Labne

I like dairy products. I like cheese, yogurt, butter and cream. The only trouble is, it doesn’t like me back. I’m always looking for some yummy lactose free alternatives. Luckily, there are some fantastic products for those like me who aren’t fond of soy milk.

I like to use Zymil fresh lactose free milk, UHT Liddels lactose free milk and cream, Butter has very little lactose (yay), and I can handle some goat and sheep milk cheeses.

This works for me, it may not work for you. Remember you are responsible for your own body!

Anyway, I found this nice looking sheep’s milk yogurt from Meredith Dairy at our local markets. Meredith Dairy also make some yummy goats cheese I enjoy, and I’ve liked the sheeps milk cheese I’ve had, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was hard to describe... not the strong taste of goat, but a kind of lanoliny flavour. Not unpleasant.... just different.

I tried it plain, I tried it drizzled with apple syrup, hmmm... then I had a light bulb moment! I would try it savoury. This made so much more sense to my taste buds! I think they were just a wee bit confused before. So the answer...’Labne’ a fresh cheese made from yoghurt. Perfect!

The secret to a nice creamy labne is to remove as much liquid from the yoghurt as possible. The best way to do this at home is to line a fine meshed sieve with some cheesecloth – or a clean chux will work well, and suspend it over a bowl.

Pour in the yoghurt and cover completely. Don’t squeeze, or you will squeeze out the solids, and all we want to get rid of is the excess liquid.

Place in the fridge and ignore it for at least 24hrs, but a bit longer won’t hurt either.
Drain off the liquid, and then carefully unwrap the little package. You now have a lovely fresh cheese! This needs to be stored in the fridge and I would still eat it by the use by date of the yoghurt.

You can roll this in balls and then in some herbs, or serve as is drizzled with olive oil. I also like to use this to make dips as they have a bit more substance this way and don’t get that icky watery stuff floating on top.

Anyway, this will be served as part of cheese platter along with some soft goat camembert, some quince paste, rice crackers, a nice crunchy green apple, and a great big glass of sauvignon blanc.
All for me! Maybe I’ll have a nice hot bubbly bath to go with it!

So Readers, what do you like to do to unwind?