Kefir vs. Yogurt — What's the Difference?

Kefir (also spelled as kephir or kefier, Russian: Кефир; Karachay-Balkar: Гыпы) ( KE-feer), is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in particular the Elbrus environs along the upper mountainous regions of Karachay and Balkaria from where it came to Russia, and from there it spread to Europe and the United States, where it is prepared by inoculating the milk of cows, goats, or sheep with kefir grains.

Yogurt (UK: ; US: , from Turkish: yoğurt) also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt, is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as yogurt cultures.

A creamy drink made of fermented cow's milk.

A semi-solid sourish food prepared from milk fermented by added bacteria, often sweetened and flavoured

A fermented milk drink from the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, similar to yogurt but more liquidy.

A custardlike food with a tart flavor, prepared from milk curdled by bacteria, especially Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, and often sweetened or flavored.

An effervescent liquor like kumiss, made from fermented milk, used as a food and as a medicine in the northern Caucasus.

A milk-based product stiffened by a bacterium-aided curdling process, and sometimes mixed with fruit or other flavoring.

A sour fermented milk drink, used in various regions of Asia, made by addition of Streptococcus or Lactobacillus cultures to cow's or goat's milk; it is considered by some as a form of yoghurt.

Any similar product based on other substances (e.g. soy yogurt).

A custard-like food made from curdled milk