Monday 18th May 2026
The Ultimate Yogurt Guide
With so many different yogurts now available it can be quite confusing knowing which one to buy. At Yeo Valley we have been making yogurt for over 30 years, so we know a thing or two about how to make great tasting yogurt. Here is a bit more information about how yogurt is made and the key differences between products.
What are the different types of yogurts?
What is a Stirred yogurt?
Many of the yogurts we make are categorised as a ‘stirred yogurt’. This includes our natural yogurt, fruited big pots, Greek-style yogurt, kefir and our Little Yeos range.
Making stirred yogurt is a simple process whereby live cultures are added to pasteurised milk. Once added, the cultures set about fermenting the natural lactose sugars present in the milk, producing lactic acid, which lowers the pH and increases the acidity. When the lactic acid level reaches a certain threshold, the proteins turn from liquid to solid, thickening the yogurt. Once thick, the yogurt is simply stirred to give it that delicious creamy consistency before being put into the pot.
Stirred yogurt can vary in taste, texture and nutrition depending on the type of milk used, as well as the fat and protein content and the combinations of live cultures. Here’s a little more about the differences between our yogurts.
What is Natural Yogurt and how can I use it?
Yeo Valley Organic Natural Yogurt is made with organic whole milk. It’s a source of protein and other micronutrients like calcium and B vitamins. Our natural yogurt is great for everyday use, delicious dolloped on breakfasts, but also very versatile for cooking: think baking, marinades and salad dressings.
What's in Everyday Fruited?
Our everyday fruited big pots and 4-packs are made using organic whole milk, just like our natural yogurt, but are blended with organic fruit.
What makes it Greek Style Yogurt?
There’s a lot of confusion around Greek yogurts. A yogurt can only be called ‘Greek Yogurt’ if it is made with ingredients from Greece. There are, however, Greek-style yogurts with a similar thick texture that are made elsewhere.
Yeo Valley Organic Greek style yogurt is still categorised as a stirred yogurt and is made in a similar way to our whole milk natural, but has a thicker, more luxurious texture due to a higher fat content (9.4g per 100g). It’s also made with a slightly different combination of cultures to give it that unique taste and texture.
This is a great product for everyday use as well as cooking, thanks to its slightly higher fat content.
What's the difference between Greek style and Elevated Greek Style?
Elevated Greek Style is simply our delicious Greek style yogurt blended with some simple, natural ingredients.
What is Kefir?
Kefir is a type of yogurt that has been around for thousands of years, traditionally made by fermenting milk with kefir grains. At Yeo Valley, we make our kefir using 14 carefully selected bacterial cultures. That means a lot more bacteria in every spoonful compared to most other yogurts, which will typically have 2–3 cultures. The result is a slightly thinner consistency with a bit more of a tang, but still deliciously creamy.
Kefir is particularly good for gut health due to the billions of live bacteria and their metabolites that can potentially add to the diversity of the gut microbiome, among other health benefits. What’s more, there is something unique about the dairy matrix that aids the transfer of live bacteria through the harsh conditions of the stomach and gets them to the right place.
What is Little Yeos Range and is it suitable for children?
In our Little Yeos range, you’ll find our whole milk yogurt and our Greek-style yogurt. Both are made using whole organic milk and are stirred yogurts, but the Greek style is slightly thicker due to the higher fat content and a slightly different combination of cultures.
Both are packed with nutrients like calcium, B vitamins and protein, great for growing children. It’s important for children to consume healthy amounts of fat to meet their high energy demands. That’s why whole milk or Greek style yogurts are a great choice. They’re also lovely and thick, which helps little ones learn to self-feed and develop their spoon skills.
In our Little Yeos range, there are plenty of options, from natural Greek style (great for early weaning) to our whole milk yogurts blended with fruit.
What is Greek Recipe yogurt?
Our Greek Recipe yogurt is made by a slightly different process and is what’s known as a strained or high-protein yogurt, as opposed to a stirred yogurt. The milk is cultured in a similar way to our other yogurts, but once this process has happened, the yogurt passes through a very fine membrane at high pressure, a process called ultrafiltration, or ‘straining’. This concentrates the yogurt, removing some of the water, lactose and water-soluble minerals in what is called a permeate. The result is a very thick, high-protein yogurt (9g protein per 100g) that is also lower in natural sugars (lactose). Our Greek Recipe is available in both 5% and 0% fat options.
A little more on cultures…
Live cultures are a fundamental part of making our yogurt. We use a few different combinations of cultures (bacteria) to achieve different taste and texture qualities across our range. Most of our yogurts have around three different cultures, for example, our whole milk natural contains Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium. Our aim is to achieve a minimum of one billion bacteria per gram of yogurt something our regular testing confirms we consistently do.
