Greek Yogurt
Yogurt strained to remove most of its whey, making it thick enough to stand a spoon in, with a dense, tangy taste. It is a strained yogurt, not a separate culture.
Yogurt & Cultured
Every yogurt in every form, traditional, Greek, skyr, and drinkable, plus kefir, sour cream, crème fraîche, and cottage cheese. The complete collection is cataloged here.
Skyr
An Icelandic strained dairy product made from skim milk, thicker and denser than Greek yogurt, with a very mild tang. It is eaten like yogurt but made like a fresh cheese.
Plain Yogurt
Milk fermented with yogurt cultures into a smooth, tangy gel, sold without added flavors or sweeteners. It comes in regular, low-fat, and nonfat versions.
Fruit Yogurt
Yogurt sweetened and flavored, most often with fruit preparations, vanilla, or honey. It is the sweet, ready-to-eat form of yogurt sold in single cups and tubes.
Drinkable Yogurt
Yogurt made thin enough to drink, sold in bottles, usually flavored and sweetened. It is yogurt in beverage form, with the same cultures.
Kefir
A fermented milk drink made with kefir grains, a culture of bacteria and yeasts. It is thinner than yogurt, tangier, and slightly effervescent.
Cottage Cheese
A fresh cheese of loose curds dressed with cream and salt, never pressed or aged. It is mild, lumpy, and eaten with a spoon, sweet or savory.
Ricotta
An Italian fresh cheese traditionally made by recooking whey until its proteins form soft, fine curds. It is white, mild, and slightly sweet, with a fluffy texture.
Mascarpone
An Italian cream cheese from Lombardy, made by curdling cream with acid. It is ivory, dense, and buttery with a very mild, sweet flavor.
Quark
A fresh German cheese of soured milk, strained to a thick, smooth paste. It is mild and slightly tart, sold at fat levels from skim to cream-enriched.
Fromage Blanc
A fresh French cheese of curdled milk drained to a soft, spoonable consistency, similar to quark. It is mild, fresh, and slightly tart, often sold in tubs like yogurt.
Labneh
A Levantine strained yogurt, salted and drained until it reaches a soft cheese consistency. It is tangy, creamy, and spreadable, often rolled into balls stored in olive oil.
Ayran
A Turkish savory yogurt drink of yogurt, water, and salt, whisked to a light froth. It is thin, refreshing, and unsweetened, served cold with grilled food.
Lassi
An Indian yogurt drink blended with water or milk, made sweet, often with mango or rose, or salted and spiced. It is frothy, cooling, and served with meals.
Filmjölk
A Swedish cultured milk, mesophilic and mild, with a distinctive pourable, slightly ropy texture. It is eaten like a thin yogurt at breakfast.
Balkan Yogurt
A set-style yogurt fermented undisturbed in its container, giving a firm, clean-cut gel and a pronounced tartness. It is made with Balkan cultures, typically without thickeners.
Ryazhenka
A cultured milk from Eastern Europe made from baked milk: milk held at low heat for hours until creamy and caramel-tinted, then fermented. It tastes like a mild, toasted yogurt.
Smetana
The sour cream of Central and Eastern Europe, cultured cream with a clean tang and a thick, spoonable body, usually around 20 to 30 percent fat in commercial versions.
Sour Cream
Cream cultured until it thickens and turns pleasantly tart. It is a spoonable, glossy condiment and ingredient, standard in American and Mexican-American cooking.
Crème Fraîche
A French cultured cream, thick and velvety with a mild, nutty tang, around 30 to 45 percent fat. It is more stable in cooking than sour cream and less tart.