Near the end of January, Ben & Jerry's announced they'd be releasing a new 30 Rock inspired, Greek Frozen Yogurt flavor that would be referred to as Liz Lemon. This lemon Greek yogurt with a Blueberry Lavender Swirl hadn't sounded all that appealing at first, but my experience with their Banana Peanut Butter Greek Frozen Yogurt and Tina Fey's smiling face were enough to persuade me into picking up a pint. With the help of Lemon Cookie from Three Twin and New Orleans Ice Cream Company's Lemon Doberge Cake, I've recently become more open minded towards this type of flavor. Without the assistance of cookies, cake or premium ice cream, I'm hoping Ben & Jerry's latest Greek frozen yogurt flavor can manage to keep up with its citrusy competition. If you're having trouble locating Liz Lemon, check out the Ben & Jerry's Find Liz Lemon iniative. If you've already found a pint, head on over and add your location.
After tossing the lid aside, the first layer looked a little mundane, but then again, so had Banana Peanut Butter. Liz Lemon is slimmer around the waist, coming in at only 180 calories per half cup serving; tied for the lowest of any available flavor from Ben & Jerry's. I had somewhat expected the taste of Greek yogurt to hit me first like it did in the other offering I'd tried, so I was surprised to find Liz Lemon led with a somewhat sour taste. The initial bite of the citrus is eventually loses the struggle for power to the sweet tanginess of the Greek frozen yogurt, which gives each bite pleasant, mellow finish. Spoon after spoon of this refreshing base allowed for full appreciation of the smooth, Greek frozen yogurt Ben & Jerry's has been able to churn out. These particular bases lack the richness of their ice cream, but sometimes my palate needs a break from all the super-sweet ice creams available.
The various swirls across Ben & Jerry's lineup tend to range in thickness, density and relevance, but I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed with the blueberry lavender one involved in Liz Lemon. For the most part, the petite portions of the purple swirl didn't add much of anything. They weren't thick enough to contrast against the texture of the frozen yogurt and they didn't provide enough taste to balance out the lemon base effectively, but on a few occasions the swirl grew large enough to contribute. The sugary swirl was reminiscent of jam or jelly, with the lavender aspect taking a backseat to the blueberries as far as taste was concerned. When a sizable amount of the swirl was combined with the lemon Greek frozen yogurt, that was when this flavor saw its full potential. The taste of sweetened blueberries were enough to completely balance out the slight sourness of the lemon and provided a lighter, more flavorful bite than normal. Although this wouldn't win over some of their other available selections, it's still worth seeking out just because of how well done their Greek frozen yogurt have turned out to be.
Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: C
