A thick, sour, low-alcohol beer of maize and barley from southern Ethiopia, drunk by the gourdful and dense enough to work as a meal for labourers. Households ferment it in earthen pots over several days.
Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on gesho and on the culture living in pots used repeatedly.
What goes into it
- maize
- barley or wheat
- gesho
- water
How it is made
Grain is roasted, ground and cooked into a thick porridge, then mixed with gesho and left to sour and ferment in a clay pot for several days. It is served unstrained and very thick — closer to a gruel than a drink — and it does not keep beyond a day or two.
How long it takes: three to five days
How it is eaten
By the gourdful, as a working meal in southern Ethiopia.
History
A southern Ethiopian brew so dense it works as a meal for labourers; households ferment it over several days in earthen pots.
Frequently asked questions
What is Borde?
Borde is a wine & spirit from Ethiopia: thick, sour, low-alcohol beer of maize and barley, drunk by the gourdful. A southern Ethiopian brew so dense it works as a meal for labourers; households ferment it over several days in earthen pots.
How is Borde made?
Grain is roasted, ground and cooked into a thick porridge, then mixed with gesho and left to sour and ferment in a clay pot for several days. It is served unstrained and very thick — closer to a gruel than a drink — and it does not keep beyond a day or two. It takes three to five days.
Can I make Borde at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. Home brewing of alcohol is licensed or restricted in most of the atlas’s readership, and the ferment relies on gesho and on the culture living in pots used repeatedly.
What goes into Borde?
Maize, barley or wheat, gesho, water.
How is Borde eaten?
By the gourdful, as a working meal in southern Ethiopia.
