Yogurt vs. cheese — how these two fermented dairy foods differ in how they're made, the role of fermentation and coagulation, and what defines each.
Yogurt and cheese are both fermented dairy foods made from milk, but they're quite different. Here's a look at yogurt vs. cheese and the fermentation difference between them.
Two Fermented Dairy Foods
Yogurt and cheese are both made from milk through fermentation, and they share some processes (both use bacterial cultures). But they end up as very different products — yogurt is a thick, cultured milk, while cheese is a coagulated, often drained and aged solid. Understanding how they're made, and the role of fermentation versus coagulation, reveals the difference. Here's how yogurt and cheese compare in their making and what defines each. (Note that some products, like strained yogurt cheese / labneh, blur the line.)
How Yogurt Is Made
Yogurt is made by fermenting milk with specific bacterial cultures (yogurt cultures). The bacteria ferment the milk's lactose into lactic acid, which thickens the milk and gives yogurt its tang, transforming liquid milk into thick, set yogurt — but the milk isn't separated into curds and whey (in standard yogurt). The whole milk becomes yogurt. So yogurt is fermented (cultured) milk, thickened by bacterial fermentation but not separated or drained (in standard form). The fermentation acidifies and sets the milk into yogurt, keeping it as a whole, thick cultured-milk product rather than separating solids from liquid.
How Cheese Is Made
Cheese is made by coagulating milk (with rennet and/or acid) to separate it into solid curds and liquid whey, then draining off the whey and handling the curds (salting, pressing, aging) to make cheese. Many cheeses also use cultures (fermentation) for acidity and flavor, but the defining step is the coagulation and separation into curds, with the whey removed. So cheese involves coagulating and separating the milk into curds and whey, draining the whey, and forming the curds into cheese (often with fermentation and aging too). The separation of curds from whey, and the concentration of the milk solids, is what makes cheese distinct from yogurt.
The Key Difference: Coagulation and Draining
The fundamental difference is that cheese involves coagulating the milk and separating/draining off the whey (concentrating the solids into curds), while standard yogurt ferments the whole milk into a thick product without separating and draining. So fermentation (culturing) is involved in both, but cheese adds coagulation and whey separation, concentrating the milk into curds. This is the core distinction: yogurt is thickened whole milk; cheese is concentrated, separated milk solids (curds). The coagulation-and-draining step is what turns milk into cheese rather than yogurt. (Both rely on fermentation, but cheese goes further by separating and concentrating.)
The Role of Fermentation in Each
Fermentation plays a role in both but differently. In yogurt, fermentation is the main transformation — the bacteria thicken and tang the milk into yogurt. In cheese, fermentation (from cultures) often helps acidify and flavor the milk (aiding coagulation and developing taste), but the defining transformation is the coagulation and separation into curds, plus aging. So in yogurt, fermentation is central; in cheese, fermentation supports the process, but coagulation/separation (and aging) define it. Both are fermented dairy, but they use fermentation toward different ends — thickening milk (yogurt) versus aiding the making of separated, concentrated cheese.
Where They Overlap: Yogurt Cheese
The line between yogurt and cheese blurs with products like labneh (strained yogurt cheese), made by straining yogurt to remove whey, concentrating it into a thick, cheese-like spread. This is yogurt taken a step toward cheese (by straining/draining), showing the connection between the two. So strained yogurt (labneh) is a bridge between yogurt and cheese — fermented like yogurt but drained like cheese. This overlap illustrates that yogurt and cheese are related fermented dairy foods on a spectrum, with the key cheese-defining step being the separation/draining of whey to concentrate the solids.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between yogurt and cheese?
Both are fermented dairy, but yogurt is fermented (cultured) whole milk thickened by bacteria, while cheese involves coagulating the milk and separating/draining off the whey to concentrate the solids into curds, then forming and often aging them.
Do both yogurt and cheese use fermentation?
Yes — both use bacterial cultures (fermentation). In yogurt, fermentation is the main transformation; in cheese, fermentation often aids acidity and flavor, but coagulation and whey separation define cheese.
Is labneh yogurt or cheese?
Labneh (strained yogurt cheese) bridges the two — it's fermented like yogurt but strained to remove whey like cheese, concentrating it into a thick, cheese-like spread.