In a quest to eat in a healthy manner, people often end up confusing both yogurt and curd, thinking that they are similar due to the similarities that they both share. These two gastronomical delights that were born from milk end up satisfying a lot of people, but it’s also precious to know the difference between each one of them.
Both yogurt and curd are dairy products, but yogurt comes from the fermentation of milk, On the other hand, curd comes out of a process called curding, which happen when the milk sours and is then treated with enzymes. On the other hand, lactic acid is something that comes in milk when the sugar in milk, lactose, ferments. It gives yogurt a distinct flavor.
Yogurt is widely spread due to its health benefits over curd. Yogurt has less fat than curd (about 10% of the far curd has) and has more potassium, more sugar and more calcium. Other benefits include a bigger dose of Vitamin B-12 and Magnesium.
On the other hand, Curd is also nutritious. It has amounts of vitamins K, E and A as well as amounts of potassium, fluoride, selenium, saturated fats and copper. It has a slightly tangy flavor when compared to yogurt, but it is also a favorite for a lot of people.
There are literally thousands of varieties of yogurt that are going to satisfy every possible palate in existence. Yogurt has a lot of uses throughout the world and in some countries it is even the key of the national cuisine. If you do a little bit of research on recipes that include yogurt, you are going to find out that a lot of these recipes come from the same area. It is used for desserts, entrees and even for main courses.
Curd might not be as popular as yogurt, but it as geographically diverse. In Eastern Europe, it is served fresh, soft and unsalted, usually in sandwiches and salads. As if that wasn’t enough, Curd is also popular in India, French-speaking regions and in Sweden, as well as South Asia and the Middle East.
A lot of people believe that the difference between Curd and Yogurt is only in the name, and that if a recipe calls for yogurt or curd, one can substitute the other, the difference in the name comes from geographical position. This isn’t true at all, and if a recipe calls for curd a better substitute would be sour cream, and not yogurt. Sour cream is, however, a lot fatter and it doesn’t really have the same health benefits as curd, nor yogurt. The final result in the recipe will, however, be incredibly similar and hopefully, delicious to satisfy your palate.