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Cheese from Ethiopia

Ayib (Ethiopian cottage cheese)አይብ

Ayib is a soft, crumbly fresh cheese made in Ethiopian homes from the buttermilk left after butter making. Raw milk sours on its own into ergo in a clay pot, is churned to take off the butter, and the sour defatted buttermilk (arera) is heated to about 50–60 °C until curd floats. The curd then drains in a cloth or sieve.

Fully documentedCheese2.1 days – 3.1 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold method with no fixed amounts. In one field study about 9.2 litres of buttermilk gave 1.27–1.78 kg of ayib, depending on how long the curd stayed in the whey.
Raw cow milkSoured on its own into ergo, then churned for butter[karssa2024][yilma2007]
No added starterThe milk sours spontaneously; the curd forms when the soured buttermilk is heated[karssa2024]
Spices, salt and herbs such as koserete, black cumin, korerima, rue and fenugreekto taste (optional)Added when it is eaten or kept, for flavour and keeping quality[karssa2024]
Starterspontaneous; milk sours in the household's smoked clay pot

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.1 days – 3.1 days

Start
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shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria30 °CMilk proteinGel (curd)

What changes: Raw milk sours on its own into thick ergo in a clay pot

Step 1 of 6
Sour the milk into ergo
Time
2.1–3 days
Measured
Temperature
30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactococcus lactis
L. plantarum

Output: ergo (spontaneously soured milk).

Flavour
sour
Texture
thick, coagulated
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactic acid bacteria sour the milk on its own

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Ayib is a soft, crumbly fresh cheese made in Ethiopian homes from the buttermilk left after butter making. Raw milk sours on its own into ergo in a clay pot, is churned to take off the butter, and the sour defatted buttermilk (arera) is heated to about 50–60 °C until curd floats. The curd then drains in a cloth or sieve. Made in 6 steps over 2.1 days – 3.1 days. The longest step, sour the milk into ergo, takes 2.1–3 days (Yilma Z 2007) and runs at 30 °C (Karssa T.H 2024). Lactic acid bacteria, dominant in ergo, the soured milk ayib is made from and Lactococcus lactis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, reported in fermented buttermilk do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2.1–3 daysMeasured[yilma2007]Sour the milk into ergo
Temperature30 °CReported[karssa2024]Sour the milk into ergo

What makes this one different

Ayib is made from what is left after butter making, not from whole milk, and it sets from the acid of spontaneous souring plus heat. That makes it low in fat and close to ricotta-style or acid-heat cheeses.

Share of the milk supply
A survey cited in the 2024 review found that about 44.6 % of the milk produced in Ethiopia is made into butter and ayib. The review says most milk in rural areas is processed at home.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Starter-culture ayib (trial)Pasteurised milk soured with probiotic lactic starters at 37 ± 2 °C (35–39 °C) for 8 h; buttermilk heated to 50–60 °C for 40–50 min. Estimated storage stability of treated curds was 4 to 18 days at ambient 18–25 °C (Asefa et al. 2025).
  • Metata ayibAyib combined with a variety of spices in a tightly closed container, which takes about 15 to 20 days to prepare (Adugna and Andualem 2023).

Safety

Farm ayib often carries high counts of coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae, and E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and S. aureus have been found in Ethiopian dairy products. A challenge study cited in the review found Salmonella Typhimurium survived a 50 °C cook but not 60 or 70 °C. The review also says E. coli O157:H7 survived 50–60 °C during ayib making, and that cooking at 70 °C stopped it. It spoils within 2–3 days unless kept cool.

Hazards the sources name: Escherichia coli, the dominant isolate among Enterobacteriaceae identified in farm butter and ayib samples; E. coli O157:H7 can survive ergo and ayib making; Salmonella Typhimurium, which survived a 50 °C ayib cook in a challenge study but not 60 or 70 °C; Staphylococcus aureus, found in about 18.6 % of Ethiopian cottage cheese samples (pooled).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
  1. [yilma2007] Yilma Z., Loiseau G., Faye B. 2007, Manufacturing efficiencies and microbial properties of butter and Ayib, Ethiopian cottage cheese, Livestock Research for Rural Development 19(7)paper
  2. [karssa2024] Karssa T.H., Kussaga J.B., Semedo-Lemsaddek T., Mugula J.K. 2024, Insights on the microbiology of Ethiopian fermented milk products, a review, Food Science & Nutritionpaper
  3. [asefa2025] Asefa et al. 2025, Formulation and evaluation of probiotic starter culture, impact on Ethiopian cottage cheese Ayib safety, stability, sensory acceptability and antioxidant properties, One Health Outlookpaper
  4. [adugna2023] Adugna M., Andualem B. 2023, Microbial dynamics, risk assessment and sensory evaluation of metata ayib (traditional spiced fermented cottage cheese), F1000Research 12:94 (version 1)paper