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To begin with, Greek yoghurt has a denser and thicker consistency than non-Greek yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is virtually solid; you can literally stick a spoon upright in it, whereas conventional yoghurt is almost pourable. And the reason for it is that whereas conventional yoghurt is not strained, Greek yoghurt is. Both products are manufactured from cultured and fermented milk. Greek yoghurt is just conventional yoghurt that has been placed in a fine mesh cloth and allowed to gently drain part of its liquid (whey, to be exact). The result is a thicker yoghurt that has lost less moisture. The pleasant sourness that we associate with all yoghurt is retained despite the texture of the yoghurt being altered by this process.
History Of Greek Yoghurt
It initially came into existence in Mesopotamia during the Neolithic era, around 5,000 BC. That means yoghurt dates back more than 7,000 years. Similar to butter, yoghurt is said to have happened by accident when warm temperatures caused milk to sour or expose it to bacteria. Yoghurt is mentioned in Turkish manuscripts from the eleventh century (1100–1001 BC) when the Turks were nomadic people.
Milk was kept in pots by Neolithic humans, according to evidence found in ancient pottery. Yoghurt, being a fermented product, also worked well as a preservative for milk since it naturally inhibits the growth of hazardous bacteria.
Yoghurt was also a popular product in ancient Greece. The Greeks of that era believed that "oxygala," which they took with honey, was only appropriate for peasants, despite the fact that Greek yoghurt is now quite popular. The peasants were skilled at what they did.
Yoghurt and other fermented dairy products were crucial to Genghis Khan's Mongolian army in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, and this was true even a century later. Khan thought that his troops' amazing courage was a result of their constant consumption of yoghurt.
Indian monarch Akbar I (1556–1605) is said to have had yoghurt spiced with mustard seeds and cinnamon in his kitchen. Nailao is a rice wine yoghurt dessert that has been enjoyed in China at least since the 1800s.
Following a 1904 lecture by Elie Metchnikoff at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, yoghurt became wildly popular. According to Metchnikoff, yoghurt's helpful lactobacilli bacteria may be the reason Bulgarians live longer. Yoghurt made headlines and ignited a North American yoghurt frenzy that swiftly expanded.
Greek Yoghurt Today
Greek immigrant Isaac Carasso founded a yoghurt plant in 1919 in Spain. His son Daniel inspired the company's name, Danone. A Danone factory opened its doors in France in 1929. Eventually, Daniel took over the business, and in 1942, he relocated it to New York.
The business, then known as Dannon in the United States, increased the popularity of yoghurt by daringly combining it with preserves and jams. The yoghurt aisle offers a wide range of options these days.
