Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt,[2] y

Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt,[2] yogurt cheese, labneh (Arabic: لبنة‎ labnah), is yogurt which has been strained to remove its whey, resulting in a relatively thick consistency (between that of conventional yogurt and cheese), while preserving yogurt's distinctive, sour taste. Like many types of yogurt, strained yogurt is often made from milk that has been enriched by boiling off some of its water content, and/or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk.

This type of yogurt is sometimes marketed in North America as "Greek yogurt", which is often misunderstood, as the term "Greek yogurt" is practically unknown in Greece and is instead a marketing term introduced in 1980s by Turkish Kurd businessman Hamdi Ulukaya. [3] [4][better source needed]

Yogurt strained through muslin is a traditional food in the Levant, Eastern Mediterranean, Near Eastern, Central Asian and Indian Subcontinental cuisines, wherein it is often used in cooking (as it is high enough in fat content to avoid curdling at higher temperatures). Such dishes may be cooked or raw, savory, or sweet. Due to the straining process to remove excess whey, even non-fat varieties of strained yogurt are much thicker, richer, and creamier than the conventional/unstrained yogurts.[citation needed]

In western Europe and the US, strained yogurt has seen rapidly expanding popularity due to a much richer texture (and to a lesser extent, much higher protein content) than unstrained yogurt. Since the straining process removes some of the lactose, strained yogurt is also lower in sugar/carbohydrates than unstrained yogurt, which may appeal to those engaged in low-carbohydrate diets.[5] It may be strained in a cloth or paper bag or filter.[citation needed]

Most of the recent growth in the $4.1 billion US yogurt industry has come from the strained yogurt sub-segment, sometimes marketed as "Greek yogurt".[6][7] "Greek-style" yogurt is similar to strained yogurt, but may be thickened with thickening agents,[8] or if made the traditional way, is made from domestic (rather than Greek) milk