Yogurt Yoghurt Yaourt

There is a yogurt aisle.  Not a dairy aisle, a yogurt aisle.  Dairy takes up 3-4 aisles.  Lactose intolerant?  Don't come to France.  The chance of offending every honest Frenchman would be too high.  Butter, milk, cream, creme fraiche, custards, gelato, sauces, yogurt, and should I even mention cheese.  Back to yogurt.  

Yogurt is common to eat after finishing your meal at home.  So this leads me to question which came first, the great yogurts that were made in France which were then heavily consumed or did the large consummation of yogurt by 'Les Français' lead to the development of great yogurt?  We might never know.  The one thing I do know is that you will begin to eat lots of yogurt if you live in France.  Before I came I was an occasional Greek yogurt partaker or strawberry and banana smoothie maker but now it's an everyday yogurt meal plan.  It might be yogurt for breakfast or yogurt after lunch/dinner or all of the above.  And the best part about it is that they have so many kinds that yogurt never gets boring.  Allow me to list some that I have seen and this isn't even talking about the different kinds of puddings...

Nature-French style regular, is not as creamy as Greek but the constancy of custard

Fromage frais-(haven't tried it yet) more like mascarpone than yogurt, the richest

Fromage blanc-bringing out the big guns, super creamy and delicious but needs to be sweetened or flavored, can be like yogurt or more of a cheese style; it's my personal favorite, it's also very rich : )

Gérvita-lets just say it's one of the richest, it almost tastes like whipped cream

Faiselle-(haven't tried yet) like Fromage blanc but thicker

À boire-drinkable (in bottles)

Greque -you know Greek yogurt

Brassé-what would be the most similar to American style yogurt; thin, tart, with whey on top

Velouté-creamier and thicker than brassé but there is still whey on top

Next the kind of milk-whole milk, 2%, or skim ( in French: entier, demi-écremé, 0%)

Then the type of milk-cow, sheep, goat (cow is normal, brebis and chèvre are marked)

Lastly plain, flavored or added fruit

What this leads to?  Infinite choices!  And there are so many more I don't know of, I've heard of a rumored 'brousse' that is like a Fromage blanc, made from goats milk.  I'm on the lookout.  

In the fridge this week ( Fromage blanc-vanilla, Greek with blackberries, and sheep's milk velouté)