Yoghurt – Laban (k D)

Mercy even with us is an optional virtue; we do not have to be merciful. We usually admire people who are, but we do not say that people must be so. We say everybody must be just. We say, for example, an employer, if he agrees to pay a certain wage, must pay that particular wage. If he does not pay it, then he is unjust and is liable to a lawsuit. All our contracts are based on the integrity and honesty and justice of people with whom we do business. They are actually subject to trials and imprisonment and even execution if they violate their duty of man to man. What about mercy among men? We love it. We admire it. We encourage it. We sometimes practice it. But we do not say mercy is obligatory… If this is true even of human affairs, we can see immediately that God does not have to be merciful. He gave us life and conscience. He gave us intelligence to meet our obligations, and He has a right to hold us responsible for using them. He has no further obligation to forgive us if we do not. We say that the Judge of all the earth cannot do wrong, but we cannot say that the Judge of all the earth must be merciful.

John Gerstner

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy	Arab		1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	qt	Kosher milk
1	T	Kosher laban starter

INSTRUCTIONS

Source: Â½Food from the Arab World&raquo;  Laban (yoghurt) is essential
to the Middle Eastern diet. It goes  under many names but whatever it
is called, it is ever present. Its  acidity makes it a diet regulator.
The laban culture is kept going in  the Lebanese kitchen at all times.
Family members who emigrate  usually take a laban culture along with
them to their new country. To  preserve the culture they soak a clean
handkerchief in fresh laban,  let it dry carefully, wrap it in clean
paper and put it in a safe  pocket.  When preparing laban, temperature
conditions must be exactly right  and the culture must not be disturbed
while it is working.  Scald milk and cool to almost lukewarm. Stir the
starter, which has  been saved from a previous batch, until smooth.
Thin with several  tablespoons of warm milk. Stir starter into rest of
milk. Mix well.  Cover bowl with a china plate and wrap in a heavy wool
cloth or  blanket. Leave undisturbed in a warm, but not hot, place. In
summer  laban usually clabbers in about three hours; in winter it
requires an  hour more. When completely clabbered place in
refrigerator. Do not  jar the laban and thereby disturb the curd. Serve
cold.  Posted to JEWISH-FOOD digest V97 #027 by Daniella De Picciotto
<daniela@dialdata.com.br> on Jan 23, 1997.

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