Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Burundi, Rwanda

Amavuta (Burundian/Rwandan butter from sour milk)amavuta

sour-cream butter used as food and as a scented body cream. Made in 3 steps over 3 days. The longest step, sour raw milk (urubu), takes 3 days (FAO 1990). not characterised; inherited from urubu does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 daysReported[fao-tmp][aloys-angeline2009]Sour raw milk (urubu)
Temperature100 °CReported[aloys-angeline2009][fao-tmp]Cosmetic form: boil sour milk with fragrant rotted wood

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
raw whole cow milk
soured into urubu / ikivuguto
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
Milk proteinGel (curd)shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteria

What changes: Raw milk sours for about 3 days in an earthenware pot

Step 1 of 3
Sour raw milk (urubu)
Time
3 days
Reported
Temperature
ambient
Unconfirmed
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: urubu (sour milk).

Flavour
sour
Texture
coagulated
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

spontaneous LAB

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Boundary
A butter made from fermented milk, not a fermented milk itself

Variants

  • Kivu cosmetic amavutaMade by heating sour milk with rotted aromatic wood instead of churning; used on skin, not eaten (FAO).

Safety

Rancidity is expected; shelf life depends on oil quality (FAO).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Literature on Burundian ferments was 'non-existent' before Aloys & Angeline 2009, who list urubu, amateregua and amavuta as the milk products.

  1. [aloys-angeline2009] Aloys N., Angeline N., Traditional fermented foods and beverages in Burundi, Food Research International 42(5–6):588–594 (2009), doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2009.02.021 (abstract via Europe PMC; process via FermDB row, CC BY 4.0)paper
  2. [fao-tmp] FAO 1990, The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries, Animal Production and Health Paper 85, section IV 1.1 Amavutagov