The role of olive oil in the preservation of yogurt cheese (labneh anbaris)

Small ‘balls’ of yogurt cheese (40 g 100 g‐1 total solids), derived by extracting moisture from concentrated yogurt (23% total solids), can be stored in retail outlets in the Middle East (20–25°C) under virgin olive oil for up to two years. The absence of over‐acidification appears to be due to the inhibitory effect of low pH (3.8), low available water (0.85) and salt (1.0 g 100 g‐1) on starter activity, while the anaerobic conditions created by the oil both reinforce these inhibitory factors and, additionally, prevent the growth of yeasts over the surface of the individual balls. The type of vegetable oil covering the balls was found to be unimportant, and sunflower, safflower and cottonseed oil were equally effective in preserving yogurt cheese inoculated with Kluyveromyces marxianus subsp marxianus and stored for three months at 25°C.