Each quart of yogurt will produce about 6 ounces of labneh, give or take, plus plenty of whey to use in other recipes. After you strain the yogurt, you can roll the labneh into balls, cover them with olive oil and store them in a jar with rosemary. Other herbs in the mint family like marjoram work well, too.
Set a sieve above your bowl. Fold a cheesecloth into quarters and set it inside a sieve.
In a large mixing bowl, stir the yogurt and salt together. Pour the yogurt and salt mixture into the sieve lined with cheesecloth. Allow the yogurt to drain freely about 15 minute or until the whey stops flowing freely and begins to drip.
Gradually and carefully fold the ends of the cheesecloth in toward the center and twist them gently into a nice, tight package of yogurt that can easily hang from a hook. Tie the cheesecloth together with cooking twine or bind it with a rubber band and hang it from a hook or faucet over a bowl to catch the dripping whey.
Hang your yogurt for at least 12 hours and up to 24 for a very thick yogurt cheese. The longer you hang the yogurt, the thicker your labneh will be.
After hanging, remove the labneh from the hook and gently take off the cheesecloth. You’ll find that the yogurt is smooth and thick like cream cheese.
Take two tablespoons of the labneh and roll into into your hands to form a ball. Place these balls in a jar, add the rosemary and cover them with olive oil. Store in the fridge up to 4 weeks.