Smen

Smen (from Arabic: سمن or سمنة also called sman, semn, semneh, or sminn) is a salted, fermented butter native to North African cuisine (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia), as well as a traditional Yemeni dish. In countries like Jordan and Lebanon, samneh is a type of butter similar to clarified butter, while north African smen is a type of fermented butter similar to ghee.

Smen is an important ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine and North African cooking. It is produced using butter made from the milk of sheep, goats or a combination of the two. The butter is brought to its boiling point, then skimmed, then strained into a ceramic jar, and salted before it curdles. Some add roasted fenugreek seeds to the boiling butter, after which it is strained from the fenugreek seeds. Thyme is often added to provide a yeast and enzyme starter. Other plants or fruits can be used. The result is then aged, often in sealed containers. It is then traditionally buried in the ground for temperature stability purposes, like cheese is left to mature in caves because they have cooler and more stable temperatures.

It is similar to ghee, clarified butter, and niter kibbeh. Middle Eastern samneh is typically cooked for longer than clarified butter to further remove water and solids and thus extend its shelf life.