Xo4y skazat' 4to s nedavnego vremini sly4aino zametila 4to mnogie prodyktyi, vklu4aya tvorog stali prodovat' v Whole Foods. Tam videla tvorog, Kefir, the Greek tarmasalata spread i
O4en' sil'no ydevilas', especially yvidet' tam nastoyas4i tvorog i tarmosalata spread. I don't know the price may be a bit more "pricey", yet by the $'s I saw in Russian Markets v tom shtate ot kyda pereexala suda it seems pretty compatable. What I'm sure in is the piece of mind in purchasing stuff in Whole Food's vs. a Russian store. Tam turn around faster, and if not @ v Whole Foods(ye) sledyat za best by/sell by date. In the case you purchase something and it turns out to be bad/not fresh, or, well, not "so good" you can easily bring it back and get your money back. In my experience w/ Russian stores, even one that was/is owned by my distant relatives by marriage, this proves harder to do w/out having to argue, or made fell shameful. I haven't baought tvorog there, I know they had one by LifeWay (same as Kefir in many stores, now), and in another location I saw it by another brand. They have Russian lettering and English on it too. I did purchase the Taramsalata or whatever that Carp Greek style spread is and we were very happy w/ how fresh it tasted. In Russian stores my experience had been that sometimes it's fresh and at other times it has a very old taste to it, almost like stale butter in comparisson (it's best I could describe it to get my point across).
So, if you really want true Russian product, this is where you can find an authentic one, but if you want something that is similar, I too agree that Friendship is pretty similar and good tasting (cheaper as well).
Just thought that, perhaps, this will help you, and surprise others in terms of how "Russian's" teper' i dobralis' do Whole Foods ;-))! LOL!!
All the best in your journey to find what you are looking for, &/or craving.
Irina
