Dairy Foods · FFET10448
Suyou (yak butter)
Made from yak milk, suyou is churned into butter tea or mixed with tsampa for guests.
Solid and semi-solid foods made from the milk of cattle, sheep, horses and other animals, such as butter and milk skin.
Suyou is butter made from yak milk, an everyday food and an item of exchange among herding households on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is churned with brick tea and salt to make butter tea or mixed with tsampa to serve guests.
What
Suyou is butter extracted from yak milk. Among herding households on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it is both an everyday food and an item of exchange.1,2
When
One traditional account from western Tibet describes different seasonal methods: soured milk is churned in a tall wooden churn in summer and shaken in a sheep-stomach bag in winter. Historical passages describe making su as a milk product in general; they do not establish when Tibetan yak butter originated.2,3,4
Where
Suyou is found in yak-herding areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. An account of traditional production in western Tibet describes herders churning soured milk to separate the butter.1,2
How
Soured milk is churned or shaken until the butter separates. For butter tea, brewed brick tea, butter, and salt are churned together in a tall wooden churn. The butter can also be mixed with tsampa to serve guests.2,5
Why
Yak milk has about twice the fat of cow's milk. Suyou is traditionally stored in sheep-stomach bags or yak-skin bags, and is reported to keep for up to a year.1,2
Impact and influence
Suyou has roles in household meals, hospitality, and exchange among herders. Beyond its food uses, it also serves as lamp fuel.1,2