Make Your Own Laben (Buttermilk) - the Traditional Way!

Submitted by Um Safia

"Laban (known as Le babeurre in French & buttermilk in English) is an important staple in the diet of many North African & Middle Eastern countries. These days it is incredibly simple to go to the store & buy it but if you cannot find it or just want to have a go at making it, then this is a great recipe. This is the traditional method of making laben, for a truly authentic taste use milk straight from the farm. If you can't get milk that fresh, regular full fat milk from the store is fine. You will need a 2 things to make the laben with (other than the ingredients!) 1st: A pot to store the milk in whilst it's 'sitting' - traditionally we use a large clay pot but any pot or pan large enough should do. 2nd: You will need a large bottle, like the kind get water in - with a capacity of around 6 litres if making the full amount of the recipe. The amounts in this recipe can easily be adjusted to allow you to make more or less laben."

Download

photo by Um Safia

Ready In:: 72hrs
Ingredients:: 2
Yields:: 4 litres of laben

ingredients

3 ¹⁄₂ liters whole milk
¹⁄₂ liter warm water

directions

Pour the milk into the pot, cover with a plate or tray etc.
Leave the milk to 'sit' for a day or two, out of direct sunlight (this recipe is based on a warm climate - this process may take a bit longer in a colder climate but never leave the milk longer than 3-4 days).
Once the milk has totally coagulated - it will resemble a blancmange at this stage - put the milk into your large bottle.
Now add the warm water to the bottle with the milk, fasten the lid tightly & begin shaking it. Shake for 20 minutes to begin with.
After 20 minutes check to see if the milk & water has thoroughly combined. If it hasn't, shake it some more! You should eventually end up with a liquid that resembles single cream -- now you have laben.
Pour the laben into a pan & scoop off the little yellow blobs of butter & store them in a container for later use!
Now you should have traditional laben, keep it stored in the fridge if not using immediately.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!

Reviews

Have any thoughts about this recipe? Share it with the community!

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Um Safia

ABOVE: My eldest, Talha with his 'Zaar Star! I'm 29 years old and have been cooking since I was old enough to wield a wooden spoon! My Mum is a fantastic cook and both my Grandmas were great cooks too. I've also had the pleasure of working in two commercial kitchens - one which I ran and the other I was second chef of. You can find me lurking in the NA*ME (North Africa / Middle East) Forum where I am a host: http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=59 and also in the Cooking for Kids Forum where I am co-host: http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=34 <style>body { background: url(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/seamless%20tiles/seamlesstile1.jpg);background-repeat: repeat; }</style> I am fortunate enough to have 2 children of my own now and enjoy cooking with my eldest who is almost 8 years old. My daughter is almost 3 & has now started joining me in the kitchen & 'helping'. She likes to stand on a chair next to me, give instructions & stir. We eat food from all over the world but my husband prefers it like 'mama used to make' or in his case ''like yemma makes it'' as he is Algerian! We are currently living in the UK after living in Algeria for a while. You will notice that I have posted quite a few Algerian classics. If I had the time and the money, I would spend all day every day trying new recipes! My husband has a 'recipe score' which is this: 1: "Add it to your recipe book - I loved it and wanna eat this again soon!" 2: "Interesting....I will enjoy eating this again." 3: "I cleared my plate but don't expect me to eat this again...ever." However, I rate 'Zaar recipes the by the 'Zaar standard, so don't worry. Oh and fyi, I have a problem being negative so will probably NEVER give a rating less that 4*!!! Other than cooking, I love anything arty-crafty and enjoy painting when I get the chance, which is rarely these days. I used to sell a lot of my creations and do things to order but just don't have the time at the moment. I have a passion for gardening almost as strong as that for cooking. I tend to have 90% of it in pots though as I can't bear to leave it behind when we move - therefore we don't have a lot of stuff that we'd like to have as it wouldn't like being confined to a pot! I take great pride in my garden and love the summer months (the few that we get in the UK) when we can eat outside... and being a typical man, my husband likes any excuse to get the BBQ going - enough said! By the way; I'm on a mission to re-educate people about soaking cous cous for use in North African recipes.,,just so you all know....it is traditionally STEAMED & not soaked! Most of the North African recipes I have have been taught to me by my mother in law, sisters in law etc. A few have come from very old cookbooks. It has taken me a long time to get the dishes into some kind of recipe form as basically we "eyeball" the majority of the ingredients. Bear with me whilst I try to get the rest of the recipes in order!... On a personal note, I abhor the mistreatment of animals and have taken care of many abandoned or injured animals over the years. Similarily, I love to help children and that is why my husband and I are in the process of becoming foster carers. I have a thing about being polite and having good manners - they don't cost anything after all. Something that bugs me is when you hold a door open for someone and they don't even acknowledge you or if you need to go through a door and they won't hold it for you but let it slap you in the face! I think we should all smile more - myself included.... <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/rotatingheart.gif" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a> 2007 Events: <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=SassyBanner.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/SassyBanner.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"> 2008 - Events: <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=newtaginethbanner.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/newtaginethbanner.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=Swap14.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/Swap14.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=thetassiedevilsbanner.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/thetassiedevilsbanner.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PAC08Main.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/adoptedspring08.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=kumquats3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/kumquats3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=ZWT4ChallengeHostBanner.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/ZWT4ChallengeHostBanner.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=ZWTPlayerBanner.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/ZWTPlayerBanner.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/?action=view¤t=ramadanrecipetagbanner-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y254/Missymop/ramadanrecipetagbanner-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/?action=view¤t=CookingSchoolHost1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j166/ZaarNicksMom/CookingSchoolHost1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> 2009- Events: <img src="http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg271/MrsTeny/CookathonforKarensticker.jpg"> <a href="http://s714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/?action=view¤t=rrtplayersbanner09-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/rrtplayersbanner09-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

View Full Profile