Leben (Middle Eastern Sour Milk)
Leben is a traditional Middle Eastern or North African drink. Making it is very simple.
- Prep
- 12 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr 32 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Medium
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Add the milk to a large pot. Boil until it starts to foam.
Procedure
Turn off the heat and wait for the milk to cool to room temperature.
Procedure
Stir in the yogurt and half and half.
Procedure
To make your leben more sour, boil the mixture and add the citric acid along with it until it starts to foam. To make your leben more sweet, boil the mixture and add the sugar along with it until it starts to foam. It is not recommended to add the sugar and citric acid together in your leben. This will worsen its taste.
Procedure
Stir well, cover with a towel, and let rest overnight at room temperature.
Procedure
Uncover and stir, then enjoy.
Procedure
To preserve your leben, cool it as a regular dairy product.
Notes, tips, and variations
Do not leave out your leben uncovered for a prolonged period of time after it is complete. This will horribly worsen its taste and make it unpleasantly sour.
Notes, tips, and variations
Do not refuse to re-boil your leben during its procedure after adding the sugar/citric acid. You will feel the crunchiness of the crystals in your finished product.
Notes, tips, and variations
You should preferably store your leben in a metal, steel or glass container. Storing it in a wood container will stain the wood and you risk degraded pieces of wood falling into your leben.
Photo: Sabah HAANA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 10 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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