Ben & Jerry: Going Greek

Ben and Jerry seem to have abandoned their Green Mountain roots in favor of more Mediterranean ones.  Earlier this month, everyone’s favorite ice cream duo became the most recent to hop on the Greek yogurt bandwagon, and the B & J campus scoop shop has added Vanilla, Banana Peanut Butter, Raspberry Fudge Chunk, and Blueberry Vanilla Graham Greek frozen yogurts to its menu.  (Sadly, the store has stopped selling all other flavors of fro yo, including my personal favorite, Half Baked. This is not okay.)

As a proud Greek yogurt addict, news of Ben and Jerry’s latest flavors instantly piqued my interest, and it took under 24 hours to drag myself to B & J upon returning from spring break.  While some dessert is always better than no dessert, I can’t say I was incredibly impressed.  The yogurt had an unsatisfactory balance between sweet and tart—overall, it just wasn’t very exciting.  The Blueberry Vanilla Graham was too sugary to be “Greek” but too sour to be ice cream, and the Raspberry Fudge Chunk tasted like a less-delicious version of Cherry Garcia (which, by the way, comes in fro yo).  I still need to try the Vanilla and Banana Peanut Butter (a flavor that received mixed reviews from foodie expert blog Serious Eats).  Bottom line:  I’ll take my Half Baked back any day now.

While this fro yo is not fat free, it is significantly lower in fat and higher in protein than its ice cream counterparts.  According to the company, Ben & Jerry’s Greek line strives to achieve a thicker, creamier consistency than most frozen yogurts, and for people seeking a more healthful frozen dessert, this fro yo offers a texture that is different from the “original tart” soft serve that seems to be taking over America.  Otherwise, the scoop shop still sells pints of traditional fro yo flavors in its freezers.

-Alli Kaye