Ingredients
Soured milk
- 2 litreswhole milk
- 4 tbsplive soow or plain yoghurt, as starter
To serve
- sugar
- lakh or thiakry — millet porridge or couscous
- a pinch of salt
- vanilla or nutmeg, optional
Directions
- Warm the milk to about 30°C (86°F) — blood heat. Fulani practice starts from milk still warm from the animal and heats nothing.
- Stir in the starter until evenly distributed.
- Pour into a calabash or a jar and cover with a cloth rather than a lid.
- Leave at warm room temperature for 24 to 36 hours until it has set and tastes sharply sour.
- Churn or beat it hard for several minutes. Traditionally the calabash is rocked, and a little butter rises and is skimmed off for cooking — that churning is what gives soow its smooth pourable texture rather than a set curd.
- Skim off any butter and keep it.
- Chill thoroughly. Sweeten with sugar just before serving, with a pinch of salt to sharpen it and a little vanilla or nutmeg if you like.
- Pour over lakh or thiakry, or drink cold from a glass. Keep four spoonfuls for the next batch.
Technique
- Sweeten at the end, never at the start. Sugar before the ferment feeds yeasts and the milk goes fizzy and off.
- The churning is what makes it soow rather than plain soured milk.
- A calabash used regularly carries the culture in the wood and eventually needs no starter.
Substitutions
- Buttermilk as a starter.
- Reconstituted powdered milk, which is common in Dakar and sours perfectly well.
Variations
- The Malian nono, Nigerien kindirmo and Burkinabè lait caillé are the same preparation.
- Poured over millet couscous as thiakry, which is the Senegalese dessert.
History
Fulani herders sour and churn milk in calabashes; soow is sold in Dakar in bottles and is the traditional topping for lakh and thiakry.
Frequently asked questions
What is Soow?
Soow is a cheese & dairy from Senegal: thick Fulani soured milk, sweetened and poured over millet porridge. Fulani herders sour and churn milk in calabashes; soow is sold in Dakar in bottles and is the traditional topping for lakh and thiakry.
How long does Soow take to make?
Soow 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 Soow?
Yes, within limits. Buttermilk as a starter. Reconstituted powdered milk, which is common in Dakar and sours perfectly well.
What is the most important thing to get right in Soow?
Pour into a calabash or a jar and cover with a cloth rather than a lid.
