Labneh is a strained yogurt cheese similar to Greek yogurt. I've made Greek yogurt many times, and I was curious what the difference is with labneh that makes it more firm - firm enough to roll into balls. The difference, apparently, is the addition of salt. It draws out more of the whey. Here are a couple of how-tos:

Labneh at River Cottage
From themediterraneandish.com, very nice photos.

My method was pretty much the same as my Greek yogurt, except adding the salt first. Place a mesh sieve over a bowl, cover with a couple of coffee filters, pour the yogurt onto the filters, then cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 1-2 days.

A twist: I'm using homemade yogurt from heavy whipping cream.. My labneh is currently straining in the fridge; I'll report back how it turns out.

It has never occurred to me to add salt. So I shall do that with my next batch. I make it from Greek yoghurt, which thickens up nicely. So it is going to be interesting to see just how much thicker it will get.

...so this is amazing. It tastes like cream cheese, but it's more spreadable or dip-able. I think I accidentally made Laughing Cow cheese.


Here it is ready to go with some olive oil, paprika and LC flatbreads (they are these tortillas from the dietdoctor site that didn't work so well as tortillas, but were still excellent flatbreads.)

looks delish, both the labneh and "flat bread".....gotta try these for a change if pace!

Well... I added a pinch of salt to my last batch, and well, I have to say I didn't care for it. It tasted salty! Yech. Sorry, Kristine, but I just didn't care for the saltiness. And it had the same texture as usual. I ate it anyway because I can't bear to waste food, but my next batch will be plain again. I find the longer I drain it for, the firmer it gets.