Limited first batch. Our smen has aged for eight months in our workshop in Antwerp. When it's gone, it's gone. The next batch follows later this year.

Smen is the aged butter of Moroccan cooking. Anyone who grew up with it knows the smell right away: rich, salty and a little sharp, like a well aged cheese. A teaspoon in couscous, harira or a tagine and the whole dish gains depth. At home there was always a jar, made by the women of the family and passed down from generation to generation. This is our version, made the way it should be.

How we make it
We start with washed butter from Het Lekker Koeike, a farm in Oelegem, just outside Antwerp. We knead it with salt and let the smen age quietly for eight months in a cool, dark room in our workshop. Nothing is cooked down, nothing is added. That is how it keeps its full, creamy character and only grows stronger with time.

How to use smen

• A teaspoon stirred through couscous, just before serving
• In harira, a tagine or a stew, for extra depth
• Melted over msemen or a warm pancake
• A small amount in the broth of a soup

A little goes a long way. Start with half a teaspoon and taste.

Ingredients
Butter (milk), salt.

Storage
Keep cool, dry and dark, no need to refrigerate. Close well after opening. Smen keeps aging in the jar and gets stronger in flavour over time. The date on the jar is a minimum, a good smen stays usable long after. Smell and taste, like at home.

Contents: 180 g in a glass jar.