Labneh, creamy and as oil-preserved balls

Mix a kilogram of live-culture yoghurt very well with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt; the salt pulls water out so it thickens.

Sterilise all the equipment to prevent mould.

Put the yoghurt in a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, gather it at the bottom and clip the bag tight just above it; hang over the sink or set in a strainer over a bowl, emptying the liquid before the bowl fills.

Strain 24 hours, on the counter for a more sour flavour or in the fridge for milder; a sterile weight such as a water-filled sandwich bag shortens the time.

Labneh balls: salt the yoghurt (one batch 500 g each cow's and goat's yoghurt), strain, pour off the water after an hour, rest 24 hours on the worktop, flip the bags and rest another 24.

Weigh the drained labneh (about 400 g, 60% of the weight lost as water) and mix with a spatula into an extra-thick cream cheese.

Portion 40 g blobs with two spoons onto a tray lined with a tea towel and kitchen towels; cover and rest 12 hours to drain, then another 12 on a fresh tray.

Wearing gloves, massage each portion until pliable and roll between the palms into a completely smooth ball, compressing out cracks.

Roll the balls in a bowl of coating, pressing in coarse spices: zaatar for the goat's-yoghurt balls, chilli flakes for the cow's.

Stack in sterile jars, cover with vegetable oil topped with a little olive oil and seal; keeps months outside the fridge, a few weeks once opened.

Creamy labneh: after 24 hours on the worktop, scoop into a bowl and mix until soft and pliable; pack into a sterile jar without air gaps and keep in the fridge a week or two.

To serve as a dip, make a well of labneh on a plate, add cracked pepper and pour over olive oil.

Variation: coconut yoghurt labneh, strained 12 hours weighted down (the first batch, strained 24 hours, grew mould).