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Strained yogurt, yogurt cheese, labneh, or Greek yogurt is yogurt which has been strained in a cloth or paper bag or filter to remove the whey, giving a consistency between that of yogurt and cheese, while preserving yogurt's distinctive sour taste. Like many yogurts, strained yogurt is often made from milk which has been enriched by boiling off some of the water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk.

Yogurt strained through muslin is a traditional food in the Levant, Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and South Asia, where it is often used in cooking, as it is high enough in fat not to curdle at higher temperatures. It is used in both cooked and raw, savoury and sweet dishes. Due to the straining process to remove excess whey, even non-fat varieties are rich and creamy.

In Western Europe and the U.S., strained yogurt has become increasingly popular because it is richer in texture than unstrained yogurt, but low in fat; since straining removes water and dissolved salts and sugars, by volume, it has twice the protein of regular yogurt and less sodium, carbohydrates, and sugar.

In fact, most of the recent growth in the $4.1b yogurt industry has come from the strained yogurt segment. In the West, the term "Greek yogurt" has become synonymous with strained yogurt due to successful marketing by the Greek Fage brand, though strained yogurt is a staple in many countries besides Greece, and most yogurt in Greece is not strained. "Greek-style" yogurts are similar to Greek strained yogurt, but may be thickened with thickening agents, or if made the traditional way, are based on domestic (rather than Greek) milk.

Greece

Strained yogurt is used in Greek food mostly as the base for tzatziki dip and as a dessert, where honey, sour cherry syrup, or spoon sweets are often served on top. A few savoury Greek dishes use strained yogurt. In Greece, strained yogurt, like yogurt in general, is traditionally made from sheep's milk. More recently, cow's milk is often used, especially in industrial production.

Cyprus

Similarly, strained yogurt is widely used in Cypriot cuisine not only as an ingredient in a recipe, but rather on its own or as a supplement to a dish. In Cyprus, strained yogurt is usually made from cow's milk and the local dairy of ZITA DAIRIES command the lion's share of the market among the Greek-Cypriot producers.

Middle East

Strained yogurt or labneh (also known as labni or lebni) is popular in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. Besides being used fresh, labneh is also dried then formed into balls, sometimes covered with herbs or spices, and stored in olive oil. Labneh is a popular mezze dish and sandwich ingredient.It is also a traditional Bedouin food. The flavour depends largely on the sort of milk used: labneh from cow's milk has a rather milder flavour. Also the quality of olive oil topping influences the taste of labneh. Milk from camels and other animals is used in labneh production in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries.

Bedouin Labneh

While Bedouin will also eat fresh labneh, they also produce a dry, hard labneh that can be stored. For that, the strained labneh is pressed in its cheese cloth between two heavy stones and later sun dried. This dry labneh is often eaten with khubz (Arabic bread) in which both the freshly made bread (khubz) and the labneh are mixed with some water, (some amount of animal fat) some salt and then mashed into a porrige. The food is then rolled into balls by using the (right) hand and eaten like kabsa.It is similar to the stringed, dry yak cheese cubes made by Tibetan nomads.

Jordan

In Jordan, labneh is very common for breakfast, sandwiches and mezze too. It comes in two forms: soft labneh, which is manufactured and sold in large quantities at supermarkets, and hard or authentic labneh, which is sold in small shops in towns such as Jerash, Ajloun and Kerak. Each town makes labneh in small factories which also make other dairy products like Jameed and salted White Cheese. Authentic labneh is stored in olive oil, which adds to its flavour.

Lebanon

Laban (yogurt), labneh (strained yogurt), and Lebanon all come from the Semitic root LBN 'white'. Yogurt, strained or not, is an important element in Lebanese cuisine, eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One famous Lebanese dish is laban mixed with crushed dry mint leaves, garlic, salt and sliced cucumbers. Laban can be eaten sweet or salted, and used for stuffed vegetables, meat stew, and fried kibbe.

In Lebanon, labneh is most commonly made of cows' milk, which is available all year; it is also made from goats' milk from April to September. It is either eaten alone or used as a filling for pita sandwiches. It can also be served as a light dish at dinner. The popular Lebanese garlic sauce is made of labneh and garlic. Labneh is used as a spread on pita bread or Lebanese Marouq bread. Olive oil, vegetables, Lebanese mint, thyme, garlic or other spices are usually added to dishes and sandwiches. Labneh bil zayit (labneh in oil) is also very popular because the cheese can be kept for over a year. However, as it ages it turns slightly more sour. This is prepared by rolling the labneh into little balls the size of a nut and filling a jar with olive oil then filling it with the labneh balls. Labneh malboudeh is drained labneh. The younger Lebanese generation appreciates labneh as an alternative dip for French fries or nachos

Syria

In Syria it is eaten for breakfast with olive oil, cheese, olives and bread.

Israel

There are many different brands and types of labaneh in Israel. It is sold plain, as balls in olive oil, or with za'atar and olive oil. It is often eaten for breakfast with olive oil, other cheeses, and bread.

Armenian Diaspora

Labneh (known as lebni in Armenian) is popular among Armenians expatriates from Levantine countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Israel , Syria and Palestine.

Turkey

A thicker, higher-fat variety known as süzme yoğurt ("strained yogurt") or torba yoğurdu ("bag yogurt"), is made by straining the yogurt curds from the whey.

Iran

Strained yogurt in Iran is called Mâst Chekide and is usually mixed with water for various dishes. In Northern Iran, Mâst Chekide, is a variety of kefir with a distinct sour taste. It is usually mixed fresh herbs (pesto-like) pure called Delal. Yogurt is a side dish to all Iranian meals. Strained yogurt is used as dips and various appetizers with multitudes of ingredients: cucumbers, onions, shallots, fresh herbs (dill, spearmint, parsley, cilantro), spinach, walnuts, zereshk, garlic etc. The most popular appetizers are spinach or eggplant borani, ‘’Mâst-o-Khiâr’’ with cucumber, spring onions and herbs, or ‘’Mâst-Musir’’ with wild shallots.

India and Pakistan

In south Asia, regular unstrained yogurt (dahi), made from cow or water buffalo milk, is often sold in disposable clay pots. Kept for a couple of hours in its clay pot, some of the water evaporates through the clay's pores. But true strained yogurt (chakka) is made by draining dahi in a cloth.

Shrikhand is an Indian dessert (eaten with poori) made with strained yogurt and sugar, saffron, cardamom, diced fruit and nuts mixed in. It is particularly popular in the state of Gujarat, where dairy producers market shrikhand similar to ice cream. In Pashtun-dominated regions of Pakistan a strained yogurt known as chaka is often consumed with rice and meat dishes.

Afghanistan, Tajikistan

In Afghanistan and Central Asia (countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), a type of strained yogurt called "Chaka" is eaten.

Mexico

Strained yogurt is called jocoque árabe in Mexico. In recent years, it has been popularised by local producers of Lebanese origin and is widely popular in the country. The name jocoque is Nahuatl, and is also used for an indigenous cultured milk product similar to labneh.

North America

The popularity of strained yogurt has skyrocketed with increased commercial production in recent years. In these countries the food is often marketed as Greek yogurt.

Northern Europe

Strained yogurt has become popular in Northern European cookery, marketed as Greek yogurt and Turkish yogurt (10% fat) or as an alternative to cream in many dishes. Low-fat versions are available. In Denmark, a type of strained yogurt named ymer is available. In contrast to the Greek and Turkish variety, only a minor amount of whey is drained off in the production process. Ymer is traditionally consumed with the addition of ymerdrys (lit. Danish: ymer sprinkle), a mixture of bread crumbs made from rugbrød and brown sugar. Like other types of soured dairy products, ymer is often consumed at breakfast. Strained yogurt topped with muesli and maple syrup is often served at brunch in cafés in Denmark.

References

1. Mintel reports: From 2008-2009, the Greek yogurt segment grew at an astonishing rate of 123% and preliminary data suggests that the Greek yogurt segment is growing faster at the expense of the regular yogurt segment, which saw a 4% growth from 2008-2009.
2. Greek vs Greek-style yogurt from Greek yogurt Company, accessed on 2008-03-03
3. Voskos Greek Yogurt from Sun Valley Dairy, accessed on 2008-03-03
4. greek yogurt Greek-recipe.com, accessed on 2007-06-27
5. Meyer, Arthur L. (2003). The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites. John Wiley. p. 348. ISBN 9780471411024. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
6. Abraham Villegas de Gante, "El Jocoque: Un Lácteo Fermentado Revalorizable"
7. ^ "Is Greek Yogurt Better Than Regular?". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
8. yogurt article Delia Smith online, accessed on 2007-06-27
9. "Syrnede produkter". Official Danish website of the Arla Foods Corporation (in Danish). Arla Foods. 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-12. {{cite web}}: Text "Arla" ignored (help)

• Yoghurts
• Middle Eastern cuisine
• South Asian cuisine