Friendly Farms Skyr Icelandic Style Yogurt
Skyr (pronounced “skeer”) is an icelandic-style yogurt with a growing presence in the U.S. and is similar to Greek yogurt. Aldi sells skyr occasionally as a limited-time ALDI Find (Special Buy). That means if you want it, you need to buy it quickly because once it’s gone, it’s gone until next the time Aldi stocks it, and that time table is anyone’s guess.
Aldi’s Friendly Farms Skyr sells for $0.99 for a 5.3-oz. cup at the time of publication. It comes in three flavors: vanilla, strawberry blended, and blueberry blended. I got the strawberry and blueberry flavors to try.
Skyr is a strained yogurt with most of the whey, which is what makes traditional yogurt runny, removed. This leaves behind a thick, high-protein yogurt. Greek yogurt also has the whey strained out, but skyr is a much thicker product that will readily cling to your spoon. Skyr is also created with different bacterial cultures than Greek yogurt, creating a unique product. Skyr has been a staple in Iceland for thousands of years. Originally, residents of Iceland used whey to preserve fish, and skyr was what was left over after that whey-making process.
I’ve eaten other skyr yogurts primarily from the Siggi’s brand and the Icelandic Provisions brand. Many skyr makers advertise their yogurts as being low-sugar. Siggi’s sells a plain version of skyr that has no added sugar, but I’ve found that, while the flavored skyr options contain less sugar than a lot of other yogurts on the market, a lot of skyr still contains a fairly substantial amount of sugar if you are trying to track or limit your sugar intake. Icelandic Provision’s Strawberry Lingonberry skyr, for example, contains 10 grams of sugar in a 5.3-oz. serving. Siggi’s Strawberry skyr has 11 grams of sugar in a 5.3-oz. serving.
In terms of sugar, Aldi’s Friendly Farms skyr is in that same range, with the blueberry and strawberry flavors both containing 9 grams of added sugars, plus one to two grams of naturally occurring sugar from the milk. In contrast, Aldi’s Friendly Farms Strawberry Greek Yogurt has only about 4 grams of added sugars, based on what I’ve read on the nutrition label.
I’ve founded Aldi’s skyr to be comparable in taste to name brand skyr, and I especially like the berry flavors. I try to eat some type of yogurt several times a week because of the health benefits of the bacterial cultures, and skyr often makes its way into that rotation. It makes a good breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Friendly Farms Strawberry Blended Skyr Icelandic Style Yogurt:
This contains 120 calories per serving, with 0% milkfat and 0 grams of total fat, 10 mg of cholesterol (3% of your daily value), 40 mg of sodium (2% DV), 16 grams of total carbs, and 11 grams of sugars with 9 grams of added sugars. It also has 15 grams of protein and 10% of your daily recommendation for calcium.
Ingredients are: cultured pasteurized nonfat Grade A milk, strawberries, sugar, corn starch, natural flavors, pectin, fruit and vegetable juice concentrate (color), and live active cultures.
Cultures are: S. Thermophilus, L. Delbrueckii Subsp. Bulgarius, B. Lactis, L. Acidophilus, and L. Casei.
Friendly Farms Blueberry Blended Skyr Icelandic Style Yogurt:
This contains 120 calories per serving, with 0% milkfat and 0 grams of total fat, 10 mg of cholesterol (3% DV), 45 mg sodium (2% DV), 15 grams of total carbs, and 10 grams of total sugars with 9 grams of added sugars. It also has 15 grams of protein and 10% of your daily recommendation for calcium.
Ingredients are: cultured pasteurized nonfat Grade A milk, sugar, blueberries, blueberry puree, corn starch, natural flavors, pectin, and live active cultures.
Cultures are: S. Themophilus, L. Delbrueckii Subsp. Bulgaricus, B. Lactis, L. Acidophilus, and L. Casei.
The Verdict:
Aldi’s Friendly Farms Skyr is an Icelandic-style yogurt that comes in vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry flavors. It is a strained yogurt similar to, but not the same as, Greek yogurt. Aldi’s skyr is comparable to name brands such as Siggi’s and Icelandic Provisions and is worth trying if you eat yogurt.
Horrible yogurt. I got it because I didn’t feel like stopping at Publix just for Siggi’s yogurt and thought it would be amazing and comparable like other Friendly Farms products, but I was WRONG!!
It lists cornstarch as an ingredient and you can tell it has a good amount in it because the texture is not normal for a yogurt. Additionally, if you lick your spoon clean you will still have visible-from-a-distance type of white streaks and remanence of the yogurt on the spoon – I’ve never had yogurt that’s done that and I’m sure it’s from the cornstarch.
I’ve eaten siggis, Icelandic Skyr and the Aldi version. I find the Siggis to be the least palatable. Icelandic Skyr being my favorite taste but not my favorite price. the Aldi brand is the my number one go to for the price point and a close second in yumminess overall I am very happy with it.
Pretty good yogurt, however I’ll take Siggi’s any day of the week due to its smoother texture and better taste. Siggis is the best yogurt I’ve ever had.
For the price Aldi’s skyr is the best. Icelandic Provisions tastes great but the cost is prohibitive. I didn’t know there were flavors besides vanilla and plain.
Where are Friendly Farms products made ?? In USA ??