We Tasted 5 Greek Yogurts & This Was the Best

Not all cultured dairy is yogurt, not all yogurt is Greek, and—most definitely—not all Greek yogurts are created equal. Sure, they're all thick enough in texture and high enough in protein to live up to the hype and health halo, but the industry's hit some sour patches.

Years ago, at the peak of this product's boom, domestic manufacturers came under fire for shortcutting the traditional, time-honored multi-straining process required to create true Greek yogurt. Instead, they introduced stabilizers and thickeners to regular yogurt in an effort to imitate the look, feel, and/or nutritional profile of Greek yogurt. Some brands—like The Greek Gods—quietly and inexplicably slip under the radar for their use of pectin as a thickener, while others, like Cabot Farms and Yoplait, were called out for their additives.

But today, for the most part, consumers and retailers have sussed out the real deal from imitators. In the years since it's entered the mainstream market, we've been refining our palates and are better able to discern quality Greek yogurt from those brands that are just phoning it in. Be wary of the presence of ingredients such as cornstarch, tapioca starch, pectin, gelatin, locust bean gum, and milk protein concentrate, which is essentially extra whey leftover from cheese factories. These are bright red flags that costs and corners are being equally cut. Real Greek yogurt is created by multiple instances of straining, leading to a more concentrated product (hence higher protein density) and lesser yield, as opposed to adding things that bulk up the volume, weight, and density.

We tasted five nationally available, commercially produced mainstream Greek yogurts by well-established dairy brands in a side-by-side comparison, and were shocked to taste what a world of difference lies between them. Here's which Greek yogurt we consider the best-tasting of them all, with the five brands we tried ranked from worst to best.

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Read the original article on Eat This, Not That!