Head to any Middle Eastern restaurant and you’ll likely find labneh listed in the mezze section of the menu, somewhere near the hummus. The creamy spread is a culinary staple in countries like Lebanon and Israel. It also happens to be one of the healthiest cheeses around.
Yes, cheese can be nutritious. “Dairy gets a bad rap, especially when it comes to gut health,” says Jessie Wong, RD, a registered dietitian at Joy Nutrition Consulting.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about dairy being inflammatory when we know that long-term epidemiological studies have found it’s actually [linked to a] reduced risk for osteoporosis, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”
Below, gut health experts explain what labneh is, how it’s made and why you should eat it more often for a healthy gut microbiome.
What Is Labneh?
Labneh is a fermented dairy product that takes on a spreadable, cheese-like consistency thanks to the way it’s made.
Sometimes called “yogurt cheese,” labneh tastes tangy much like traditional yogurt but is significantly thicker in texture due to the fact that it’s strained over a long period of time.
How Is Labneh Made?
Labneh can be made from many types of yogurt, including kefir, a fermented milk that doubles as drinkable yogurt.
Before we learn how labneh’s made, it’s important to understand how its base, kefir, is produced.
Traditionally, kefir is made simply by combining kefir grains with milk. Confusingly, kefir grains aren’t actually grains at all. Rather, kefir grains are a white, curd-like substance that’s naturally flush with a diverse mix of good bacteria and yeast. The microorganisms in kefir grains act as fermentation agents, or a starter culture.
The process of fermenting the kefir grains and milk typically takes about 24 hours. The final product is probiotic-rich kefir.