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Traditional lben
Algerian lben made with goat milk. A fermented milk drink rich in live cultures, exactly as it used to be made.
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In developmentGoat milk lben and raïb
Two staples of the Algerian table, remade with goat milk. Both are being developed at our workshop in Laghouat — message us to be told when they launch.
What is the difference between lben and raïb?
Raïb is a set curd: the milk is inoculated and left to set undisturbed, and it is eaten with a spoon. Lben is what you get by churning that set curd and removing the fat: a fermented milk drink, thinner and sharper. Raïb is eaten, lben is drunk.
Both are traditionally made with cow's milk. Made with goat milk they change character: the raïb sets more gently and stays softer, the lben is lighter and less rich.
That is exactly what makes them slow to develop. Goat milk's low αs1-casein content gives a more fragile curd — the same variable that occupied us on the yogurts. We would rather release these two when they are right than on an announced date.
What is coming
Three products in development at the workshop.
Why remake products everybody already knows
Nobody in Algeria is short of lben or raïb: they are everywhere, made with cow's milk, and often made very well. Adding one more is not the point.
What does not exist is the goat version. Goat lben is lighter, less rich, with a cleaner acidity — a different product, not a substitution. For a goat dairy it is also the truest way to use a milk that is never quite the same from one season to the next.
Frequently asked
They are in development at our workshop in Laghouat and we are not announcing a date until the recipe is settled. Message us on WhatsApp at +213 770 954 727 and we will tell you as soon as the first batch is made.
Lben is a fermented milk, so it carries the live cultures used to make it, as long as it is kept cold and drunk quickly. The benefits attributed to cultures vary by strain and by person — we would rather tell you what is in it than promise an effect.
No. It is softer in the mouth, a little less rich, with a cleaner acidity on the finish. People used to classic raïb generally find it lighter.
Yes, it is part of the same run of developments — a moulded fresh goat cheese, creamier than our log, made with both starters and desserts in mind.
Be told when they launch
One WhatsApp message is enough — we will write as soon as the first batch is made.
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