Quick take: Yogurt (yoghurt) cheese with garlic and olive oil

posted on 5 May 2008 by maki :: 7 comments

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has an article about how to make yogurt (or as they spell it in the UK, yoghurt) in the Guardian. I did not want to go to the trouble of making yogurt from scratch, but I had a big pot of plain yogurt that needed to be used up so I made a sort of variation on the yogurt cheese balls further down on the page.

Yogurt cheese, in case you are unfamiliar with it, is just plain yogurt that has been drained of much of its liquid. To make it, just line a sieve with some porous cloth like cheesecloth, muslin, a coffee filter or even a couple of paper towels, spoon the yogurt in, and put the sieve with a bowl underneath in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. The more you let it sit, the drier it will become.

I strained about 2 1/2 cups of yogurt mixed with 1 teaspoon of sea salt from Friday evening to Sunday morning, by which time it had become the consistency of whipped cream cheese. I put this into a bowl, grated one garlic clove over it and drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil and mixed it up. It was the perfect spread for freshly baked hot savory scones.

I’ve never been a big fan of very sweet yogurt, so this savory yogurt spread may make more breakfast appearances.

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7 comments so far...

Yogurt Cheese......

Hi Maki,

I recently started making my own yogurt at home. I bought a Salton one quart yogurt maker and have good success making it. This past weekend, I tried making a batch with goat’s milk and it didn’t quite set, it’s a bit liquid. I do not put powdered milk in mine at all, it’s just milk and the started.

And although I have read about how easy yogurt cheese is to make and how tasty it is, I still haven’t tried it yet. Cuz usually the yogurt is finished before I even think about straining it.

Your post is a reminder for me to try it soon.

Thanks.

Wakkun | 5 May, 2008 - 18:20

Making yoghurt at home seems

Making yoghurt at home seems to tie in nicely with rising food prices: Hugh has captured the current mood in the UK, as I have found myself making yoghurt again since my favourite no-fat live brand almost doubled in price. However, I can’t manage the temperature monitoring, etc. I have found a foolproof solution for me: use UHT skimmed milk, so there’s no need to pre-heat. I know there are issues surrounding UHT milk, but I have chosen to ignore these! So, 1 litre UHT, 1 tablespoon skimmed milk powder, and I large tablespoon of live yoghurt. Keep warm, then ten hours later, pop it in the fridge for 2 hours, and that’s it.It works out at 1 litre for about 50p, compared with over £1 for 500ml. I use it to extend the yoghurt which I buy, so it’s good value. If I’m honest, it’s so more-ish that I probably eat double the amount of bought yoghurt…

Maeve | 6 May, 2008 - 08:51

greek style yogurt

i believe that the drained yogurt is often also called ‘greek style’ for its consistency. it’s funny that you have this post up now because i have just drained off the whey in a batch that’s sitting in my fridge right now. i’m ok with having this yogurt in my daily morning meusli but i think i’ll make this savory spread for breakfast tomorrow! thanks maki!

Mei | 6 May, 2008 - 16:19

Yoghurt Cheese

Hello! I tried this following your instructions and it tastes great! thanks for posting it! ^^

PS: I also made okowa following your recipe on Just Bento, and it tastes really good, except that the bottom burnt itself to my rice cooker. As in, properly black and burnt… lol. It’s come off, thankfully - with a LOT of scrubbing and soaking… I guess I got the estimates a bit wrong? or the rice cooker just isn’t used to glutinous rice… :P

siehyean | 23 May, 2008 - 00:04

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