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From: macrakis@harvard.UUCP (Stavros Macrakis)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: Yogurt cheese - any experiences?
Message-ID: <741@harvard.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 26-Feb-86 18:30:40 EST
Article-I.D.: harvard.741
Posted: Wed Feb 26 18:30:40 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Mar-86 01:05:46 EST
References: <535@kontron.UUCP>
Distribution: net
Organization: Aiken Comp. Lab., Harvard
Lines: 59

brad@kontron.UUCP (Brad Yearwood) asks:  <535@kontron.UUCP>
> ... a sort of cheese by wrapping yogurt in several layers of
> cheesecloth ... Has anyone else experimented with yogurt cheese and
> things to do with it?

Drained yoghurt has long been used in the Middle East and other
yoghurt-eating areas.  In Greek, it is called `sakkoulissio yiaourti'
(bag yoghurt).  My Indian cookbooks suggest using it instead of
ordinary yoghurt in cooking, as it curdles less easily and gives a
better texture.

You don't need to let it drain for several days for most purposes; an
hour or so suffices.  I just put a kitchen towel (rinsed) in a
colander or sieve, put the yoghurt in, and let it sit for an hour.
You could equally well use a rinsed heavy-duty paper towel.  You can
also buy it commercially; Columbo and others sell it in New England
(mostly in specialty stores) under the name of Lebany Spread or just
Lebany.  (One Arabic word for yoghurt is laban.)

The simplest recipe using it is tzatziki (Greek) / jajuk (Turkish: the
u is actually more like the `a' in `annul').  This is something like
an Indian raita (which are often better made with drained yoghurt).

	-s

TZATZIKI

1 Qt of yoghurt, drained
1 cucumber
3-6 cloves garlic
salt
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
a few drops lemon juice or vinegar (optional)
paprika, olives, ... (garnish)

Peel and seed the cucumber.  Cut into little pieces.  Salt heavily,
and let sit for an hour in the fridge.  Rinse, drain, and towel dry.
Mash the garlic thoroughly, and mix it and the cucumber into the
drained yoghurt.  Add half the oil and the lemon, vinegar, and salt to
taste.

Put into the serving dish and draw a knife across the surface to make
wave-like lines.  Garnish with olives, paprika, ....  Pour the
remaining oil on top or around the edges.

Serve as an appetizer with fresh bread (regular loaf or flat);
ideally, with several other appetizers (meze) and ouzo.

The only hard thing about this recipe is getting good fresh bread.
This, however, is almost impossible in this country.  Does anyone know
why there are so many fewer bakeries in this country than in any
European country, and why their product is usually sweet, soft, and
bland?  The French, hippie (or should I say `new age'?), and ethnic
bakeries are often nearly as bad: the baguettes are soft on the
outside and textureless on the inside; the whole-wheat breads are
drenched in sugar (considered somehow better because it's from honey);
some ethnic bakeries produce excellent products (around here, the
Armenian bakeries in Watertown), others the same sweet, soft stuff
(namely the Italians and the Portuguese).