🫙 Labneh

Labneh is a thick, slightly salty strained yogurt from the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan and neighbouring countries). Yogurt made from cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk is mixed with salt and hung in a cloth bag for several hours or overnight until most of the whey has drained off. The result is a soft mass, denser than Greek yogurt, with a fresh, tangy taste.

Labneh is eaten for breakfast and as part of meze: spread on a plate, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with za’atar or mint and eaten with pita, olives and vegetables. Strained longer, labneh becomes firm enough to roll into balls; these are dried a little, coated in za’atar or pepper and kept in olive oil, which preserves them for months.

Labneh differs from Greek yogurt in being denser and saltier, and from cream cheese in being a strained cultured milk product with no cream. Its relatives are South Asian chakka (the base of shrikhand), Icelandic skyr and Central Asian suzma.