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Fermented milk from Chad

Raïb / rayeb (Chad sour milk) with gibde butter and rouaba buttermilkraïb

Cow, sheep or goat milk, boiled or not, is left 24 hours in a clean closed container to sour, then shaken in a gourd for 1 to 2 hours until butter grains form. The unwashed butter (gibde) and the sour buttermilk (rouaba) are both kept; in N'Djamena a sweetened rayeb is sold in milk bars.

Fully documentedFermented milk25 h – 26 h

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOnly the starter share is given, 2–3 % of earlier sour milk, when one is used.
Cow, sheep or goat milk, boiled or not[fao-tmp-ii]
Sour milk from an earlier batch2–3 % of the milk (optional)Otherwise the milk's own flora sours it[fao-tmp-ii]
Starterspontaneous, or backslop of 2–3 % earlier sour milk

Total time across the recorded steps: 25 h – 26 h

Start
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39.9–44.9 °CpH 5.6–5.9

What changes: Bush milk brought in by collectors is boiled before use

Step 1 of 4
Collect and boil the bush milk (N'Djamena milk bars)
Time
Not documented
Temperature
39.9–44.9 °C
Measured
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 5.6–5.9
Measured

Output: boiled bush 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

Cow, sheep or goat milk, boiled or not, is left 24 hours in a clean closed container to sour, then shaken in a gourd for 1 to 2 hours until butter grains form. The unwashed butter (gibde) and the sour buttermilk (rouaba) are both kept; in N'Djamena a sweetened rayeb is sold in milk bars. Made in 4 steps over 25 h – 26 h. The longest step, sour in a clean closed container, takes 24 h (FAO 1990).

Key numbers
Main step24 hReported[fao-tmp-ii]Sour in a clean closed container
Temperature39.9–44.9 °CMeasured[koussou2007]Collect and boil the bush milk (N'Djamena milk bars)
AciditypH 5.6–5.9Measured[koussou2007]Collect and boil the bush milk (N'Djamena milk bars)

What makes this one different

Raïb is shaken in a gourd until butter grains separate, and both the unwashed butter (gibde) and the sour buttermilk (rouaba) are used.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Rayeb sucré (N'Djamena milk bars)Boiled bush milk with sugar added, fermented naturally at room temperature in containers; its success grew from the 1990s.

Safety

A survey of N'Djamena milk bars found high total and faecal coliform counts in rayeb, pointing to poor hygiene in production, collection and processing. The FAO says the milk is boiled or not before it sours. The US CDC says raw milk can carry germs such as Campylobacter, E. coli, Listeria, Brucella and Salmonella, and that children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with weak immunity are at higher risk.

Hazards the sources name: Total and faecal coliforms in N'Djamena milk-bar rayeb (up to about 227 and 12 CFU/mL on average, cold dry season).

History and sources

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

N'Djamena's local milk trade grew from the 1990s with dairies, sweetened whole milk and the success of rayeb.

  1. [fao-tmp-ii] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, section II Acidified milks, 1.2 Roab / Rouabagov
  2. [fao-tmp-iii] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, section III Butter and milk-fat products, 3.2 Gibdegov
  3. [koussou2007] Koussou M.O., Grimaud P. and Mopaté L.Y. 2007, Évaluation de la qualité physico-chimique et hygiénique du lait de brousse et des produits laitiers locaux commercialisés dans les bars laitiers de N'Djamena au Tchad, Revue d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux 60(1-4):45–49paper
  4. [cdc-raw-milk] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Raw Milk (31 January 2025)gov