The term Leben, variously laban, liben, lben//ⓘ (Arabic: لبن) in the Middle East and North Africa,[1] refers to a food or beverage of fermented milk. Generally, there are two main products known as leben: The yogurt variant for the Levant region and the buttermilk variant for parts of Arabia and North Africa (Maghreb). Leben can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.[2]
Buttermilk variant
Leben as a drink is traditionally prepared by letting milk ferment for around 24 hours, then churning and removing the butter. The remaining buttermilk can keep for several days at room temperature. In modern times, it is produced industrially.
Yogurt variant
Leben in parts of the Middle East is traditionally prepared by boiling milk, usually whole milk, then adding yogurt (or previously made, left over/store-bought leben), and then cooled overnight.
Origins
Around 8,000 BCE, in the Fertile Crescent (modern-day Middle East, including parts of Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey), humans began domesticating animals such as goats, sheep, and cows.
The practice of milking these animals emerged soon after domestication. However, milk was highly perishable, and in warm climates, it spoiled quickly.
Early humans discovered that natural fermentation (due to bacteria present in the environment and animal skin storage containers) preserved the milk, producing a tangy, thickened substance that we now recognize as leben or fermented milk.
The Sumerians (circa 4,000 BCE) and other ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia were among the first to document the use of dairy products, including fermented milk. Clay tablets from this period depict dairy processing and storage.
In Ancient Egypt, frescoes show scenes of milk being churned and fermented, likely producing early forms of leben.
As nomadic tribes migrated across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, they carried the technique of fermenting milk. It spread:
To North Africa, where it became a staple in Berber and Bedouin diets.
Across the Arabian Peninsula, where the term laban (لبن) became synonymous with fermented milk.
To Central Asia, where similar products like kefir and kumis were developed independently.
