marokkanisch.com

Food and drink

Raib

A traditional Moroccan curdled milk, made when raw milk turns sour and sets on its own at room temperature; it bears some resemblance to yoghurt. Yabiladi calls raib Morocco’s home-made yoghurt.

What it is

Raib is semi-solid, smooth and even, and somewhat resembles yoghurt. A review involving Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez counts it among Morocco’s very popular traditional fermented milk products. Researchers at Mohammed V University in Rabat list it alongside raw milk, lben and jben among the country’s traditional dairy products.

How it is made

To make raib, raw cow’s, goat’s, sheep’s or camel’s milk is left at room temperature, about 15 to 30 degrees, for one to three days depending on the season, until it turns sour and sets. Traditionally the milk stands in an earthenware jar or in a goatskin bag called checoua.

Raib is the starting point for other dairy products: shaken vigorously, it separates into lben, the buttermilk, and zebda beldiya, fresh butter, which is salted to become smen; drained in a cloth, it gives the fresh cheese jben.

At a glance

Arabic
الرايب

Where it comes from

At home throughout the country, with no place of origin named by a source.

Goes with it

Food and drinkHariraA thick soup of tomatoes, meat and pulses, thickened at the end with flour stirred in, which turns out slightly differently in every family. In Fez, Meknes, Tangier, Marrakesh, Rabat and Casablanca it is part of breaking the fast during Ramadan.Food and drinkSellouA mixture of toasted flour, almonds, sesame and honey, also called sfouf or zemmita. It is one of the most important sweets of Ramadan, for example when breaking the fast in Fez and Meknes.

More from Food and drink

Pass it on

As a link, by WhatsApp or email.

WhatsAppEmailFacebookX

Last checked on 30 Oct 2026. 3 sources, 0 of them primary (authority, UNESCO, operator).

  1. Ghita Benkirane, Samir Ananou (Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fès), Emilie Dumas, Sami Ghnimi, Adem Gharsallaoui, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences 12, Nr. 1 (2022): Moroccan Traditional Fermented Dairy Products: Current Processing Practices and Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties: A Review. https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/5636. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  2. Ghita Benkirane, Samir Ananou (Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fès), Emilie Dumas, Sami Ghnimi, Adem Gharsallaoui, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences 12, Nr. 1 (2022): Moroccan Traditional Fermented Dairy Products: Current Processing Practices and Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties: A Review. https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/5636. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  3. Hespress: الرايب والجبن التقليدي .. سلالات مغربية تتحمل الهضم وتكبح جراثيم غذائية (05.10.2026). https://www.hespress.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-1818016.html. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  4. Ghita Benkirane, Samir Ananou (Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fès), Emilie Dumas, Sami Ghnimi, Adem Gharsallaoui, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences 12, Nr. 1 (2022): Moroccan Traditional Fermented Dairy Products: Current Processing Practices and Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties: A Review. https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/5636. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  5. Ghita Benkirane, Samir Ananou (Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fès), Emilie Dumas, Sami Ghnimi, Adem Gharsallaoui, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences 12, Nr. 1 (2022): Moroccan Traditional Fermented Dairy Products: Current Processing Practices and Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties: A Review. https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/5636. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  6. Ghita Benkirane, Samir Ananou (Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fès), Emilie Dumas, Sami Ghnimi, Adem Gharsallaoui, Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences 12, Nr. 1 (2022): Moroccan Traditional Fermented Dairy Products: Current Processing Practices and Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties: A Review. https://office2.jmbfs.org/index.php/JMBFS/article/view/5636. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.
  7. Hespress: الرايب والجبن التقليدي .. سلالات مغربية تتحمل الهضم وتكبح جراثيم غذائية (05.10.2026). https://www.hespress.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-1818016.html. Checked on 30 Oct 2026.