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Lait Ribot: A French Buttermilk Beverage

What is Lait Ribot and how do you make it.
How do you use lait ribot
How do you use lait ribot

I discovered lait ribot within an hour of landing at the port in St. Malo. We were looking for some food and water to tide us over until we could get to our destination. And there it was in a convenience store fridge… I saw it again when we went to a grocery store to stock up on supplies… this time there were several brands. Curiosity got the better of me, and I ended up trying a bunch of different brands.

Lait Ribot, a French style buttermilk beverage

What is lait ribot?

Lait ribot is French-style buttermilk. Brittany was famous for making butter. And buttermilk was quite popular because it was a cheap, healthy, probiotic and protein-rich drink.

This delicious beverage is still very popular, and in some grocery stores, there are more brands of lait ribot than milk!  However, it is no longer cheap leftover buttermilk from making butter. Modern-day French buttermilk is a cultured whole milk product that has a thick consistency and cheesy flavour.

It is typically drunk as a snack or part of a meal.  It’s also used for baking (of course) and is added to mashed potatoes and soups. We found it to be very drinkable and went through 4 litres in one week!

What is Lait Ribot and how do you make it.
Two brands that both cultured really well!
Print

How To Make Lait Ribot

How is lait ribot different from buttermilk
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Lait ribot is cultured buttermilk from Brittany in France. Made with whole milk, it is a thick and cheesy probiotic beverage. It is easy to make at home, provided you have some original culture from Brittany!

  • Author: Emillie
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 Liter 1x
  • Category: Beverage
  • Method: Fermented
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 liter of whole milk
  • 1/4 cup of cultured French buttermilk

Instructions

  1. Mix milk and culture together.
  2. Leave it out on the counter for 12-24 hours. It is finished when it has a slightly sour taste and thicker consistency.
  3. Refrigerate until ready to drink.

Notes

  • French buttermilk is REALLY easy to culture. I tried several brands and they all worked well.
  • The process for culturing is identical to making fermented buttermilk in North America, but it involves different cultures. The flavor is less sour and more cheesy.

Keywords: Brittany, buttermilk, cultured, probiotic, traditional, dairy, milk

Filed Under: Dairy & Cheese, TravelTagged With: Buttermilk, French

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Next Post: Gluten-Free Bread Flour Mix »

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Comments

  1. John Ollett

    March 8, 2021 at 11:53 pm

    Hi Emillie,
    I late to the whole fermenting game and have a question about making lait ribot. It’s not really available here in the North East of England but I did manage to get some from an Internet site (at a cost! ). Having used it as a starter to make my own how many times can I use the consecutive batches for a starter culture before I need to buy it fresh again or can I use it ad infinitum?

    Reply
    • Emillie

      March 10, 2021 at 9:08 am

      I think you can use it over and over again. The only trick is that you need to keep culturing regularly (at least once every 2 weeks) to keep the culture active. Alternatively, you freeze a small amount every time you make it, then use that to culture the next batch. I do that with ferments that I don’t make as regularly, for example, sour cream. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Mark

    April 14, 2022 at 11:23 am

    I love lait ribot and make sure I buy some whenever in France. I think I will buy some this time and take it home to try making it. I do this with kefir and love it. So can I check: I basically put some of the bought product in a jar wth a load of milk. Leave for a few days and then decant 3/4 of the liquid off and top up with fresh milk. And repeat as infinitum. Is that correct? This is what I do with kefir (although obviously I have grains to filter off).
    Thanks is advance!
    Mark

    Reply
    • Emillie Parrish

      April 17, 2022 at 7:45 am

      Exactly! It’s just as easy as milk kefir. Enjoy!

      Reply
  3. Travey

    May 14, 2022 at 7:26 am

    I bought some in error. Not sure I can just drink it.

    Reply
    • Emillie Parrish

      May 14, 2022 at 10:08 am

      Lait ribot is typically served as a drink. I also like to use it like yogurt or in baking like buttermilk. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Nikky Miles

    May 19, 2022 at 5:17 pm

    This is amazing! Just like milk kefir!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Emillie, an island-dwelling fermentation enthusiast. Fermenting For Foodies features healthy recipes designed to feed your microbiome.
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