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Kishk: Lebanon’s Fermented Bulgur and Yogurt – What It Is, How to Make It, Kishk Soup

By Updated 2 min read

Discover how to make kishk, the ancient Lebanese fermented blend of bulgur wheat and yogurt that’s been nourishing Middle Eastern families for millennia. This comprehensive guide covers the traditional fermentation and drying process, plus modern uses for this probiotic-rich pantry staple.

At a glance

Kishk is a Lebanese staple of bulgur fermented with yogurt for about a week, then sun-dried and rubbed into a sour, savory powder that keeps for months. It's cooked into a thick kishk soup with onion and garlic, or spread on manakish. Make it with pasteurized yogurt and eat it cooked.

  • Made from bulgur and yogurt (laban), fermented about a week, then dried and ground.
  • Traditionally made in late summer in the Bekaa, the Chouf and Akkar.
  • Milk-rich blends reach about 19% protein and 323 mg calcium per 100 g (O'Callaghan et al., 2019).
  • Listeria was found in 7.2% of Bekaa kishk samples – use pasteurized yogurt and cook it.
  • Related to Turkish tarhana and Greek trahanas; not the same as Iranian kashk (whey).

Ferment profile

Origin
Lebanon and the Levant
Fermentation
Lactic acid
Main microbes
Lactic acid bacteria from the yogurt, plus wild microbes from the grain
Live cultures
No (cooked, baked or pasteurized)
Alcohol
None / trace

Kishk is a Lebanese and Levantine pantry staple made by fermenting bulgur wheat with yogurt (laban) for several days, then drying it and rubbing it into a coarse, off-white powder. It’s sour, savory and slightly cheesy, keeps for months without refrigeration, and is cooked into a thick winter soup, spread on flatbread as manakish bi kishk, or stirred into stews. It’s traditionally made in late summer in several regions of Lebanon, including the North and West Bekaa, the Chouf and Akkar (Dimassi et al., 2025).

How Kishk Is Made

  1. Soak: bulgur is mixed with yogurt and left to absorb it.
  2. Ferment: over roughly a week, more yogurt is worked in every day or two while the mixture sours at room temperature.
  3. Dry: the dough is spread out – traditionally on rooftops in the sun – and turned until part-dry, then rubbed between the palms into crumbs and dried completely.
  4. Grind and store: it’s ground into powder and kept in airtight jars.

Kishk belongs to a family of dried grain-and-fermented-milk foods that includes Turkish tarhana and Greek trahanas. Egypt has its own kishk, often made in Upper Egypt (kishk sa’idi). It’s different from Iranian kashk, which is made from whey or dried fermented milk, with no grain.

Nutrition

Because it’s dried, kishk is concentrated. In a comparison of commercial kishk and tarhana with experimental fermented milk and bulgur blends, the experimental blends (60–80% milk) with the most milk reached about 19% protein and 323 mg of calcium per 100 g (O’Callaghan et al., 2019). Exact values depend on the ratio of yogurt to bulgur. It contains wheat, so it isn’t gluten-free.

Safety

Traditional dairy foods can carry Listeria: in a study of Lebanese dairy products from the Bekaa Valley, Listeria monocytogenes was found in 7.2% of 83 kishk samples (Harakeh et al., 2009). Make kishk with pasteurized-milk yogurt, work with clean hands and equipment, dry it completely, and cook it – as in soup or on baked manakish – before eating. That’s especially important during pregnancy and for older or immunocompromised people.

How to Make Kishk Soup

Fry a chopped onion and two or three cloves of garlic in olive oil (or awarma, Lebanese preserved lamb). Whisk about ½ cup of kishk into 4 cups of cold water, add it to the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly so it doesn’t catch, for 10–15 minutes until thick and creamy. Season with salt and serve with bread. Kishk thickens as it cooks; add water to taste.

Related Lebanese ferments: labneh and shanklish. Greek and Cypriot trahanas is a similar dried crumble of fermented milk and wheat.

Recipe: Homemade Lebanese Kishk

Makes
About 400 g dried kishk
Hands-on
30 min
Fermentation
About 7 days, then 2–5 days drying
Salt
1–2 tsp
Temperature
Room temperature, about 20–25°C (68–77°F)
Difficulty
Moderate

Equipment

  • Large glass or ceramic bowl with a cloth cover
  • Baking trays lined with cloth or parchment, or a dehydrator
  • Food processor or grinder
  • Airtight jars

Ingredients

  • 250 g (1½ cups) fine bulgur
  • 1 kg (4 cups) plain yogurt made from pasteurized milk (divided; full-fat or low-fat)
  • 6–12 g (1–2 tsp) salt (about 0.5–1% of the bulgur and yogurt)

Method

  1. Mix the bulgur with 500 g of the yogurt and the salt. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature.
  2. Every day or two, knead in another portion of yogurt until it's all used, keeping the bowl covered. Ferment about 7 days in total, until pleasantly sour.
  3. Spread the dough thinly on lined trays and dry in the sun under a mesh cover, or in a dehydrator or very low oven, until firm but still slightly damp.
  4. Rub small handfuls between your palms into crumbs, then dry completely until it snaps and crumbles with no moisture.
  5. Grind into a coarse powder and store in airtight jars in a cool, dry place for up to about a year.
  6. Cook before eating – for example as kishk soup (method above) or baked on manakish.

Frequently asked questions

What is kishk?

A Lebanese and Levantine staple of bulgur fermented with yogurt, dried and ground into a sour, savory powder used for soup, manakish and stews.

What does kishk taste like?

Tangy, savory and slightly cheesy, with a wholesome wheat flavor.

How do you make kishk soup?

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil or awarma, whisk kishk into cold water, add it to the pan and simmer, stirring, for 10–15 minutes until thick.

How long does kishk keep?

Fully dried and stored airtight in a cool, dry place, it keeps for many months – up to about a year.

Is kishk the same as kashk?

No. Lebanese kishk is fermented bulgur and yogurt; Iranian kashk is made from whey or dried fermented milk without grain.

Is kishk the same as tarhana?

They're close relatives – both are dried grain and fermented-milk mixes – but tarhana usually includes flour and vegetables such as tomato and pepper.

Is kishk probiotic?

It's made by lactic fermentation, but it's dried and then cooked, so it's valued as a nourishing, shelf-stable food rather than a source of live cultures.

Sources

  1. O'Callaghan YC et al. (2019). Comparison of the nutritional composition of experimental fermented milk:wheat bulgur blends and commercially available kishk and tarhana products. Food Chem 278:110–118. Link
  2. Dimassi O et al. (2025). Milk supply in Lebanon: economic challenges and the role of traditional dairy products. Foods 14(17):3115. Link
  3. Harakeh S et al. (2009). Antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from dairy-based food products. Sci Total Environ 407(13):4022–4027. Link
#Middle East and North Africa
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