[Sca-cooks] Labneh as a substitute for "cream cheese"

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Adelisa wrote:
>The talk about cream cheeses made me go look up the ingredients for 
>the package of Ulker brand labneh (Turkish yogurt cheese) I have in 
>the refrigerator now:
>Pasteurized whole milk, milk fat, starter, salt.

I don't doubt that modern Turks use it, or at least sell it in their 
shops in the US, but labneh isn't Turkish, its originated in the 
Arabic speaking world, after all, its name is Arabic. It is common in 
the Levant.

>I took a package of this yesterday and mixed it with garlic pepper, 
>dried dill, and vegetable flakes into a dip for a party; the 
>texture, dare I say it, is virtually identical to good old 
>Philadelphia cream cheese, and the flavor is fresher and better; not 
>quite the tang of plain sour cream or yogurt, but close.

Second, as something of an aficionado of labneh, i wouldn't say it is 
virtually identical to Philly brand; nay, i'd say it is far, far 
superior to that nasty stuff.

Labneh is generally drained yogurt.
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita