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by treehau5 3712 days ago
Buyer beware however, I'd say 90% of the stuff out there is rubbish. Like you said it is "greek style" but it's thicker only as a result of adding thickening agents, and a far-cry of actual authentic greek yogurt, Dannon and Yoplait being the biggest offenders. Chobani is close, but I would say Fage is the absolute best.

Greek yogurt should be hardly sweet, extremely tart, and so thick it almost makes you thirsty -- as you can see where I am going, not something that fits the pallet that giant food has crafted for the average american (I.e fill everything with sugar) which is why I think Chobani has beaten Fage in the US, beacause of it's smoother consistency and slightly sweeter taste.
2 comments
venomsnake 3712 days ago
It should be slightly sweet - but only from the lactose in the milk.

Anyway for anyone that wants to taste the real deal - take a gallon of milk (produced without antibiotics), boil, wait to cool to 48 C, add starter,wrap in a blanket, wait 1 day, put cloth on a mesh strainer, put the resulting yogurt in the strainer, wait.

DO NOT THROW AWAY the strained liquid - the so called acid whey. When chilled to the point of freezing it is great refreshing drink.

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ido 3711 days ago
Only after easing your description did I realize Greek yogurt is basically labneh.
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venomsnake 3711 days ago
From marketing point of view sadly the difference is huge.

Greek yogurt is pleasantly neutral as a meaning, new but not exotic, boring and safe choice for everyday use. Marketing labneh will be a lot harder - if the audience starts to view some food as ethnic and/or exotic - they wont buy it as a staple. And lets not discount the possibility of social media @#$$-storm if you somehow misspell, mismarket or whatever.

Do you want to quadruple the sales of tahini in US - rename it as sesame butter.

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ghaff 3712 days ago
I guess I'm not much of a connoisseur of Greek yogurt. Admittedly I eat yogurt now and then, and even make it at home sometimes, but I'm not a huge consumer. But I don't find huge differences which maybe just means I don't actually have much of a taste for authentic versions. When Fage was about the only thing available, I bought it at Trader Joe's. Now I mostly buy Chobani but buy store brands as well.
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