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Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Kenya

Mala (Kenyan cultured milk)mala

smooth, mildly sour, diacetyl-aromatic drinking cultured milk. Made in 4 steps over 2.6 days – 4.9 days. The longest step, stir smooth, pack, refrigerate, takes 2–4 days (Schulthess) and runs at up to 10 °C (Schulthess). Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and L. lactis subsp. cremoris do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–4 daysReported[fao]Stir smooth, pack, refrigerate
Temperatureup to 10 °CReported[fao]Stir smooth, pack, refrigerate
DocumentedFermented milk2.6 days – 4.9 daysMore fermented milkMore from Kenya

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
cow milk; often toned 25–50 % fresh + 50–75 % reconstituted milk
Starter: defined-culture: mesophilic freeze-dried cultures (Lactococcus lactis, L. cremoris, L. lactis biovar diacetylactis, Leuconostoc cremoris)

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.6 days – 4.9 days

Start
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85 °C

What changes: The milk is heated to 85 °C for 30 minutes or 90–92 °C briefly

Step 1 of 4
Heat-treat
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
85 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
L. mesenteroides

Output: heated milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
liquid
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

killed; whey proteins denatured to prevent wheying-off

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

Variants

  • Mango mala10–15 % fruit with 8–9 % sugar, heated to 75 °C and hot-packed into the product.
  • Traditional gourd mala / maziwa lalaRaw milk fermented spontaneously in a gourd that is re-used so its resident flora speeds souring.
  • Leuconostoc-type brandsLeuconostoc found in Lala Lite and Maziwa D'Lala (Nakamura et al. 1996).

Safety

Low risk when pasteurised. Raw gourd mala was reportedly outlawed for sale in favour of the pasteurised version (single-source claim, AgroInsight).

History and sources

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

Commercial mala was developed as the mesophilic alternative to yoghurt for Kenya's ambient conditions (Schulthess).

  1. [fao] Schulthess, W., The role of cultured milk products in developing countries, FAO document X5661Egov
  2. [nakamura1996] Nakamura et al. 1996, LAB from Kenyan fermented milk products (AGRIS record 64722a7269d6cbfdd4a3938c, via search)paper
  3. [kalro2024] KALRO, Guidelines for fermented milk production (2024 reprint; via search, PDF link dead)other