have made skyr since settlers from Norway first arrived on the island in the 9th century. The word skyr is probably derived from the Icelandic word skera, which means to cut or slice–– a reference to the ideal thickness perhaps? The modern word for regular yogurt, jógúrt, didn’t exist in Icelandic until the 20th Century. Before then, regular yogurt was sometimes referred to as Búlgarst skyr, or ‘Bulgarian skyr,’ because of its popularity in Bulgaria.

Skyr was always, and is still, made from skim milk after the cream had been floated off to make butter. The skim was incubated with cultures and the resulting yogurt strained to take out the whey. Traditionally, the whey that subsequently came off the skyr was then used to pickle various foods in the summer to help last out Iceland’s long, arduous winters. Thus, skyr was part of a process that historically was centered on maximizing the yield and storage time of milk.

Skyr is a big part of the modern diet in Iceland. It has enjoyed a resurgence of kind in the past decades, in particular among athletes and the nation’s prominent musclemen as a highly coveted and convenient source of protein for them muscles!

Today, all Icelandic skyr is made from cow’s milk. Up until the 19th century, however, skyr was made from both sheep and cow’s milk. Siggi’s skyr is made solely from cow’s milk."

Okay, enough of the background info. Now to what you are all wondering. Is it worth my money?

In a word... Yes! I am a big fan of Greek yogurt, which is thick and high in protein. But Greek yogurt isn't very sweet which turns off some people. Siggi's skyr yogurt is sweetened slightly with agave nectar and actual fruit so it doesn't have the bite than many yogurts have. However, it is thick and creamy. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!

I haven't had an opportunity to try the other flavors (they were all sold out!) but the other Siggi's flavors include: Acai, Vanilla, Grapefruit, Blueberry, Orange & Ginger, and Plain. With 100-120 calories a serving, no fat what-so-ever, and 16-17 grams of protein, these babies will all be coming home with me!

Nutritional Information for Siggi's Pomegranate & Passion Fruit Skyr: 120 calories/0 grams of fat/0 grams of fiber/16 grams of protein

INGREDIENTS: Skim Milk, Agave Nectar, Passion Fruit, Pomegranate, Live Active Cultures, Vegetable Rennet CULTURES: B. Lactis, L. Acidophilus, L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Bulgaricus, L. Delbrueckiee Subsp. Lactis, S. Thermophilus

A Childhood Fave in the Spotlight

It amazes me the speed with which foods become popular and are crowned "nutritional powerhouses." Pomegranate appears to be everywhere and in everything! I remember when I was in high school and would take a pomegranate off the tree in our back yard to school for lunch. All of my friends thought I ate the strangest things. My sisters and I would play with pomegranates, feeding chickens the seeds and making "tea cups" out of the shells. I also remember deseeding the fruit so my dad could make juice and mom could make jelly.

If I knew then what I knew now, I would be stocking up and selling the magical fruit to pay for my high school hijinks. This month is apparently National Pomegranate Month, who knew the fruit would ever get it's own month! Health Central shares scientific finds relating to the health benefits of pomegranates.

While I have been deseeding pomegranates for years, I found a number of my friends had no idea how to handle the whole fruit. Here is a video from Gourmet Magazine that shows how easy it is to do yourself!

Golden Nugget Squash with POM reduction and Roasted Pinenuts

When I was younger, my parents had a pomegranate tree in the backyard. Every year the tree would bow under the weight of the heavy purple-red fruits which cracked opened and spilled their gorgeous seeds for the birds and my family to enjoy. Evenings were spent loosening the seeds so my father could use his old-fashioned juicer to extract the sweet tart goodness. Long after the season ended, we had juice in the freezer to drink, cook with and make wine with.

Now that I live further away, these happy memories come back whenever I get a chance to enjoy pomegranate juice. Recently, I had the opportunity to taste POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice. This bottled delight, albeit missing some of the gunk and seeds that were in my dad's juice, remind me of home. The juice is fresh and sweet, with the tartness you can only find in a pure pomegranate juice. Mixed with sparkling water, you can cut the calories in half (8oz of POM is 150 calories) and lessen the tartness but still enjoy the fabulous benefits of the fruit.

Speaking of benefits, pomegranate has to be one of the best publicized fruits lately. With high concentration of polyphenols, it is an acclaimed source of antioxidants. Research also suggests that pomegranate consumption can help with heart health and cancer prevention. But all the amazing health benefits aside, it just tastes so darned good!

Today's recipe takes the juice that reminds me of home and combines it with one of my father's favorite foods -- pine nuts -- and my mom's -- squash -- to make a fabulous side dish that would work great with some grilled chicken or a salad.

1 Golden Nugget Squash (you can try out other squash and find your favorite!)
4 oz POM Wonderful, pomegranate juice
4 tbsp dry roasted pine nuts

Cut squash into 8 slices, removing seeds in the process. Bake at 350 degrees (you can choose to drizzle oil, but I just pour a little water into the pan which steams a bit while baking) for 30 minutes or until the squash begins to brown around the edges.

In a saucepan, reduce pomegranate juice by half.

Divide squash onto four plates and drizzle reduced pomegranate juice over squash. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of nuts over each plate.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information: 131 calories/6 grams of fat/5 grams of fiber/2 grams of protein