Filling the yoghurt niche - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 16/Jul/2011 Sofia Zournatzidi-Taylor and her husband David Taylor opened the new-concept yoghurt bar in April this year.

THE SIGN catches your eye and, as a native English speaker, you immediately jump on the fact that they have forgotten the ‘h’. Fresko Yogurt Bar, however, has intentionally dropped the ‘h’, in keeping with the original Turkish word yogurt.

Sofia Zournatzidi-Taylor and her husband David Taylor opened the new-concept yoghurt bar in April this year, presenting traditional flavours with a distinctly modern flair.

Positioned in one of the most picturesque pedestrian streets of Athens, Dionysiou Areopagitou, the yoghurt bar was the couple’s response to the needs of both locals and tourists in the area.

“We had people visit us from overseas, and of course we would take them to the Acropolis and Plaka. But like everyone knows, the tourist places don’t represent the real Greece and the options for us were very limited,” says Zournatzidi-Taylor, explaining the initial spark for the store.

The 32-year-old entrepreneur and her husband are new to the food business. Zournatzidi-Taylor left her career as a sales director in London and Taylor his consultancy work to create Fresko, which means ‘fresh’ in Greek. “Although we both had office jobs we wanted to do something new in Athens.

Everywhere we looked we saw ice cream shops and gelaterias, an Italian treat. In Athens, and especially in the tourist areas, we thought there was a need for an authentically Greek treat. And what’s more Greek than yoghurt?” she says. The Fresko Yogurt Bar concept presents a selection of different yoghurts with a rainbow of uniquely Greek flavourings, the glyka tou koutaliou (spoon sweets).

The three founding principles of the Fresko brand are authentic, gourmet and crazy, “because you cannot represent Greece without having the Greek spirit”. Creating a true Greek experience was of paramount importance to the Greek-born and-raised Zournatzidi-Taylor. Eating yoghurt is an internationally-recognised Greek culinary experience. Less familiar, yet just as authentic, is the glyko tou koutaliou. Fresh fruit and often vegetables, such as baby eggplants, are preserved in sugar and traditionally served on a delicate glass plate with a teaspoon as an afternoon treat, often accompanying Greek coffee.

Every region of Greece, depending on the local produce, will have its own specialty, such as cumquats in Corfu or pistachios in Aegina. “We spent many months travelling throughout Greece to find the right suppliers for the shop. We needed really great yoghurts that are made from fresh milk. That is why the goat’s milk yoghurt is only available at certain times of the year. The glyka tou koutaliou are from various producers who specialise in making the sweets in the traditional manner,” says Zournatzidi-Taylor.

The gourmet element of Fresko derives from the tantalising combinations that surpass the classic ‘yoghurt with honey and nuts’ to include strangisto (strained sheep’s milk yoghurt) with Arcadian fir honey and hazelnuts. Zournatzidi-Taylor excitedly describes the combinations she had been testing for months before opening the shop. “These are tastes that are both familiar but very fresh, no pun intended” she says. The response by the local market has been just as positive as that of the tourists who flock to the yoghurt bar. There are very few places in Athens in which you can order a healthy yoghurt with a sweet topping as was customary in the old galaktopoleia (milk shops), where yoghurt, fresh milk and rice pudding were sold. Athenians today can experience old Athens with a modern interpretation.

“I remember that, as a little girl, my grandparents would take me out for yoghurt as a treat. However, the yoghurt and glyka tou koutaliou at Fresko have surpassed even those happy childhood memories because the flavours are so intense,” raves 45-year-old Athenian Irini Karagianni, as she orders a low-fat cow’s milk yoghurt topped with fresh strawberries and thyme honey.

The crazy element has its place within the shop. The vibrant colours, the playful attitude and the fun are intrinsic in creating a friendly and inviting environment, full of flavoursome surprises. The yoghurt smoothies are hugely popular, especially with the summer heat that calls for something refreshing.

Combinations can include any one of the wonderful spoon sweets, such as fig, grape and quince. Adding a shot of craziness to the smoothies, Zournatzidi-Taylor has just launched Premium Smoothies, with unexpected flavours like mastiha liqueur with fig or the Vinsanto wine with prunes, a delicious way to revel in an evening stroll under the mystic aura of the Acropolis.


Greek yoghurt cheesecake with vissino glyko

Ingredients
For the cheesecake

250gr cream cheese, room temperature
500gr Greek-style yoghurt, room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Biscuit base

1 1/4 cups digestive biscuit crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter, melted

Topping (see recipe below)

Vissino glyko tou koutaliou (sour cherry spoon sweet)



Method

Begin by pre-baking the digestive biscuit base. Preheat oven to 180oC. Combine the base ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. n Press into a 22cm springform pan, pressing the crust slightly up the sides if you don’t wish to have a thick crust on the bottom. n Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. Cool completely before filling. This cheesecake can also be baked without a crust.
For the filling, preheat oven to 180oC. In a food processor, blend cream cheese, yoghurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt until mixture is very smooth. n Pour into prepared biscuit base and bake for about 50 minutes, until the cake is set and jiggles only slightly when gently tapped. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
To serve, cut the cheesecake into wedge slices and serve on individual dessert plates, topped with a generous tablespoonful of vissino.

Vissino glyko tou koutaliou

Ingredients

1kg vissino (fresh sour cherries)
1kg sugar
½ cup water
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp vanilla essence


Method

Wash the vissino well under cold water. Ensuring the vissino stays intact, carefully remove the stalks and pips. Use the pip-removing tool over a large bowl with ½ a cup of water to collect the juices from the fruit. Note that the juice of the vissino will stain material.
Place the vissino and sugar together in a pot, alternatively layering the fruit with the sugar until both are used up. Set the pot aside in a cool place, overnight, for the sugar to break down the fruit and release the juices.
The following day, place the pot on high heat until the fruit starts boiling. Using a slotted spoon, remove the foam. Reduce the heat to a simmer and once the fruit has stopped foaming, add the vanilla. Continue a gentle simmer until the syrup thickens enough to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
Once the syrup has thickened add the lemon juice and continue simmering for 2-3 minutes for the juice to incorporate into the syrup. At no stage should you stir the fruit, as this will damage the vissino, which must be kept whole. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Store in sterilised jars.

Fresko Yogurt Bar

Dionysiou Areopagitou St, Athens, phone: 210 923 3760

www.freskoyogurtbar.gr

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