Ingredients
Soured milk
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 4 tbsplive plain yoghurt or previous arera, as starter
Equipment
- a clay pot or a jar with a lid
- a wooden churn stick, or a whisk
Directions
- Warm the milk to about 30°C (86°F), stir in the starter, cover and leave at warm room temperature for 24 to 36 hours until it has set and tastes sharply sour.
- Chill the soured milk for a few hours. Cold milk gives up its butter far more readily than warm, and churning it warm gives a greasy mess instead of clean grains.
- Churn it — with a stick worked between the palms in a clay pot, or with a whisk, or by shaking a sealed jar. Keep going for 10 to 20 minutes.
- Butter grains will gather and clump. Lift them out, wash them briefly in cold water and press them together; that is the household’s butter, and it is used in cooking and for niter kibbeh.
- What is left in the pot is arera: thin, tart, faintly cloudy skimmed buttermilk. This is the point of the whole operation as much as the butter is.
- Drink it cold, or warm it gently to curdle it into ayib.
Technique
- Chill before churning. Warm soured milk will not release its butter cleanly.
- Wash the butter grains in cold water until the water runs clear. Buttermilk left in butter turns it rancid within days.
- Arera is not a by-product to throw away. In highland households it is drunk, and it is the raw material for ayib.
Substitutions
- A stand mixer with a whisk, which does the churning in a few minutes.
- Cultured buttermilk from a shop, if you only want the arera and not the butter.
Variations
- Warmed gently it curdles into ayib, which is the standard next step.
- Some households drink it salted with a pinch of chilli.
History
The by-product of hand-churning butter in a clay pot, traditionally drunk by the household rather than wasted.
Frequently asked questions
What is Arera?
Arera is a cheese & dairy from Eritrea: tart skimmed buttermilk left after churning, drunk cold or curdled into ayib. The by-product of hand-churning butter in a clay pot, traditionally drunk by the household rather than wasted.
How long does Arera take to make?
Arera takes 20 min plus 1 to 2 days souring of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes about 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Arera?
Yes, within limits. A stand mixer with a whisk, which does the churning in a few minutes. Cultured buttermilk from a shop, if you only want the arera and not the butter.
What is the most important thing to get right in Arera?
Chill the soured milk for a few hours. Cold milk gives up its butter far more readily than warm, and churning it warm gives a greasy mess instead of clean grains.
