12 Jun / A Childhood Revival—Yakult Float
It’s not often that something that tastes so good is actually good for you too. And you’d never expect it from something as sweet and milky as Yakult!
Yakult, a fermented dairy drink from Japan, was a childhood favorite of mine. It’s essentially a probiotic drink containing the strain Lactobacillus casei Shirota, named after the man who invented it, Dr. Minoru Shirota. According to the company’s Web site, when consumed daily, Yakult may help balance your digestive system and maintain overall health.
When I was a wee one, I’d wait expectantly for my mom to return from her weekly supermarket run. More often than not, Mom would pull out a Yakult variety pack—little bottles of rainbow colored Yakult—and my siblings and I would squabble over our favorite flavor, grape.
Yakult flavors in Singapore: regular, orange, grape and green apple.
Photo credit: Dezzawong, Wikimedia Commons CC
So the nostalgia behind this drink is evident. Even now, I still buy Yakult for my son (and me) and he loves it!
You can find Yakult at many Asian markets here in the U.S. (they have a factory in Fountain Valley, California) but only the subtly citrus “regular” flavor is available, as well as a low-sugar variety.
I’ve also tried a Korean competitor—or imposter depending on how you look at it–called Maeil Biofeel that comes in a smaller bottle. The first time I bought it, I was conned into thinking it was the real thing! It tastes similar to Yakult and might be a decent substitute, except for the fact that it contains fructose corn syrup, glucose and the sweetener, sucralose, in addition to sugar.
More recently, Yakult has become the subject of my latest obsession—the Yakult float.
I blame my sister. Last month, she went back to Singapore and was posting photos of all her edible adventures. One photo in particular caught my eye—a tall glass of Yakult crowned with a scoop of ice cream. I could not have squealed louder.
Yakult + ice cream = YUM!
One quick trip to the Asian market later, I was sipping on an ice-cold Yakult float and the result was, as expected, delightful!
Go on, you try it, tell me what you think!
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[yumprint-recipe id=’11’]