Omaere is a
fermented dairy product
Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillus'', '' Lactococ ...
prepared in
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
through the acidification of
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mod ...
[Jane Misihairabgwi and Ahmad Cheikhyoussef]
Traditional fermented foods and beverages of Namibia
Journal of Ethnic Foods Volume 4, Issue 3, September 2017, Pages 145-153 It is produced especially in Kunene (formerly known as Kaokoland),
Omaheke
Omaheke ( hz, Sandveld) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, the least populous region. Its capital is Gobabis. It lies in eastern Namibia on the border with Botswana and is the western extension of the Kalahari desert. The self-governed vil ...
and
Otjozondjupa
Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters.
Geog ...
regions. However, it has become a popular beverage in many households and communities across Namibia and Southern Africa.
Names
Fermented buttermilk is known as in
Ovambo Ovambo may refer to:
*Ovambo language
*Ovambo people
* Ovamboland
*Ovambo sparrowhawk
The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the famil ...
, in
Rukwangali
Kwangali, or RuKwangali, is a Bantu language spoken by 85,000 people along the Kavango River in Namibia, where it is a national language, and in Angola. It is one of several Bantu languages of the Kavango which have click consonants; these ar ...
, and in
Herero
Herero may refer to:
* Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today
* Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group)
* Herero and Namaqua Genocide
* Herero chat, a species of b ...
.
Omaere is common in Namibia and used mostly with cooked ''oruhere'' (porridge, maize meal) by
Herero
Herero may refer to:
* Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today
* Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group)
* Herero and Namaqua Genocide
* Herero chat, a species of b ...
people and by other several indigenous tribes, while many other tribes prefer to drink it on a daily basis.
Production
In traditional Herero culture, the production of ''omaere'' is performed by the women, who are responsible for milking and acidifying the milk. Girls are taught how to milk and prepare ''omaere'' at an early age.
''Omaere'' is also available as a mass-produced product.
Omaere Sweet Full Cream 2KG
Namibia Dairies
See also
* List of yogurt-based dishes and beverages
This is a list of yogurt-based dishes and beverages. Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures". Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, w ...
References
{{Yogurts
Fermented drinks
Dairy products
Yogurt-based drinks
Namibian drinks