HOMEMADE LABAN - YOGHURT-ZABADEE

The word is derived from Turkish yoğurt, and is related to yoğurmak 'to knead' and yoğun 'dense' or 'thick'. The letter ğ was traditionally rendered as "gh" in transliterations of Turkish, which used to be written in a variant of the Arabic alphabet until the introduction of the Latin alphabet , in aarb countries the name differs from one country to another so its known as laban zabadee- laban ra'eb -roub- rouba

لبن الزبادي -اللبن الرائب- أو الروب أو الروبة.
its also known as Yogurt- Yoghurt - balkan yogurt

in iraq there is a very famous yogurt known as ( laban arbeel , as its produced in hawleer - arbeel city and its very delicious

yogurt IT IS : a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk.
Yields 2 Quarts Yogurt.
Yogurt is found in all middle eastern homes, large or small, rich or poor. It is one of the cornerstones of middle eastern (or mainly shamee) cooking. Even though decent plain yogurt can be bought, you should try to make your own at least once. It is very satisfying and the sweet taste is just unequaled, especially if you are going to use it to make Labneh.

2 Quarts (1.9L) Milk (usually 2% or whole)
¼ cup Starter (plain yogurt with active cultures, either store bought or saved from the previous yogurt batch.)

If using frozen yogurt as a starter: Remove it from the freezer and allow to defrost in the fridge for a few hours or put the container in a hot water bath for about one hour (that’s what I do) but NEVER microwave it.

Heat up the milk until almost boiling, then let it cool slightly. I know when it is ready by administering the "index-finger test": The milk is ready if it is cool enough for me to keep my CLEAN finger in it for no more than 10 seconds (it should still be quite hot and not lukewarm).

Pour the milk into a glass container with a lid, stir in the starter and wrap the whole thing with a wool shawl or a thick sweater and leave it overnight (or about 10 hrs) on your kitchen counter. The longer you leave it wrapped, the more the sour taste will develop. I prefer a sweeter tasting yogurt, so 8-10 hours is enough. The yogurt produced is sweet with a slight tang and a soft custard-like texture—absolutely fantastic. Remove a quarter cup of the fresh yogurt to freeze in a small plastic container for use next time as a starter and refrigerate the rest.

NOTE : Yoghurt has nutritional benefits beyond those of milk: people who are moderately lactose-intolerant can enjoy yoghurt without ill effects, because the lactose in the milk precursor is converted to lactic acid by the bacterial culture.

the homemade yogurt machine looks like this if you need more advanced method of home making yogurt :)

Soy yogurt, a dairy yoghurt alternative, is made from soy milk.

It is nutritionally rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.[1]

You can make : Tzatziki/CACIK an appetiser made with yoghurt, popular in Greece/Turkey

On the picture you can see Fresh Labneh ( yogurt - zabadee) still in the cheesecloth.

Traditional way of serving Labneh: mix in a pinch of salt and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil