Suzma substitute

Best substitute

Full-fat plain Greek yogurt

Use the same amount by volume, plus a pinch of salt per cup as the suzma you are replacing

Best for spooning into shurpa, mastava and other soups off the heat

Close match

Full-fat plain Greek yogurt is suzma, near enough that most Uzbek and Turkish cooks abroad use it without comment; swap it 1:1 and stir in a pinch of salt. Labneh is the same product under a Levantine name and is even closer, since it is normally salted already. If you have neither, strain ordinary plain whole-milk yogurt in a cloth-lined sieve in the fridge for four to twelve hours and you have made real suzma yourself, which is the whole technique.

Other suzma substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Labneh
Close match
Use the same amount by volume
The Levantine strained yogurt cheese, made the identical way and usually already salted.
What changes
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.
3Plain whole-milk yogurt strained at home
Close match
2 cups plain yogurt yields about 1 cup suzma after 4-12 hours draining
Doing exactly what suzma is, using cheesecloth or a clean thin kitchen towel over a sieve set in a bowl in the fridge.
What changes
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.
4Quark
Different taste
Use the same amount loosened with 1-2 tablespoons milk per cup
Fresh soft cheese made from cultured skim or whole milk with the whey drained, common in Central and Eastern Europe.
What changes
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.
5Sour cream or creme fraiche
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume, with a squeeze of lemon per cup
Cultured cream, which matches suzma's thickness and smoothness but comes at it from fat rather than from strained protein.
What changes
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.
6Plain yogurt thickened with a little milk powder
Different taste
1 cup plain yogurt whisked with 2 tablespoons dry milk powder, rested 20 minutes
A quick cheat when you need suzma-thick yogurt in twenty minutes rather than four hours.
What changes
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.

What is Suzma?

Suzma is sour milk or yogurt that has been hung in a cloth and drained until it turns thick, spreadable and concentrated, usually with a pinch of salt worked in; it is written suzme or suzmesi in Turkish and Uzbek and called chakka in parts of South Asia.

Cooking tips

Suzma is doing three jobs in a Central Asian meal: it supplies acid to cut fat, it supplies creamy body, and because it is salted it works as a seasoning in its own right. If your substitute tastes flat next to what you remember, the missing element is usually salt rather than tang.
Never boil it. Add suzma or any substitute to shurpa, mastava, chuchvara broth or laghman off the heat and just before serving, or it will break into grainy curds and thin whey. If you must simmer it in a sauce, temper it first by whisking a ladle of hot liquid into the yogurt, then returning that mixture to the pot.
For a sauce that will be heated, whisk a teaspoon of flour or cornstarch into each cup of yogurt-based substitute first. The starch stabilises the proteins and stops them curdling, which is the standard trick behind Turkish and Armenian yogurt soups.
Thin suzma with cold water and salt and you have ayran; thin it with more water and it is closer to a drinking sour milk. This is how the same tub covers a spread, a soup garnish and a drink, so make more than you think you need.
Salt before you strain rather than after. Salt draws whey out faster and seasons all the way through, whereas salt stirred into already-thick suzma sits on the surface and tastes patchy.

Frequently asked questions

Is suzma just Greek yogurt?

Very nearly. Both are yogurt with the whey drained off, and in practice they are interchangeable. The differences are cultural rather than technical: suzma traditionally starts from katyk, a sour cultured milk with a sharper, wilder tang than commercial yogurt, and it is normally salted, where Greek yogurt is sold plain. Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon to full-fat Greek yogurt and you will not be able to tell.

What is the difference between suzma, katyk and ayran?

They are three stages of the same thing. Katyk is the cultured sour milk you start with, pourable and tangy. Drain katyk in a cloth and it becomes suzma, thick and spreadable. Dilute suzma or katyk with cold water and salt and it becomes ayran, a drink. So if you have any one of them you can usually get to the others.

Can I just leave suzma out?

In a soup or on a plate you can, and the dish will still be edible, but it will taste noticeably heavier and less balanced, because suzma is the sour, cooling counterweight to a lot of fat and lamb. A cheap partial fix is a spoonful of plain yogurt plus a squeeze of lemon. If suzma is the filling or the spread itself, there is nothing to leave out.

How thick should suzma be?

Thick enough to hold a soft peak and to sit on a spoon without running, but still soft enough to spread on bread without tearing it. Roughly the consistency of very thick Greek yogurt or soft cream cheese. Drained harder it becomes a firm cheese you can roll into balls or dry into kurt; drained less it is a pourable sauce.

What do I do with the whey left over from straining?

Use it. It is mildly sour and full of flavor, and it works in bread dough in place of some of the water, in a marinade, thinned into a cold drink with salt, or in place of some of the stock in a soup. Refrigerate it and use it within a few days.

Related substitutes

More dairy substitutes

Suzma substitute

Other suzma substitutes

2Labneh

3Plain whole-milk yogurt strained at home

4Quark

5Sour cream or creme fraiche

6Plain yogurt thickened with a little milk powder