# Smen

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{{Short description|Salted, fermented butter used in Middle Eastern and North African cuisine}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox food
| image              = Smen msemmen.jpg
| name               = Samneh/smen
| name_lang          = ar
| caption            = Maghrebi smen (left) with [msemmen](/source/msemmen) (right)
| type               = Butter
| region             = Arab world
| associated_cuisine = [Arab cuisine](/source/Arab_cuisine)
| main_ingredient    = Butter
| variations         = Fermented, smoked
| similar_dish       = Ghee
}}

'''''Smen''''' (from {{langx|ar|سمن}} or {{lang|ar|سمنة}} also called ''sman'', ''semn'', ''semneh'', or ''sminn'') is a salted, fermented [butter](/source/butter) native to [North African cuisine](/source/North_African_cuisine) ([Algerian](/source/Algerian_cuisine),<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Smen/Dhan, beurre fermenté traditionnel |url=http://depot.umc.edu.dz/handle/123456789/13649 |publisher=Université Frères Mentouri - Constantine 1 |date=2022-06-09 |degree=Thesis |language=fr |first=Rania |last=Boussekine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fatima-Zohra |first=Bouayed |url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/cuisine-alg%C3%A9rienne-Bouayed-Fatima-Zohra/dp/B0099RJDZ8 |title=La cuisine algérienne |date= |publisher=Temps Actuels}}</ref> [Moroccan](/source/Moroccan_cuisine) and [Tunisian](/source/Tunisian_cuisine)<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=E. B |last2=Camps |first2=G. |last3=Morel |first3=J.-P. |last4=Hanoteau |first4=G. |last5=Letourneux |first5=A. |last6=Nouschi |first6=A. |last7=Fery |first7=R. |last8=Demoulin |first8=F. |last9=Chamla |first9=M.-C. |last10=Louis |first10=A. |last11=Ben Tanfous |first11=A. |last12=Ben Baaziz |first12=S. |last13=Soussi |first13=L. |last14=Champault |first14=D. |last15=Gast |first15=M. |date=1986-09-01 |title=Alimentation |journal=Encyclopédie berbère |volume=4 |language=fr |issue=4 |pages=472–529 |doi=10.4000/encyclopedieberbere.2436 |issn=1015-7344|doi-access=free }}</ref>),<ref name="npr2014" /><ref name="roden2008">{{cite book |last1=Roden |first1=Claudia |author1-link=Claudia Roden |title=The New Book of Middle Eastern Food |date=24 December 2008 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-307-55856-5 |pages=13,46,147,305 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r723owliVz8C&q=samna&pg=PA13 |access-date=27 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="FAO">{{cite web |title=The technology of traditional milk products in developing countries |url=https://www.fao.org/4/t0251e/t0251e15.htm |website=[Food and Agriculture Organization](/source/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization) |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> as well as a traditional [Yemeni](/source/Yemeni_cuisine) dish.<ref name="anu2023" /> In countries like Jordan and Lebanon, ''samneh'' is a type of butter similar to [clarified butter](/source/clarified_butter), while north African ''smen'' is a type of [fermented](/source/Fermentation) butter similar to [ghee](/source/ghee).<ref name="SFFtunisia" /><ref name="fondazioneslowfood" /><ref name="webexhibits" /><ref name="CIA2023">{{cite web |last1=Semenchuk |first1=Nicole |title=LibGuides: Clarifying Butter: Ahlan Wa Sahlan (Welcome): Middle Eastern Fats |url=https://library.culinary.edu/clarifyingbutter/middleeast |website=[Culinary Institute of America](/source/Culinary_Institute_of_America) |access-date=30 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

Smen is an important ingredient in North African and [Middle Eastern cuisine](/source/Middle_Eastern_cuisine). It is produced using butter made from the [milk](/source/milk) of [sheep](/source/sheep), [goat](/source/goat)s or a combination of the two. The butter is brought to its [boiling point](/source/boiling_point), then skimmed, then strained into a ceramic jar,<ref name="aj2022">{{cite news |title=في رمضان.. هل تأكل السمن البلدي؟ |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/health/2016/6/8/%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%87%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%A3%D9%83%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%AF%D9%8A |access-date=26 November 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=11 Jan 2022 |language=ar |trans-title=During Ramadan, should you eat samn?}}</ref> and salted before it [curd](/source/curd)les. Some add roasted [fenugreek](/source/fenugreek) seeds to the boiling butter, after which it is strained from the fenugreek seeds. [Thyme](/source/Thyme) is often added to provide a yeast and enzyme [starter](/source/Starter_(fermentation)). 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](/source/Cheese_cave) because they have cooler and more stable temperatures.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

It is similar to ghee, clarified butter,<ref name="anu2023" /><ref name="aj2022" /><ref>{{cite news |title=The Best Olive Oil in the World? This Village Thinks So. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/dining/best-olive-oil-rameh-israel.html |access-date=26 November 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=19 Oct 2021}}</ref> and [niter kibbeh](/source/niter_kibbeh).<ref name="anu2023" /><ref name="webexhibits">{{cite web |title=Butter and smen in the Arab world : Butter |url=https://www.webexhibits.org/butter/countries-northafrica.html |website=[WebExhibits](/source/WebExhibits) |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> Middle Eastern samneh is typically cooked for longer than clarified butter to further remove water and solids and thus extend its shelf life.<ref name="marks2010" />

==Etymology==
{{Wiktionary|سمن}}
The [Arabic](/source/Arabic) {{translit|ar|samn}} is likely derived from the [Semitic](/source/Proto-Semitic_language) root {{lang|sem-x-proto|šamn}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=šamnu |url=https://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/dosearch.php?searchkey=209&language=id |website=www.assyrianlanguages.org |access-date=1 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kogan |first1=Leonid |title=Genealogical Classification of Semitic: The Lexical Isoglosses |date=19 May 2015 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-1-61451-549-4 |page=265 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZilCQAAQBAJ |access-date=1 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref> An 1890 [Ottoman Turkish](/source/Ottoman_Turkish) to English dictionary by British lexicographer [James Redhouse](/source/James_Redhouse) described ''semn'' as "clarified butter" or "ghee".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Redhouse |first1=James W. |title=A turkish and english Lexicon shewing in english the significations of the turkish terms: Printed for the American Mission by A. H. Boyajian |date=1890 |publisher=Boyajian |page=1078 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_turkish_and_english_Lexicon_shewing_in/4DrigFChhu8C?gbpv=1&pg=PA1078&printsec=frontcover |access-date=24 December 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==History==

According to food historian [Nawal Nasrallah](/source/Nawal_Nasrallah), the practice of clarifying butter as a method of preservation dates back to ancient [Mesopotamia](/source/Mesopotamia)<ref name="nasrallah2003">{{cite book |last1=Nasrallah |first1=Nawal |author1-link=Nawal Nasrallah |title=Delights from the Garden of Eden: A Cookbook and a History of the Iraqi Cuisine |date=2003 |publisher=1stBooks |isbn=978-1-4033-4793-0 |page=550 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keXRwAEACAAJ |access-date=31 December 2025 |language=en |chapter=Glossary}}</ref>

==Regional customs==

===Levant and Egypt===
thumb|Leather bag used for making ''samneh baladi'', Jordan
thumb|Jar of Egyptian samneh, made from cow milk
Spice blends like ''hwajeh'' ({{lang|ar|حواجة}}) are a traditional component in Jordanian samneh, [Melilotus](/source/Melilotus) is a major component in these blends.<ref name="fondazioneslowfood">{{cite web |title=Samneh Baladieh Balqawieh - Arca del Gusto |url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/samen-baladi/ |website=[Slow Food Foundation](/source/Slow_Food_Foundation) |access-date=26 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=سعادة وغذاء ودواء.. ربيع البادية الأردنية يجود على أهلها بالخيرات |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/misc/2022/3/31/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D8%A3%D8%B9%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86 |access-date=30 November 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=31 Mar 2022 |language=ar |trans-title=Happiness, food, and medicine... the spring of the Jordanian desert bestows its bounty upon its people.}}</ref> In Jordan and Palestine, butter is often gently simmered with [bulgur](/source/bulgur), which absorbs remaining milk residues, before being strained to produce ''samneh'', also called ''samneh [baladieh](/source/balady)''.<ref name="aj2019">{{cite news |title=بالفيديو: السمن والجميد.. تمسك بالتراث ومصدر رزق لعائلات أردنية |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/lifestyle/2019/4/17/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%83-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AB-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%B2%D9%82 |access-date=1 December 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=17 Apr 2019 |language=ar |trans-title=Samneh and Jameed: A preservation of heritage and a source of livelihood for Jordanian families}}</ref><ref name="fondazioneslowfood" /><ref name="alwatanvoice2007">{{cite news |title=السمن البلدي والزبدة لا زالت حاضرة بفلسطين ولكن بتزاحم بين منتجات الألبان |url=https://www.alwatanvoice.com/arabic/news/2007/07/19/97110.html |access-date=1 December 2025 |work=alwatanvoice |date=19 July 2007 |language=ar |trans-title=Samneh and butter are still present in Palestine, but they face competition from other dairy products.}}</ref>

In Egypt and Syria, samneh is traditionally prepared using a leather bag.<ref name="2021youm7">{{cite news |title=صناعة السمن الفلاحى حكاية عشق لأهل القرى بالمنيا.. وصفة تخليك تعمل زبدة بكفاءة.. وأم محمد: "الخضاضة" بتفصل اللبن عن السمن وساهمت فى تخفيف الأعباء الاقتصادية عن الأسر.. والناتج المتبقى يدخل فى تجهيز "الكشك" |url=https://www.youm7.com/5589696 |access-date=1 December 2025 |work=[Youm7](/source/Youm7) |date=23 December 2021 |language=ar |trans-title=Making samneh is a love story for the people of the villages in Minya.. A recipe that makes you make butter efficiently.. And Umm Muhammad: “The churn” separates the milk from the ghee and has contributed to easing the economic burdens on families.. And the remaining product is used in preparing “kishk”}}</ref><ref name="jinha">{{cite news |title="العكة"... صناعة تقليدية لا تزال نساء دير الزور تحافظن عليها |url=https://jinhaagency.com/ar/althqaft-w-alfn/alkt-snat-tqlydyt-la-tzal-nsa-dyr-alzwr-thafzn-lyha-37505 |access-date=1 December 2025 |work=JINHAGENCY News |language=ar |trans-title="Al-Akka"... a traditional craft that the women of Deir ez-Zor still preserve.}}</ref>

''Samneh baladieh'' is a core component of many sweets, like [baklava](/source/baklava) and [knafeh](/source/knafeh).<ref>{{cite news |title=العائلة الفلسطينية التي أدخلت الكنافة النابلسية إلى دمشق! |url=https://orient-news.net/ar/news_show/86584 |access-date=2 December 2025 |work=[Orient News](/source/Orient_News) |date=10 Apr 2015 |language=ar |trans-title=The Palestinian family that introduced Nablus knafeh to Damascus!}}</ref><ref name="tna2023">{{cite news |title=الحلويات السورية... إقبال كبير في تركيا رغم كل التحديات |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/society/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A5%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84-%D9%83%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D8%B1%D8%BA%D9%85-%D9%83%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA |access-date=1 Dec 2025 |work=The New Arab |date=19 Sep 2023 |language=ar-AR |trans-title=Syrian sweets... huge demand in Türkiye despite all the challenges}}</ref>

===Maghreb===

Moroccan ''smen'' is traditionally aged after it is prepared and spiced, it undergoes [fermentation](/source/Fermentation_in_food_processing) as it ages until it achieves a "stinky" [blue cheese](/source/blue_cheese)-like scent.<ref name="npr2014" /><ref name="PMID39239716">{{cite journal |last1=El Lamti |first1=Fatima |last2=Mennane |first2=Zakaria |last3=Elmtili |first3=Noureddine |last4=Mrani Alaoui |first4=Mohammed |title=Ethnomedicinal Knowledge and Traditional Methodology for the Preparation of Fermented Butter "Smen" Among the Rural People of Northern Morocco: A Field Study |journal=Journal of Medicinal Food |date=November 2024 |volume=27 |issue=11 |pages=1133–1139 |doi=10.1089/jmf.2024.0087 |pmid=39239716 |issn=1557-7600}}</ref> A 2022 survey in northern Morocco found that smen is used as [traditional medicine](/source/traditional_medicine) for a number of ailments, with this knowledge transmitted orally across generations.<ref name="npr2014" /> A similar fermented butter is also made in Tunisia.<ref name="SFFtunisia">{{cite web |title=Smen - Arca del Gusto |url=https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/rancid-butter/ |website=Slow Food Foundation |access-date=30 November 2025}}</ref> Matured smen is very similar in taste to blue cheese as it is a high-fat form of cheese. The older the smen, the stronger—and more valued—it becomes.<ref name="npr2014" />

The milks used are traditionally cow, goat, ewe, or a mixture.<ref name="Microorganisms2022">{{cite journal |last1=Rania |first1=Boussekine |last2=Farida |first2=Bekhouche |last3=Stella |first3=Debaets |last4=Anne |first4=Thierry |last5=Marie-Bernadette |first5=Maillard |last6=Hélène |first6=Falentin |last7=Audrey |first7=Pawtowski |last8=Malika |first8=Barkat |last9=Monika |first9=Coton |last10=Jérôme |first10=Mounier |title=Deciphering the Microbiota and Volatile Profiles of Algerian Smen, a Traditional Fermented Butter |journal=Microorganisms |date=April 2022 |volume=10 |issue=4 |doi=10.3390/microorgani |doi-broken-date=2 December 2025 |doi-access=free |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/10/4/736 |access-date=1 December 2025 |language=en |issn=2076-2607}}</ref>

According to popular legend, [Berber](/source/Berber_people) farmers in southern [Morocco](/source/Morocco) will sometimes bury a sealed vessel of smen on the day of a daughter's birth, aging it until it is unearthed and used to season the food served at that daughter's wedding.<ref>{{cite news |title=This Funky Moroccan Butter Ferments Underground |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/smen-butter-morocco |access-date=27 November 2025 |work=[Atlas Obscura](/source/Atlas_Obscura) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dangler |first1=Emily |title=Morocco's Mysterious Butter, Smen |url=https://culturecheesemag.com/cheese-bites/moroccos-mysterious-butter-smen/ |access-date=27 November 2025 |work=Culture Cheese Magazine |date=25 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="npr2014">{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Alex |title=Smen Is Morocco's Funky Fermented Butter That Lasts For Years |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/10/09/353510171/smen-is-moroccos-funky-fermented-butter-that-lasts-for-years |access-date=27 November 2025 |work=NPR |date=9 October 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

===Yemen===

In [Yemen](/source/Yemen), the local custom was to take fresh butter and to add thereto hot water while the milk or whey was still mixed with the butter. This mixture is then taken up and put into a separate vessel where it is then brought to a boil. Immediately thereafter, they take either wheat flour or roasted and ground [fenugreek](/source/fenugreek) seeds mixed with roasted wheat kernels, and cook them together on a low heat. Allowed to simmer. Afterwards, the butter is then strained until one is left with a clear batch of melted butter (smen).<ref>*{{cite book|last=Badiḥi|first=Yiḥya|title=Ḥen Ṭov|editor=Yosef Ḥen |date=2011|publisher=Nosaḥ Teman|location=Bene Berak |page=206 (responsum no. 48–beth)|language=he |oclc=768305430}}</ref> The smen is then stored in a smoked earthenware container in a cool place.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Yemenis prepare a special version of ''semneh'' ({{lang|ar|سمنة}}) which is smoked with aromatic herbs inside of a gourd in order to impart deeper flavour and aid in preservation.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sussman |first1=Adeena |title=The Yemenite Jewish Table |url=https://www.hadassahmagazine.org/2017/05/16/yemenite-jewish-table/ |access-date=30 November 2025 |work=[Hadassah Magazine](/source/Hadassah_Magazine) |date=16 May 2017}}</ref><ref name="anu2023">{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=Li |title=Semneh - Yemeni Clarified Butter - Recipe |url=https://foodish.anumuseum.org.il/en/recipe/semneh-yemeni-clarified-butter/ |website=[Foodish - Anu Museum](/source/Anu_%E2%80%93_Museum_of_the_Jewish_People) |access-date=26 November 2025 |date=11 Dec 2023}}</ref> Yemeni samneh is used to make a dish called ''[fatoot samneh](/source/fatoot_samneh)''.<ref name="marks2010">{{cite book |last1=Marks |first1=Gil |author1-link=Gil Marks |title=Encyclopedia of Jewish Food |date=17 November 2010 |publisher=HMH |isbn=978-0-544-18631-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFK_yx7Ps7cC&q=samneh |access-date=30 November 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Clarified butter](/source/Clarified_butter)
*[Dairy product](/source/Dairy_product)
*[List of African dishes](/source/List_of_African_dishes)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |first=Z. |last=Guinaudeau |title=Fès vu par sa cuisine |publisher=J.E. Laurent |location=Rabat |year=1958}}

{{Fatsandoils}}
{{Butter}}
{{African cuisine}}
{{Cuisine of Morocco}}
{{Cuisine of Algeria}}

Category:Arabic words and phrases
Category:Cooking oils
Category:African cuisine
Category:Algerian cuisine
Category:Israeli cuisine
Category:Mizrahi Jewish cuisine
Category:Levantine cuisine
Category:Mediterranean cuisine
Category:Moroccan cuisine
Category:Yemeni cuisine

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Smen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.