Suzma substitutes

Commercially strained yogurt, which is the same thing suzma is: yogurt with much of its whey removed.

Best for

spooning into shurpa, mastava and other soups off the heat, spreading on bread, serving alongside plov or manti, dips and cold sauces, thinning into ayran

Functionally the same product, and in a soup or on a plate the difference is invisible. The only real gaps are that traditional suzma is made from katyk, a naturally sour cultured milk, so it tastes a shade tangier and less clean than commercial Greek yogurt, and it is usually salted where Greek yogurt is not. A quarter teaspoon of salt and a squeeze of lemon per cup closes both gaps almost exactly. Do not use low-fat, which turns chalky and grainy under heat.

The Levantine strained yogurt cheese, made the identical way and usually already salted.

Best for

spreading, dips and mezze, stirring into soups off the heat, rolling into balls

The closest match of all, because labneh and suzma are the same idea arrived at in two places: yogurt drained in cloth until thick enough to hold its shape. Salt and tang are already in the right range, and it spreads and spoons the same. Some labneh is drained harder than typical suzma and comes out almost cream-cheese firm, in which case loosen it with a tablespoon of milk or yogurt per cup so it stirs into a soup rather than sitting there as a lump.

Doing exactly what suzma is, using cheesecloth or a clean thin kitchen towel over a sieve set in a bowl in the fridge.

Best for

the most faithful result, controlling thickness precisely, large batches for a party, using the drained whey in bread or soup

This is not a substitute so much as the actual method, and it is worth the four hours because you control the end point: pull it early and it is a thick pourable sauce, leave it overnight and it is a firm spread you can roll into balls. Salt it lightly before draining, which pulls whey faster and seasons it evenly. Keep the whey; it is pleasantly sour and good in dough or thinned into a drink.

Fresh soft cheese made from cultured skim or whole milk with the whey drained, common in Central and Eastern Europe.

Best for

spreads, fillings, dips, stirring into soups off the heat

Similar concentration and similar protein, so it holds up in the same roles. It is mellower and slightly chalkier than suzma, with a faint fresh-cheese graininess rather than yogurt's smooth tang, so a dish made with it tastes rounder and less bright. Add a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and it passes comfortably. The full-fat versions taste much better here than the lean ones.

Cultured cream, which matches suzma's thickness and smoothness but comes at it from fat rather than from strained protein.

Best for

finishing soups and stews, cold sauces for dumplings, spooning over grilled meat

Very good where suzma is enriching a hot dish, and it has one real advantage: because it is high in fat it splits far less readily than yogurt when it hits heat. The cost is that it tastes much richer and considerably less tangy, so a bowl of shurpa finished with sour cream is plusher and less refreshing than one finished with suzma. Lemon juice restores most of the missing acidity.

A quick cheat when you need suzma-thick yogurt in twenty minutes rather than four hours.

Best for

last-minute dips, sauces that need to sit up on a plate, stirring into soup

Not as good as straining, and honestly a bit of a compromise: it thickens genuinely but tastes slightly cooked and milky-sweet from the powder, and it never develops the concentrated tang draining gives you, since the whey and its acidity are still in there. Useful under time pressure, especially in a highly seasoned dish. Whisk it hard and let it hydrate or it will feel powdery.