Yogurt Cheese - 'Labanee', in Arabic

Ingredients

• 2 quarts yogurt (Non-fat, low-fat, or full-fat are all OK. Pick a brand with a minimal amount of gelatin, pectin, or)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• extra virgin olive oil (very optional)

Directions

1. 1

   Although the original recipe doesn’t call for non-fat yogurt, non-fat works fine.

2. 2

   Some recipes almost demand a little fat to smooth their texture on the tongue.

3. 3

   This can be provided by beating a little bit of mayonnaise or olive oil into the non-fat yogurt cheese.

4. 4

   It’s still fat, but at least it’s cholesterol free fat.

5. 5

   If you are skinny and don’t have to worry about dietary fat, you can use low-fat or whole-milk yogurt, and then you won’t have to worry about adding oil.

6. 6

   Bring 2 quarts of yogurt to room temperature, and stir thoroughly to smooth and break up all lumps.

7. 7

   Optionally, you can add ½ Tsp salt (original recipe, we usually don’t, because we use this for so many different things).

8. 8

   Line a colander with a couple of dampened paper towels or a clean, dampened, loose weave cotton towel.

9. 9

   Pour yogurt into the colander, cover with another paper towel or plastic wrap.

10. 10

    Place in the sink, or in a bowl which is small enough to hold the colander away from its bottom.

11. 11

    Let drain for about 8 hours for sour cream consistency or for 24 hours for cream cheese consistency; the longer it drains, the thicker it gets.

12. 12

    If you are a real freak, you can refrigerate the yogurt while it drains, but it’s not really necessary.

13. 13

    Yogurt is a living organism; it is cultured in warmth, and it thrives on it (within reason).

14. 14

    Draining will normally reduce the yogurt by about half for sour cream consistency, or by about two-thirds for cream cheese consistency.

15. 15

    We normally go all the way to cream cheese consistency and mix in a little low-fat milk if we need it thinner.