Spiced Ethiopian Cottage Cheese with Collard Greens (Ayib Be Gomen Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

Is ayib a cottage cheese? ›

Ayib, a traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese, is a popular milk product consumed by the various ethnic groups of the country. It is made from sour milk after the butter is removed by churning.

Gomen is traditionally made with collard greens but kale works equally well. You can also use spinach but I prefer the crispiness of the collards or kale.

The texture of ayib will remind you of goat cheese, which you can use as a substitute. Goat cheese has a more assertive flavor, and the ayib adds a nice lactic element to the dish without taking over.

This sweetcurd cheese has a sweet pungent odour and is slightly salty when fresh, and pleasingly sharp when fully ripened.

Its texture resembles feta cheese in that it crumbles easily, but unlike feta, it has a milder, more earthy taste. Ayib can be added to vegetable dishes such as collard greens or eaten alone on bread or crackers as an appetizer or snack.

Overall, Eritrean cuisine strongly resembles that of neighboring Ethiopia, although Eritrean cooking tends to feature more seafood than Ethiopian cuisine on account of its coastal location.

From chicken doro wat to chunky tomato salad, Ethiopian food is a nutritious and fun way to introduce your child to good nutrition that's right at their fingertips.

Doro wat (wett)

It is the most popular traditional food in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Considered the national dish, it is the food of choice during formal and informal gatherings, eaten together as part of a group who share a communal bowl and basket of injera.

Ayib (aka Ayibe) is a soft Ethiopian fresh cheese similar to cottage cheese. It is usually made at home or through farmhouse production, as a by-product of making butter (just as cottage cheese is in western cuisine.)

Genfo is a kind of porridge, which is another common breakfast dish. It is usually served in a large bowl with a dug-out made in the middle of the genfo and filled with spiced niter kibbeh.

What bread is similar to injera? ›

Although these crêpes don't have quite the same texture or pronounced sourness typical of teff injera, they make a good stand-in on days when you want Ethiopian food quickly and don't have time for the fermentation process or access to commercial injera.

The cheese's texture lends itself well to simple toppings, like a drizzle of olive oil, but textural pops like crunchy chips and juicy tomatoes work well as a fun change if you feel like you're stuck in a CC rut. Other mix-in ideas from our readers included crumbled bacon, Kalamata olives, and salsa.

A: Peaches and a drizzle of honey! Or try adding some chocolate protein powder, mini chocolate chips, and some bananas. Cottage cheese as a snack is so tasty!

It turns out consuming 30 grams of protein 30 minutes before bed—the amount in a little more than a cup of cottage cheese—was linked to stronger muscles, a quicker metabolism and better overall health in a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Cream cheese is similar to cottage cheese but is higher in fat content, cottage cheese being made from skim or nonfat milk. In certain countries, including Canada and the United States, cream cheese is defined as consisting of about one-third milk fat, with a moisture content of 55 percent.

Whereas ricotta is sweeter, cottage cheese has a notable tangy flavor from the slow acid fermentation. It has a heavier, thicker consistency than ricotta, and is generally studded with larger curds, though it comes in small and large curd varieties.

It's technically cheese

Labneh is made by adding salt to yogurt and hanging it in a cheesecloth to drain the whey (liquid), which will result in a creamy spread. This result qualifies as a cheese, similarly to cream cheese and cottage cheese.