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Fermented milk from Sudan

Garissقارص

Gariss is raw camel milk soured in a large skin bag, the siin, that holds a starter from earlier batches. Herders draw off gariss and pour in fresh milk to keep the volume constant, so one bag can run for months. Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts make it sour and lightly alcoholic.

Fully documentedFermented milk5 h

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedTraditional semi-continuous process with no fixed amounts. The bag is topped up with fresh milk to keep its volume about the same.
Raw camel milkAdded whenever some gariss is taken out[ahmed2016]
Gariss from earlier batchesThe starter left in the siin[ahmed2016][ahmed2015]
A few black cumin seeds and one onion bulbOnly to start a new siin when no starter is at hand[ahmed2016]
Starterbackslop (semi-continuous); a new siin is started with black cumin seeds and an onion bulb

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 h

Start
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shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteriaYeasts

What changes: A skin bag holds old gariss as the starter for new milk

Step 1 of 4
Start or keep a siin
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts
Streptococcus bovis
S. infantarius
L. fermentum

Output: siin with starter.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

the old gariss supplies lactic acid bacteria and yeasts; a new bag gets black cumin seeds and an onion bulb instead

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

At a glance

Gariss is raw camel milk soured in a large skin bag, the siin, that holds a starter from earlier batches. Herders draw off gariss and pour in fresh milk to keep the volume constant, so one bag can run for months. Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts make it sour and lightly alcoholic. Made in 4 steps over 5 h. The longest step, add fresh camel milk and let it ferment, takes at least 5 h (Ahmed A.I 2016). Streptococcus bovis group (123 of 180 lactic isolates from 9 regions); all 13 representatives typed were Streptococcus infantarius subsp. infantarius and Limosilactobacillus fermentum do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 5 hReported[ahmed2016]Add fresh camel milk and let it ferment
AciditypH 4.4Measured[sulieman2006]Add fresh camel milk and let it ferment

What makes this one different

Gariss is fermented semi-continuously in a skin bag on the move, and a yeast-lactic fermentation makes it lightly alcoholic. Unlike most African sour milks it is camel milk, and Streptococcus infantarius subsp. infantarius is common in it.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Laboratory garissCamel milk with 3 % gariss starter, incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours, then kept at 8 °C; acidity rose above 1.2 % after 18 hours.

Safety

Gariss is traditionally made from raw camel milk. WHO says camel milk can be consumed after pasteurisation or other heat treatment, and that people at greater risk of severe MERS should not handle or drink it raw; no source we read tests whether fermenting gariss removes this risk. Streptococcus infantarius subsp. infantarius, found in all 13 isolates typed from it, is a potential human pathogen, and 10 of those 13 carried a virulence gene. In a lab study, gariss made from milk pasteurised at 63 °C for 30 minutes kept 17 days in the refrigerator, against 10 days for gariss from raw milk. That trial judged keeping by acidity and pH and reports no pathogen tests.

Hazards the sources name: Streptococcus infantarius subsp. infantarius, a potential human pathogen; the virulence gene gtf was found in 10 of 13 strains tested.

History and sources

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

History
The sources we found do not record its history.
  1. [abdelgadir2008] Abdelgadir W., Nielsen D.S., Hamad S., Jakobsen M. 2008, A traditional Sudanese fermented camel's milk product, Gariss, as a habitat of Streptococcus infantarius subsp. infantarius, International Journal of Food Microbiology 127(3):215–219 (abstract)paper
  2. [sulieman2006] Sulieman A.M.E.H., Ilayan A.A., Faki A.E.A.E. 2006, Chemical and microbiological quality of Garris, Sudanese fermented camel's milk product, International Journal of Food Science & Technology 41(3):321–328 (abstract)paper
  3. [ahmed2016] Ahmed A.I., Mohamed B.E., Yousif N.M.E., Faye B., Loiseau G. 2016, Role of production area, seasonality and age of fermented camel milk Gariss on mineral contents, Turkish Journal of Agriculture – Food Science and Technology 4(12):1112–1117paper
  4. [ahmed2015] Ahmed O.M.M., El Owni O.A.O. 2015, Isolation and Identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Sudanese Fermented Camel Milk (Gariss), U. of K. Journal of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production 6(2):143–152paper
  5. [lrrd] El Zubeir I.E.M., Ibrahium M.I. 2009, Effect of pasteurization of milk on the keeping quality of fermented camel milk (Gariss) in Sudan, Livestock Research for Rural Development 21(2)paper
  6. [who-mers] World Health Organization, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), fact sheetgov