Ikivuguto

Ingredients

Soured milk

• 2 litreswhole milk
• 4 tbsplive ikivuguto or plain live yoghurt, as starter

To serve

• ubugali (maize or cassava porridge), hot
• a pinch of salt, if drinking it plain

Directions

1. Warm the milk to about 35°C (95°F). No higher — this is not a heat-set yoghurt and boiling changes it into something else.
2. Stir in the starter until evenly mixed.
3. Pour into a wooden churn, a gourd or a jar, cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature for 24 to 36 hours until set and sour.
4. Churn or stir it vigorously for several minutes. In a Rwandan or Burundian household this is done in a tall wooden churn and it both smooths the curd and lifts a little butter to the surface, which is skimmed off.
5. Skim off any butter that gathers and keep it for cooking. What is left is ikivuguto: pourable, tangy and slightly thinner than yoghurt.
6. Chill thoroughly before serving. Offer it cold in a gourd or a glass, or pour it over hot ubugali so it half melts into the porridge.

Technique

• Keep four spoonfuls to start the next batch. The culture strengthens with use and a household’s vessel eventually carries it on its own.
• The churning is what distinguishes ikivuguto from plain soured milk. Skipped, you have a set curd rather than the smooth pourable drink.
• Offering a gourd of it to a guest is a formal courtesy in Burundi, not a casual gesture.

Substitutions

• Buttermilk as a starter, which works and is closer in character than yoghurt.
• Cow’s milk is standard; goat’s milk sours faster and comes out sharper.

Variations

• Left to sour a day longer it becomes markedly sharper and is preferred that way by many.
• The butter lifted off during churning is used in cooking and, traditionally, on the skin.

History

Cattle-keeping households soured milk in wooden churns; in Burundi’s pastoral culture a gourd of it is the standard offering to a guest.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ikivuguto?

Ikivuguto is a cheese & dairy from Burundi: milk soured thick in a churn, drunk cold or poured over ubugali. Cattle-keeping households soured milk in wooden churns; in Burundi’s pastoral culture a gourd of it is the standard offering to a guest.

How long does Ikivuguto take to make?

Ikivuguto takes 10 min plus 1 to 2 days souring of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ikivuguto?

Yes, within limits. Buttermilk as a starter, which works and is closer in character than yoghurt. Cow’s milk is standard; goat’s milk sours faster and comes out sharper.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ikivuguto?

The churning is what distinguishes ikivuguto from plain soured milk. Skipped, you have a set curd rather than the smooth pourable drink.