Stages of Milk Fermentation

The fermentation process begins with the lmala container being cleaned with burning botanicals. Kule (milk) is added to the container and then the milk goes through stages of fermentation; if left too long, it goes bad. The Samburu people of northern Kenya have traditionally fermented milk from their animal herds in containers made of wood or gourd, known as lmala (singular) and lmalasin (plural).

The stages of milk fermentation, from fresh to rotten, proceed in the following order:

1. Kule nairewa – fresh and warm from the animal
2. Kule nairobi – cooled and beginning to ferment
3. Kule naoto (alternatively, kule kowoto) – ripened and ready to drink milk
4. Kule naisukutan – flavor shifts from sweet to sour
5. Kule naishicho – sour milk
6. Kule nataroitie – milk that has gone bad but didn’t fully sour
7. Kule ntorok – rotten milk

Explore Samburu words about milk fermentation

Each link below will take you to an in-depth description of the term, including a pronunciation guide, and how the word relates to milk fermentation.

I encourage you to begin with kule to gain a basic understanding of the importance of fermented milk in Samburu culture.

kule – general term for milk

• ing’anayoi – curds
• kamanang’ – buttermilk
• kardadai – milk diluted with water
• kule kowoto – ripened milk that is ready to drink — Stage 3 (alternatively naoto)
• kule mparan – milk set aside by a wife for her husband
• kule nairewa – milk warm from the animal — Stage 1
• kule nairobi – milk that has cooled and begun to ferment — Stage 2
• kule naisukutan – the stage at which flavor shifts from sweet to sour — Stage 4
• kule naisicho – sour milk — Stage 5
• kule naoto – milk that is ready to drink — Stage 3 (alternatively kowoto)
• kule nataroitie – milk that has gone bad but hasn’t fully soured — Stage 6
• kule njuloti – the act of mixing blood into milk
• kule nkirimo – milk from a lactating mother
• kule nkubuk – true uncultured buttermilk
• kule ntorok – spoiled, rotten milk — Stage 7
• kule saroi – mixture of milk and blood
• kule sikiria – donkey’s milk
• manang – colostrum
• ngorno – butter
• nkeisiich – ricotta cheese
• ranganya – sweet, brown cheese
• taar – whey

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More

Use the following links to explore additional content collected through the Samburu Milk Project.

Introduction to the Samburu Milk Project
Dictionary Methodology and Acknowledgements
Milk Taste and Texture Terms
Types of Milk Containers (Lmalasin)
Botanicals for Lmala Preparation
The Culture of Milk — Common Idioms and Expressions
Other Samburu Words 
Milk, Music, and Religion — scheduled completion in late 2025
Milking Songs — scheduled completion in late 2025

This is the draft manuscript of the Samburu Milk Project, © 2024 William Rubel.