Yogurt In Greece Might Not Be What You Expect

Travel to Greece and you may have thick, creamy bowls of yogurt in mind. Though yogurt made in Greece can be creamy and thick, cartons may not necessarily yield the rich, dense products you're used to seeing popularly packaged as Greek yogurt in the United States. While strained cow's yogurt has been branded as Greek yogurt in America, yogurt made in Greece can be made not only with cow's milk but also with milk collected from goats and sheep. Some yogurts may even be made using a combination of both sheep and goat milk, similar to feta cheese, and they aren't always strained. This means that unlike the cartons of Greek yogurt sold in American stores, the yogurt found in market aisles in Greece can come in a range of consistencies and tastes.

Athens Daily Food Tour guide Rachel Montague explained to Cookist, "This subject comes up on around 50 percent of our tours. They want to know what makes it so different here than the yogurt they buy in the U.S. and they also want to know why it is so thick." While yogurt in Greece has many textures, what we've come to know as Greek yogurt in the U.S. is strained yogurt, referred to in Greece as straggisto. Rather than Greece, strained yogurt can likely be traced to Bulgaria and the Middle East.

Straining yogurt helps create a thicker consistency due to the removal of whey, and the remaining yogurt offers protein, nutrients, and healthy fats for consumers to enjoy. It's a process that was developed in many different cultures, so why do we call strained yogurt "Greek yogurt" in the United States? 

The first company to produce and sell strained yogurt labeled as Greek yogurt in the U.S. was the Greek company Fage. To set its strained yogurt apart from the competition, Fage capitalized on its origin and called its product Greek yogurt. One of the more well-known brands of strained yogurt sold in the U.S., Chobani, was started by a Turkish entrepreneur, but rather than calling it Turkish yogurt, or simply strained yogurt, the company decided to classify its brand as Greek yogurt, too. Fage tried to sue Chobani for using the term Greek yogurt but lost, paving the way for the term to be used broadly for strained yogurt, regardless of where the company (and yogurt) originated.

So should you find yourself strolling the streets of Athens, remember that not all the yogurt you encounter will be the strained cow's milk yogurt that Americans call Greek yogurt. Keeping an open mind and palate will serve you well, as you may be pleasantly surprised with the tasting experience of true Greek yogurt. While you're at it, you may want to try Greek specialties saganaki, loukoumades, and bougatsa if you're a fan of dishes made with dairy.