Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Home

Fermented milk from Guyana

Dahee (Guyana)dahee

Whole cow milk is brought to the boil for several minutes, stirred with some dahee from the last batch and left for 5 to 8 hours until it sets. It is the Indian dahi, brought to Guyana by indentured labourers from India.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Dahee itself.

Short entryFermented milk5 h – 8 h

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedFAO gives the method but no amounts for Guyanese dahee; the starter share is the Indian dahi figure from the same FAO survey.
Fresh or recombined cow milk[fao-tmp]
Dahee from the previous batchNo amount given for Guyana; Indian practice is 0.5–1 % of the milk[fao-tmp]
Salt or sugaroptionalAdded to improve the taste[fao-tmp]
Starterbackslop (previous dahee)

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 h – 8 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Whole milk is brought to the boil for several minutes

Step 1 of 3
Boil the milk
Time
Heated to the boiling point for several minutes
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: boiled milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

Whole cow milk is brought to the boil for several minutes, stirred with some dahee from the last batch and left for 5 to 8 hours until it sets. It is the Indian dahi, brought to Guyana by indentured labourers from India. Made in 3 steps over 5 h – 8 h. The longest step, stir in old dahee and let it set, takes 5–8 h (FAO 1990).

Key numbers
Main step5–8 hReported[fao-tmp]Stir in old dahee and let it set

What makes this one different

Dahee is Indian dahi carried to Guyana. FAO records the same boil-and-backslop method, with a 5 to 8 hour set, and notes it survives only in a few isolated areas.

Related ferments

Safety

The milk is boiled before setting and the dahee keeps only about two days in a fridge.

History and sources

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

FAO's 1990 survey of traditional milk products says dahee was introduced to Guyana by Indian indentured (contract) labourers and is the same product as Indian dahi.

  1. [fao-tmp] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, Animal Production and Health Paper 85, section II "Acidified milks" (Dahee, Guyana; Dahi, India and Myanmar)gov