Yogurt From Iceland, and It’s Not Even Frozen
Pining for the traditional strained-milk skyr of his Arctic homeland, erstwhile management consultant Siggi Hilmarsson started making his own with non-rBGH skim milk from grass-fed upstate New York cows. After debuting at Murray’s Cheese and Real Food markets in the summer of 2006, the exceedingly thick, high-protein, agave-sweetened product has slowly infiltrated the health-food shops and gourmet groceries of Manhattan and Brooklyn. This month, it hit the big time: the dairy case at Whole Foods. Flavors range from plain to pear and mint, passion fruit and pomegranate, and orange and ginger (see skyr.com for stores; prices vary).
The Socially Conscious Cracker
No mere baker, Jessamyn Waldman intends for her nascent business, Hot Bread Kitchen, to train immigrant women and to preserve their culinary traditions. Last summer, in a Long Island City commercial kitchen, the start-up baked its artisan loaves and stationary-bike-powered tortillas (the corn is ground by furious pedaling that rivals an Equinox spin class) and sold them through farmers’ markets and CSAs. You can find the paper-thin, delicate lavash crackers (in salt, sesame, poppy, or za’atar varieties) at Saxelby Cheesemongers in Essex Street Market (120 Essex St., at Delancey St.; $4).
Holy (Greenmarket) Cannoli
Has a homesick Italian taken over the Union Square Greenmarket? First it was fresh fettuccine at egg purveyor Knoll Krest farm. Now it’s cannoli at the Patches of Star Dairy stand. The Pennsylvania cheesemaker ups the ante on the Mulberry Street staple by using its own chèvre combined with goat’s-milk ricotta and maple crystals from one of its market neighbors. If only the packaging were more ecofriendly (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; $2 per cannoli).