Cheeses of Addis Ababa
Ethiopia's capital, where crumbly ayib is served with kitfo and greens, and kept off the table on fasting days.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: October to March, the dry season.
Addis Ababa, on a high plateau in the Ethiopian highlands, is a city of markets, coffee and injera. Its everyday cheese is ayib, a fresh, crumbly cheese made from the buttermilk left after butter making. Mild and cooling, it is served beside spicy dishes, above all kitfo, the chopped beef dressed with spiced butter and mitmita chilli.
Ayib
Ayib is made by gently heating buttermilk until the curds separate, then draining them in cloth. It is soft and crumbly, like a dry cottage cheese, and very mild. It is eaten with kitfo and gomen, collard greens, sometimes mixed with spiced butter or chilli. In the countryside it is made at home in clay pots, with the butter kept for niter kibbeh, the spiced cooking butter.
Fasting and feasting
Followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church avoid meat and dairy on fasting days, usually Wednesdays and Fridays and during long fasts such as the one before Easter. On those days restaurants serve vegan dishes of lentils, chickpeas and vegetables. When the fast ends, kitfo with ayib is one of the dishes people look forward to most.
A trail idea for Addis Ababa
- Merkato One of Africa's largest open markets, with spice and butter sellers.
- A kitfo house Eat kitfo with ayib and gomen in the traditional way.
- A coffee ceremony Join the roasting and brewing of coffee at a café.
- National Museum Learn about Lucy, the early hominin found in Ethiopia, and the highlands.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Addis Ababa" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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