Today I went shopping at Andy’s Market in Sebastopol, CA because they have an amazing selection of gluten free products, including gluten free oats and oat flour. As I was browsing the dairy aisle, I discovered a yogurt called Ricera, which is made from whole grain rice and rice protein, contains the usual active cultures found in other yogurt, but has no dairy or soy. It is processed on shared equipment that is used for soy and dairy products, but it is thoroughly cleaned in between to reduce risk of cross-contamination. It came in four flavors: vanilla, blueberry, peach, and strawberry. I bought the vanilla and blueberry flavors to try. Here’s the review.
Both flavors were good! The overall texture was creamy and yogurty, although the vanilla was just slightly gritty. The color of the vanilla wasn’t appealing because it was light brown (it’s made from brown rice), but the blueberry looked like any blueberry yogurt. I detected a hint of a bitter aftertaste in both, but it wasn’t too strong. Mostly, it had the sweet/sour taste of regular yogurt.
I know that my children would enjoy it like they do any yogurt, with some cereal poured on the top to stir in. For someone who hasn’t ever been able to have yogurt because of a dairy or soy allergy, rice yogurt may be a small dream come true.
UPDATE 2/21/09: Hmmm… after trying this many times, and reading feedback from readers, we are not so keen on the rice yogurt anymore. Since this review, a new dairy-free soy-free yogurt made of coconut is on the market. Go read that review and try that one instead!
Shannon says
Really??
I’ve only tried the vanilla, but found it lacking in every measure.
Not only is the color unappealing, the consistency isn’t much like dairy yogurt at all. Instead, think jello made with rice milk.
I thought the bitter aftertaste was quite strong, and the “yogurt-y” flavor was off.
It was tolerable in smoothies, but I couldn’t eat it plain.
leslie says
Thanks for expanding on the yogurt review.
I must admit that my excitement at finding a soy-free yogurt probably tilted my review toward the positive.
I just found out that my cousins who are gluten and casein free and who also happened to have tried just the vanilla flavor thought it was awful too. A big part of their problem with it was the brown color and the grittiness. They did not enjoy it or finish it.
That said, I found the blueberry to be better than the vanilla, because it seemed creamier, wasn’t gritty and had a more normal blueberry color. Maybe you’d also find the fruited flavors to be tastier. I do agree that they are probably more acceptable mixed with something, like in a smoothie as you suggested or with cereal like my kids like.
And if your family likes it mixed but not plain, that’s still a good addition to the daily variety of food, right?
alison says
I just gave my daughters strawberry Ricera yogurt and they loved it! I tasted it too and thought it was pretty good. I wonder if they have changed anything since a year ago.
My almost-4 year old savored every bite and said “I’ve never had yogurt before!” Actually she used to eat dairy yogurt as a toddler and broke out in rashes. She has always had a fascination with other kids’ yogurts so now she gets her own!
Kathleen Silverman says
Thank you for this information!!!!
We have been searching for a rice based yogurt for some time!
We operate a nationwide not-for-profit foundation Eat,Learn, Live (ELL). ELL just released an entertaining guide and cookbook entitled “The Party is at the Safe House”. It includes 130 allergy-free unique recipes!
Visit http://www.ellfoundation.org Products to view!