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Fermented milk from North-western Iran

Kurdish roghan (ripened doogh-butter oil)Kurdish roghan

Goat, ewe or cow milk is made into yoghurt, thinned to doogh and churned for butter. The butter is salted and ripened for 2–6 months, then melted and browned into a butter oil.

Fully documentedFermented milk2 months – 6 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are from the one laboratory method published (Faraji Sarabmirza et al. 2023); traditional makers use no fixed batch.
Raw whole cow or ewe milkGoat milk is also used traditionally[faraji2023]
Starting culture for the yoghurt[faraji2023]
Hot water, to thin it to doogh1:1 by volume with the yoghurt[faraji2023]
Dry salt10 % w/w of the butter, then a full coat[faraji2023]
Starterstarting culture added to the heated milk to make yoghurt (in the study)

Total time across the recorded steps: 2 months – 6 months

Start
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40–42 °CpH 4.6–4.7Milk sugarLactic acid

What changes: The milk is made into yoghurt (mast)

Step 1 of 4
Make yoghurt (mast)
Time
Not documented
Temperature
40–42 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4.6–4.7
Measured

Output: mast.

Flavour
sour
Texture
set yoghurt
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

yoghurt bacteria sour the milk

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

Goat, ewe or cow milk is made into yoghurt, thinned to doogh and churned for butter. The butter is salted and ripened for 2–6 months, then melted and browned into a butter oil. Made in 4 steps over 2 months – 6 months. The longest step, wash, salt and ripen in glazed pots, takes 2–6 months (Faraji Sarabmirza R. et al. 2023) and runs at 16–20 °C (Faraji Sarabmirza R. et al. 2023). Salt is 10 % (Faraji Sarabmirza R. et al. 2023). Starting culture does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–6 monthsReported[faraji2023]Wash, salt and ripen in glazed pots
Temperature16–20 °CMeasured[faraji2023]Wash, salt and ripen in glazed pots
Salt10 %Reported[faraji2023]Wash, salt and ripen in glazed pots
AciditypH 4.6–4.7Measured[faraji2023]Make yoghurt (mast)

What makes this one different

Kurdish roghan is made from butter churned from doogh, and the salted butter is ripened for 2–6 months (4 months in the study) before it is melted. FAO's general clarified-butter entry goes from churned butter straight to boiling, with no ripening step.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Ewe-milk and cow-milk roghanEwe roghan had 2.20 g/100 g conjugated linoleic acid against 0.92 g/100 g in cow roghan.
  • Clarified butter as FAO describes itFAO's general clarified-butter entry lists roghan (Iran) among its names and describes butter churned from spontaneously soured milk and boiled at 110–120 °C. It says nothing specific to Iran.

Safety

In the study the butter was dry-salted at 10 % w/w and then covered with a continuous salt coat for 4 months at 18 ± 2 °C. The finished oils had free fatty acids of 0.39–0.41 g oleic acid/100 g and peroxide values of 1.32–1.35 meq O2/kg. The paper calls its peroxide values much lower than a Turkish study's, and its conclusion calls its free fatty acid and peroxide values much higher than previous reports, so it gives no clear verdict.

History and sources

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

Faraji Sarabmirza et al. (2023), citing Batmanglij (1999), say it has been made since the Achaemenid era.

  1. [faraji2023] Faraji Sarabmirza R. et al. 2023, An investigation on conjugated linoleic acid content, fatty acid composition, and physicochemical characteristics of Iranian Kurdish butter oil, Food Science and Nutrition 11(2):1051 (doi:10.1002/fsn3.3142)paper
  2. [fao-tmp-iii] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, section III Butter and milk-fat products, 2. Clarified butter (roghan, Iran)gov
  3. [belir2024] Belir M., Kadivarian S., Moradi J., Kooti S., Ghadimi D., Abiri R., Mahaki B., Alvandi A. 2024, Exploring microbial diversity in Kermanshah province's Kermanshahi oil through DGGE and sequencing analysis, Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition 43:173 (doi:10.1186/s41043-024-00669-2)paper