sister herb
Official TTI Chef
Some call it yogurt cheese, others call it the Lebanese cream cheese but it is most commonly known as labneh. It is a staple on any breakfast menu, on dips, makes a wonderful sandwich with a few mint leaves or some pitted olives. To put it simply labneh is strained yogurt, it is super easy to make and very tasty and the best part is, you can flavor it any way you like. Mint, oregano, sumac, olives, chili flakes, your imagination is the limit, better yet why not try a combination of flavors and make a middle eastern dip that is all your own.
Compared to cream cheese, labneh is much healthier and lighter in calories, you can make it using regular yogurt or fat free yogurt but the best labneh is the one you make out of homemade yogurt. Another major plus to making labneh is that it is really easy to preserve, regular labneh lasts 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
1 Kg Yogurt (greek, regular or fat free)
1 teaspoon salt
Place a piece of doubled cheesecloth or soft cotton fabric (preferably undyed and clean) in the colander and place the colander over a deep bowl
Stir the salt into the yoghurt then spoon the yoghurt in the center of a piece of the cheesecloth.
Leave to drain for 3-5 hours . (if the weather is hot allow it to drain in the fridge).
You can also pull the corners of the cheese cloth up and tie them tightly and then suspend from a stationary object over a bowl (to collect the whey) . Again if the weather is hot do this in the fridge.Let the labneh hang overnight,when well drained it will be the consistency of cottage cheese.
Remove from the cloth and store covered in the refrigerator until needed.
Notes
If your labneh is still too thin in consistency, you have two options to make it thicker
Fold the cheese cloth around the labneh and then place a weight over the labneh (think heavy bottle or a bag of rice or sugar, something 3-5 kg in weight). The weight will help draw out the whey.
Leave the labneh to strain the fridge, get a clean white fabric and wrap the labneh in it and place it in the fridge in a colander over a bowl to collect the whey. Change the fabric two times a day for 2-3 days and the labneh should become very thick as the fabric will draw the whey out of it
Flavors: You can mix in fresh or dried herbs, minced garlic, pepper flakes or any other flavoring you like.
Cheese cloth The purpose of “cheese cloth” is to separate the curds from the whey by allowing the whey to drain while holding the curds and preventing them from passing through. What most people think of as “cheese cloth:” the very wide weave material is often useless for this purpose unless you double it over itself 4 or 8 times . I recommend using either a large plain white cotton handkerchiefs, or white non-terry cotton dish towels, something clean that you dedicate for cheese making and make sure it is a fabric with fine weave
If you don’t have a cheese cloth try using unbleached coffee filters lining a fine sieve to strain the yogurt
To Serve Labneh:
Spread it evenly over a medium-sized plate. Sprinkle with fresh seasonal herbs like mint or dill – or place a few olives around the center of the plate. Drizzle a thread of olive oil over all. Serve with pita or other fresh bread
Use it as a spread to make a sandwich, plain or with some mint on top.
Serve it as a dip with cucumber, carrots or celery sticks