Gariss

Ingredients

Milk

• 2 litresraw camel’s milk
• 4 tbspgariss from a previous batch, as starter

Optional

• a few cloves or fenugreek seeds, which some herders add

Equipment

• a hide bag or a plastic container that can be carried and shaken

Directions

1. Pour the camel milk into the bag or container with the starter and stopper it loosely — never sealed tight, since the ferment produces gas.
2. Hang or carry it so it is shaken repeatedly through the day. Gariss is fermented in motion: Kordofan and Darfur herders hang the bag from a camel saddle, and the constant agitation is part of the process rather than incidental.
3. Leave it two to three days in the warmth, shaking it whenever you pass.
4. It is ready when it is sharply sour, thin and slightly fizzy. Camel milk never sets into a firm curd the way cow’s milk does — that thin pourable texture is the milk, not a fault.
5. Draw off what you want to drink and top the container up with fresh camel milk rather than emptying it.
6. That continuous topping-up is how gariss is actually kept: the container is never washed out or finished, and a herder’s gariss runs for months or years, growing more complex as it goes.
7. Drink it cool, in a bowl, at any time of day.

Technique

• Shake it often. A still container ferments unevenly and separates.
• Never seal it tight — the gas has to escape.
• It is topped up rather than finished. That is the whole practice.

Substitutions

• Cow’s or goat’s milk, which sour the same way but set thicker.
• A glass jar shaken by hand several times a day, if there is no bag to carry.

Variations

• The Kazakh shubat and Turkmen chal are the same camel-milk ferment.
• Some herders add fenugreek or cloves, which is said to steady the ferment.

History

Kept and repeatedly topped up in a hide or plastic container carried by camel herders of Kordofan and Darfur.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gariss?

Gariss is a fermented & pickled from Sudan: sharp fermented camel milk churned in a skin bag and drunk by nomads. Kept and repeatedly topped up in a hide or plastic container carried by camel herders of Kordofan and Darfur.

How long does Gariss take to make?

Gariss takes 20 min plus 2 to 3 days souring of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes about 1.5 litres, and a culture that runs on. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gariss?

Yes, within limits. Cow’s or goat’s milk, which sour the same way but set thicker. A glass jar shaken by hand several times a day, if there is no bag to carry.

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

Pour the camel milk into the bag or container with the starter and stopper it loosely — never sealed tight, since the ferment produces gas.