Ancient Bedouin tribes used labneh as a source of their protein consumption. Since both Labneh and Ricotta can be both savoury and sweet, people often use one as the substitute for the other. Besides being a good source of protein, it is also a probiotic high in healthy bacteria that boost your immune system.
So apart from being good in taste, labneh is also good for your health.
Production of labneh
Even though you can find it in almost every grocery store, if you are interested in preparing your own labneh at home by the traditional method. In the traditional method, labneh is made by straining whole-milk yoghurt in cheesecloth bags. If you have tasted both buffalo milk and cow milk labneh, you will know the difference instantly.
Labneh made from buffalo milk are creamier and thicker because it has 100% more fat content than cow’s milk.
It can be made when making yogurt; the moisture or milk whey is leaking out of the yogurt. When the chilled yogurt is in the cloth bags, it is strained for 48 hours. If you want to make better, let it drain for another 24 hours, stacked repeatedly during these 24 hours. You can now use a lobe pump to pump the drained labneh to ensure the mass is more homogenous without ruining it’s structure.
To make ricotta cheese, you need to heat the milk until the curd and whey separate. The curds can be used to make varieties of mozzarella, and if you reheat the whey, you will get the moistest and most delicate form of ricotta.
Taste
The consistency of labneh is thicker than Greek yogurt and similar to cream cheese. However, since labneh is tangier and creamier than yogurt, you can use it with savoury food the get the most out of it. For example, you can spread it easily on your salads and bread or use it as a dip, marinade, or add it to a smoothie.
Origin of labneh
The origin of labneh can be traced back to 2000 years ago, if not older. Even though no one exactly knows where it originated, it was somewhere in the Levant region (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan and Israel). Today it is common in many Middle Eastern dishes, boosting the taste of any dish to the next level.
Substitutes
If you can score yourself some labneh to use while cooking Middle Eastern dishes, you should not skip it. However, for people who might not have easy access, they can use yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, or mascarpone. Although the flavour and texture won’ be the same as that of labneh, it will closely resemble that. Many people also substitute labneh with Greek yogurt; even though Greek yogurt is not as tangy as labneh, you can make do with it until your get your hands on labneh.
Differences between labneh and Greek yogurt
The main difference between labneh and Greek yogurt is that Greek yogurt is made from goat milk, while labneh is prominently made from cow or buffalo milk. It is made from buffalo milk tends to be creamier and also thicker in consistency than greek yogurt, almost like cream cheese.
5 ways to use your labneh for optimum result
- Breakfast: Get a fresh start to your day by using labneh on your breakfast bowl or bread or combine it with homemade fruit compote and some toasted oats or nuts.
- Dip: Make a classic tarator dip by adding grated garlic and cucumber to labneh and use the dip to eat with snacks.
- Marinade: Labneh is an excellent substitute for traditional yogurt to marinate your meat. By using it in the marinade will make the meat tender and tastier. Mix some species in it and coat the meat with the labneh overnight to cook the meat the next day.
- Spread: You can also use labneh as a spread on a warm flatbread. You can add finely chopped mint and dill, mix it with labneh and use the mixture to spread over buns for burgers or bread for sandwiches.
- Smoothie: If you are a smoothie person and love trying new things, add a generous amount of labneh to your berries, mangoes, and pineapples to heighten the taste and the nutritional value of the smoothie bowl.
Where To Buy Labneh In India?
There are thousands of people in India that enjoy soft cheese that is labneh; however, finding a good quality is not as easy as one might think. This is where we come in, with our wide range of authentic labneh.
At Highland Farms, we want to ensure that when you prepare an authentic Middle Eastern dish, you have access to top-quality labneh that will boost the taste of your dish. Therefore, we prepare and produce our Labneh in a top-quality facility with scientific-grade equipment.
We also oversee the production of cow and buffalo milk which is the heart of a thick and creamy labneh. We try to make all our labenh as authentic as possible in texture and taste.
At Highland farms, we also deal with other dairy products like Ricotta cheese, cow milk ghee, etc. You can order with us directly from our website. Make sure to use the available coupons.
