Pinkberry Home Knock-Off (Trial Two)1 quart Trader Joe's Lowfat Organic Yogurt
3 x 2.13oz Vilac Yogurt Soft Drink
Combine in bowl, then pour into ice cream maker. Stand around (imagine you're in line at Pink Berry) until done.
Pinkberry in West Hollywood is probably the hottest dessert place in LA right now, featured in the LA Times, voted best ice cream in LA on citysearch for 2006 -- though they actually make frozen yogurt, distinctive for its yogurty flavor, and they're supposedly expanding to 30 locations in LA and NYC in the near future. I went for the first time last Saturday, and was a fan of the stuff, but not of the long wait or the employee who reprimanded us for trying to take photos of our dessert. So when I went back last night, I decided that I'd try to pinpoint the flavor of their froyo so that I could reproduce it at home. Fortunately, I was able to place the flavor as being remarkably similar to those little yogurt drinks that you find in Asia (and any Korean or Japanese supermarket) and after a bit of experimentation discovered that the above recipe replicates the Pink Berry experience almost perfectly, at least in terms of flavor. (Update: Unfortunately, the texture, while really good when it first comes out of the ice cream maker, turns icy when stuck in the freezer. So I need to tinker a bit, maybe with fattier yogurt, or throwing some gelatin into the mix.)
8 comments:
May I recommend that you use a raw egg yolk as an emulsifier? This is what it typically used in ice cream. I have been trying to replicate the PB's experience, too. Where do you find Vilac?
Thanks for the tip! I think I got the Vilac at the Galleria supermarket on Olympic and Western...
Thank you, thank you! I just tried this out at home and it came VERY close to the pinkberry experience. Our local Korean market didn't have the Vilac, so I used Yogu Time Original - it was great!
There are so many at-home pinkberry recipes on the web now. The one I tried using Fage greek yogurt was too fatty and heavyweight. I might try Fage 2% next time. It tasted good but there is a big difference in texture. I read that this is because pinkberry uses whipping cream. I've seen pinkberry recipes that had apple juice, lemon juice, milk, cream, plain yogurt, yogurt soda, greek yogurt, whipping cream, sugar, honey....I don't know which one to try next. I think I might skip yours because my Korean Market stopped carrying yogurt soda and I don't know where to get it. I'd like to try to get as close to the flavor and texture as I can without the more fattening ingredients! This might take a few trys!
try using pectin. that's what pinkberry uses instead of gelatin. try Carrageenan will also help make it creamy and help prevent ice crystals in the freezer. i think it would be almost the same and allow for non-fat yogurt which is what pinkberry uses.
try using pectin. that's what pinkberry uses instead of gelatin. try Carrageenan will also help make it creamy and help prevent ice crystals in the freezer. i think it would be almost the same and allow for non-fat yogurt which is what pinkberry uses.
any updates on the pectin?
(like how much)
i saw a pink berry type yogurt place make a batch. all they did was add milk, sugar and yogurt culture powder to the softserve machine. fermented over night (i'm guessing). their's taste more sour than pink berry. there's also a japanese machine that makes home yogurt drinks. try it out!
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