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Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Colombian Caribbean coast

Suero costeñosuero costeño

salty, sour, slightly rancid thick fermented cream eaten with bollo, yuca, arepa and patacón. Made in 3 steps over 24 h. The longest step, spontaneous souring of raw milk in open vessel, takes 24 h (Simanca S. M. et al. 2010) and runs at 28 °C (Simanca S. M. et al. 2010). Salt is 2.3 % (Simanca S. M. et al. 2010). Lactococcus lactis and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step24 hReported[simanca2010][pmc12195864]Spontaneous souring of raw milk in open vessel
Temperature28 °CMeasured[simanca2010][pmc12195864]Spontaneous souring of raw milk in open vessel
Salt2.3 %Reported[simanca2010][pmc12195864]Recombine cream into curd (medium-fat type), salt and beat smooth
AciditypH 3.9Measured[simanca2010][pmc12195864]Recombine cream into curd (medium-fat type), salt and beat smooth
DocumentedFermented milk24 hMore fermented milkMore from Colombia

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
raw cow milk; variants use boiled milk
cooked residual cheese whey
or rennet-curdled raw milk
Starter: spontaneous (aerobic); semi-industrial makers may use isolated LAB

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 h

Start
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Milk proteinGel (curd)28 °CpH 4.7shapes, not to countLactococcus lactisL. paracaseiLevilactobacillus brevisL. plantarum

What changes: Raw milk sours on its own in an open vessel for about 24 hours

Step 1 of 3
Spontaneous souring of raw milk in open vessel
Time
24 h
Reported
Temperature
28 °C
Measured
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4.7
Measured
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactococcus lactis
L. paracasei
Levilactobacillus brevis
L. plantarum
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: soured milk with a spontaneous cream layer and whey.

Flavour
sour
Texture
coagulum; cream separates on top
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

lactose consumed (to ~4.44 %); aerobic mesophiles rise to ~2×10^9 CFU/mL

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

  • High-fat sueroMade only from the removed cream, which carries some coagulum.
  • Medium-fat sueroCream added back to the curd after syneresis (the common Montería type).
  • Low-fat sueroCurd only, no cream added.
  • Whey-based sueroMade from cooked residual cheese whey instead of milk (25 % of 2025 samples).
  • Suero atollabueyThicker, more aged version (general knowledge).
  • Starter-culture suero (experimental)Reconstituted milk, 30 °C, 16 h, 57 % of whey removed, ~1.2 % NaCl (Universidad de Córdoba protocol, via search snippet).

Safety

78.8 % of 96 Córdoba producers had deficient hygiene and GMP gaps; raw-milk spontaneous product.

History and sources

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

Described as gastronomic heritage of northern Colombia; proposed for a regional identity designation (Muñoz-Acevedo et al. 2025).

  1. [simanca2010] Simanca S. M. et al. 2010, Caracterización y estudio de la fermentación espontánea del suero costeño producido en Montería, Rev MVZ Córdoba 15(1):1944–1953paper
  2. [pmc12195864] Muñoz-Acevedo A. et al. 2025, Chemical profiles of the volatilome and fatty acids of 'Suero Costeño', Molecules 30(12):2524paper
  3. [univalle] Caracterización de las unidades productoras de Suero Costeño del departamento de Córdoba, Ingeniería y Competitividad (Univalle), (via search)web
  4. [redalyc2016] Suero costeño study, Montería (Redalyc 49659032019)paper