Greek yogurt: properties and characteristics

Dense, creamy, sweet at the right point and rich in protein: increasingly present in our refrigerators, Greek yogurt is now a food that we more often find in our kitchens. But how does it differ from the classic white yogurt? Perfect alone or with a spoonful of muesli, Greek yogurt can also be used in savory preparations due to its low sugar content; one of its characteristics is the particular filtering process with which the whey and the most watery part is eliminated and perhaps not everyone knows that the original recipe is not really Greek but Bulgarian! Let's find out all the characteristics and properties of this food and let’s also debunk some myths.

How to recognize Greek yogurt and nutritional properties

How yogurt is made

To get yogurt we need milk and there is no doubt about it! It is true that the processing of classic yogurt and Greek yogurt are different. To obtain classic yogurt, the milk is first homogenized, and then pasteurized to eliminate any bacteria that could prevent subsequent fermentation, a fundamental moment in which lactic ferments are added.

White yogurt and Greek yogurt: the differences

If you are a lover of Greek yogurt, you will certainly have noticed that the main difference and the element that distinguishes it from the "classic" yogurt is the density: Greek yogurt is in fact very creamy and not very liquid. Traditional yogurt normally undergoes two filtration processes while Greek yogurt has 3 filtration processes and this is what makes the difference. The consistency of this yogurt does not depend on particular ingredients but on a filtering process that eliminates whey and excess liquids. Precisely this step allows proteins to have a higher concentration and this is why Greek yogurt is much loved and consumed by those who play sports.

Nutritional properties

Greek yogurt has a higher content of proteins which, as we have seen, are more concentrated than traditional white yogurt: the protein intake goes hand in hand with a higher calorie intake while, compared to classic yogurt, we find a lower quantity of carbohydrates. The nutritional characteristics of Greek yogurt make it a food much loved by those who follow a regulated diet but you must always be careful and not be fooled: the Greek yogurt packages that we find in the supermarkets are always more capacious than the classic yogurt jars, so be careful not to overdo it!

Curiosities

According to some sources, the recipe for Greek yogurt is actually of Bulgarian origin, even if each country claims to be its birthplace. When you buy Greek yogurt, pay attention to the label, maybe you don't know it, but most of the production takes place in America so, if you can, choose the labels where you can really read "Greek yogurt" and not something like "Greek yogurt made in ‘somewhere else’".