Morocco is not a country that typically comes to mind when people think about yoghurt and fermented dairy, but it has a quietly rich dairy tradition that’s worth exploring when you visit. Moroccan dairy culture overlaps with Berber, Arab, and French colonial food traditions, producing a range of cultured products that are interesting and very different from what you’d find in Mediterranean Europe or the Middle East.
Raïb: Moroccan Cultured Milk
Raïb is a fresh, lightly fermented milk that’s somewhere between yoghurt and drinking milk in texture. It’s consumed throughout Morocco as a breakfast drink, a snack, and a refreshing drink during the day. The flavour is mild, slightly tart, and noticeably fresher than commercial yoghurt. It’s sold at small dairy shops and in the dairy sections of markets throughout the country.
The best raïb comes from small producers who make it fresh each morning. In Fes and Marrakech, local markets (souks) in the medina areas have dairy vendors selling freshly made raïb, jben (fresh white cheese), and khli (preserved dried meat) alongside fresh produce. These vendors tend to be in the less touristed parts of the medina, so finding them requires a bit of wandering, which is half the point.
Jben: Fresh Moroccan White Cheese
Jben is a fresh, unsalted or lightly salted white cheese similar in some ways to ricotta or fresh chèvre. It’s made from cow’s or goat’s milk and has a mild, milky flavour. It’s eaten for breakfast drizzled with honey, argan oil, or amlou (almond and argan oil paste), and it’s one of the best breakfasts available in Morocco when made fresh.
Jben is also sold at small roadside stalls in rural areas, particularly in the Atlas mountains and the Souss Valley, where small herders sell cheese made from their own animals. If you’re travelling through rural Morocco rather than sticking to the major cities, you’ll encounter this more authentic version of Moroccan dairy culture.
Argan Oil and the Moroccan Breakfast
While argan oil is not a dairy product, it’s inseparable from the best Moroccan breakfast experiences. A Moroccan breakfast spread typically includes bread, honey, amlou (a paste made from argan oil, almonds, and honey), jben, and olives. The combination of fresh white cheese with argan oil and honey on warm bread is one of the great breakfasts in North African cooking and one of the things that distinguishes Moroccan food culture from its neighbours.
If you stay at a riad (traditional Moroccan guesthouse) that serves a proper Moroccan breakfast rather than a generic hotel buffet, you’ll likely encounter this spread. Seek out accommodation that emphasises local food in its breakfast offering, and you’ll start every morning with something genuinely interesting.
Smen: Aged Fermented Butter
Smen is a preserved, aged fermented butter used extensively in Moroccan cooking. It’s strong, pungent, and unlike anything in Western dairy culture – closer in character to a very mature cheese than to the butter you’d put on toast. It’s used in small quantities to add depth of flavour to couscous, tagines, and pastries.
Smen can be found at spice shops and markets throughout Morocco, usually sold in small jars or clay pots. The flavour is genuinely challenging for those who encounter it for the first time, but it’s a culturally important ingredient and worth trying at least once – ideally in a dish that uses it in the traditional way rather than eating it on its own.
