Strained yogurt, Labneh, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, hung curd, or kerned yogurt is yogurt (or "yoghurt") that has been strained to remove most of its whey, making it thicker while preserving its sour taste. In Europe and North America, it is often made from low-fat or fat-free cow's milk. In Iceland a similar product named skyr is made. Labneh is a strained yogurt thicker than Greek yogurt.
Strained yogurt is usually marketed in North America as "Greek yogurt". In the United Kingdom, the term "Greek yoghurt" may only be used for yoghurt imported from Greece; strained yoghurt is sold as "Greek-style yoghurt",In Britain the name "Greek" may only be applied to yogurt made in Greece. and yoghurt made creamy by thickening agents instead may also use this name, although ingredients must be declared. Strained yogurt is widely eaten in Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines, where it is often used in cooking, as it curdles less readily when cooked. It is used in a variety of dishes, cooked or not, savory or sweet. Straining makes even non-fat yogurt varieties thicker, richer, and creamier than unstrained. Since straining removes the whey, more milk is required to make strained yogurt, increasing the production cost. In Western Europe and the United States, strained yogurt has increased in popularity compared to unstrained yogurt. Since the straining process removes some of the lactose, strained yogurt is lower in sugar than unstrained yogurt.
In 2012, most of the growth in the US$4.1 billion American yogurt industry came from the strained yogurt sub-segment, typically marketed as "Greek yogurt". In the US, there is no legal or standard definition of Greek yogurt, and yogurt thickened with thickening agents, typically pectin, locust bean gum, starches or guar gum, may be sold as "Greek yogurt".
Name
In English, strained yogurt only became well known outside of immigrant communities in the 1980s,Oxford English Dictionary, Draft addition, June 2015, s.v. Greek when it was imported into the United Kingdom by the Greek company Fage, under the brand name "Total". A court case in 2013 restricted the term "Greek yogurt" in the UK to strained yogurt made in Greece; it had only been used for non-Greek-made yoghurt once since the 1980s.Fage UK Ltd & Anor v Chobani UK Ltd & Anor EWHC 630 (Ch), 26 March 2013, full decision Labneh, a word derived from Levantine Arabic, is made in the same way, but strained for longer and with added salt; it is sometimes termed "yogurt cheese".
Geographical variations Central Asia In the cuisines of many Iranian and Turkic people (such as Afghan, Tajik, Tatar, Uzbek, and other Central Asian cuisines), a type of strained yogurt called chak(k)a or süzme is consumed. It is obtained by draining qatiq, a local yogurt variety. By further drying it one obtains qurut, a kind of dry fresh cheese.
The Middle East and the Mediterranean
Strained yogurt is made by straining the liquid out of yogurt until it takes on a consistency similar to a soft cheese. A strained yogurt that is thicker than Greek yogurt, and salted, is known as labneh or labaneh (labna, labni, labne, lebni, or labani; ) in the countries of the Levant, Egypt, and the Arabian Peninsula. Labaneh biz-zayt, 'labaneh in oil', consists of small balls of dry labneh, sometimes covered with herbs or spices, kept in olive oil, where it can be preserved for over a year. As it ages it turns more sour and has a deeper, more complex, umami, and fermented taste. The flavor depends largely on the sort of milk used: labneh from cow's milk has a rather mild flavor. The quality of the olive oil topping also influences the taste of labneh. Milk from camels and other mammals is used in labneh production in the Middle East.
The Levant
Labneh is a common mezze dish and sandwich ingredient, especially in the Levant. A common sandwich in the Middle East consists of labneh, mint, za'atar, and olive on flatbread. It is a common breakfast dip.Debra Kamin. Tourist tip #242:Labheh. Haaretz It is usually eaten spread on a plate and drizzled with olive oil, and often dried mint. It is also often paired as a dip with the mixed herb blend za'atar. Bedouin also produce a dry, hard labneh (, similar to Central Asian qurut) that can be stored; strained labneh is pressed in a cheesecloth and dried out. In Lebanon and Palestine, labneh is rolled into balls and preserved by storing them in olive oil; the balls are sometimes flavored by coating them with herbs and spices such as za'atar, sumac, sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or dried chili flakes. These balls that are preserved in olive oil are commonly known as Labneh Mka'zaleh, Labneh Mda'baleh, or Labneh Mdaḥbaleh.
Armenia
In Armenia, strained yogurt is called . Traditionally, it was produced for long-term preservation by draining matzoon in cloth sacks.
Egypt
In Egypt, it is eaten with savory accompaniments such as olives and oil, and also with a sweetener such as honey, as a snack or breakfast food. Areesh cheese (or arish; , ) is a type of cheese that originated in Egypt. Arish cheese is made from yogurt heated slowly until it curdles and separates, then placed in cheesecloth to drain. It is similar in taste to ricotta. The protein content of Areesh cheese is 17.6%. Shanklish (), a fermented cheese, is made from areesh cheese.
Cyprus
As in Greece, strained yogurt is widely used in Cypriot cuisine both as an ingredient in recipes as well as on its own or as a supplement to a dish. In Cyprus, strained yogurt is usually made from sheep or goats milk.
Iran
Strained yogurt in Iran is called and is usually used for making dips, or served as a side dish. In Northern Iran, is a variety of kefir with a distinct sour taste. It is usually mixed with fresh herbs in a pesto-like purée called delal. Yogurt is a side dish to many Iranian meals. Strained yogurt is used as dips and various appetizers with multitudes of ingredients, including cucumbers, onions, shallots, fresh herbs (dill, spearmint, parsley, cilantro), spinach, walnuts, zereshk, and garlic. The best-known appetizers are spinach or eggplant borani, with cucumber, spring onions and herbs, or with wild shallots. Strained yogurt in Balochistan is called .
Turkey
In Turkey, strained yogurt is known as Walker, Harlan, ed. (2000) Milk-- Beyond the Dairy: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1999 Totnes, Devon, Eng. : Prospect Books. page 276. . ('strained yogurt') or ('bag yogurt').Süzme Yoğurt. Food Technology, MEGEP, Turkish Ministry of Education, 2007 (in Turkish) Water is sometimes added in the preparation of that is not eaten as a meze but consumed as a beverage. Strained yogurt is used in Turkish mezes and dips such as haydari. In Turkish markets, is also a common dairy product, but it is different from strained yogurt; it is yogurt-based creamy cheese without salt, and is used like mascarpone.Pınar Labaneh. Pinar, Yaşar Group
South Asia
Strained yogurt called chakka is made by draining the yogurt in a (preferably muslin) cloth. It is hung for 12 to 18 hours to allow some of the whey to drain off. This technique is frequently used in India and Pakistan. Shrikhand is a dish made with chakka, sugar, saffron, cardamom, and pureed or diced fruit and nuts mixed in; it is often eaten with poori. It is particularly common in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Chakka is also eaten in Pashtun-dominated regions of Pakistan with rice and meat dishes.
Southeastern Europe
Strained yogurt () is used in Greek food mostly as the base for tzatziki dip and as a dessert, with honey, sour cherry syrup, or spoon sweets often served on top. A few savory Greek dishes also use strained yogurt. In Greece, strained yogurt, like yogurt in general, is traditionally made from sheep's milk. Fage International S.A. began straining cow's-milk yogurt for industrial production in Greece in 1975, when it launched its brand "Total".Daphne Zepos. Greek Gastronomy . Kerasma, accessed on 2013-01-24
In Albania, strained yogurt is called salcë kosi. Yogurt is drained in a cloth sack for a few hours to overnight. The water released from this process is called hirrë and can be used to preserve cheese or as a drink.
In Bulgaria, where yogurt is considered to be an integral part of the national cuisine, strained yogurt is called tsedeno kiselo mliako () and is used in a variety of salads and dressings.
A variety of strained yogurt called basa is a traditional variety of cheese from the region of Lika in Croatia. In Serbia and North Macedonia, it is also known as kiselo mleko (кисело млеко).
Northern Europe A type of strained yogurt named ymer is available in Denmark. In contrast to the Greek variety, only a minor amount of whey is drained off in the production process.
Strained yogurt is known as hangop, literally meaning 'hang up' in the Netherlands. It is a traditional dessert. Hangop may also be made using buttermilk.
United Kingdom In the UK, strained yogurt can only be marketed as "Greek" if made in Greece. Strained cow-milk yogurt not made in Greece is typically sold as "Greek style" or "Greek recipe" for marketing reasons, typically at lower prices than yogurt made in Greece. Among "Greek style" yogurts, there is no distinction between those thickened by straining and those thickened through additives. However, if the yogurt contains anything other than lactic products, food enzymes and micro-organism cultures a list of ingredients is required on packaging.
In September 2012, Chobani UK began to sell yogurt made in the United States as "Greek yogurt". FAGE, a company that manufactures yogurt in Greece and sells it in the United Kingdom, filed a passing-off claim against Chobani in the UK High Court, claiming that UK consumers understood "Greek" to refer to the country of origin (similar to "Belgian beer"); Chobani's position was that consumers understood "Greek" to refer to a preparation (similar to "French toast"). Both companies relied on surveys to prove their point; FAGE also relied on the previous industry practice of UK yogurt makers not to label their yogurt as "Greek yogurt". Ultimately Mr Justice Briggs found in favor of FAGE and granted an injunction preventing Chobani from using the name "Greek yogurt". In February 2014, this decision was upheld on appeal. Greece may now seek to protect the marketing term, "Greek yogurt", across the entire EU under protected designation of origin rules.
In May 2020, British dairy company Yeo Valley entered the market with an organic product called "Super Thick Kerned Yogurt. The "kerned yogurt" label was the first of its kind, coined in reference to an archaic Somerset term meaning "thickened", which is predominantly used in relation to dairy products.
A product called "Lindahls Kvarg" was launched in the UK by Nestlé in 2018, and described as "Sweden's No. 1 Quark". Quark is a type of high-protein strained curd cheese widely used in Swedish cooking. The company Bio-tiful launched its kefir-quark blend, containing live cultures and protein.
Since 2015, Arla has sold its own skyr product marketed as "Icelandic style yogurt".
North America In Mexico, the thick yogurt jocoque seco was popularized by local producers of Lebanese origin. Although the original jocoque is typical to the Altos de Jalisco region. The name may have been used by Lebanese and Syrian immigrants given its pre-existence in 19th century Mexico.