Buffalo Milk Dangke

Dangke is a buffalo milk product from South Sulawesi and it is mainly produced in the Enrekang, Baraka, Anggeraja and Alla districts.
Buffalo Dangke is made from heating freshly drawn buffalo milk in a small fire until it boils, then sliced leaves, stems or unripe fruits of papaya are added. The mixture is beaten and then the milk protein clots; the clot is kept in a mold made of a coconut shell and pressed to separate the liquid part (the whey) from the solid one.
The bitter taste of buffalo dangke depends on the amount of leaves, stems or unripe fruits of papaya and it can be mitigated by the addition of salt. Usually, buffalo dangke is soaked in a brine solution overnight before being wrapped in banana leaves.
Fresh buffalo dangke is white and it has an elastic texture. Local people eat buffalo dangke as a complementary food or snack; eaten fried or fresh.
According to local history, natives served this product to the Dutch during their first visit in South Sulawesi: the story tells that the locals used to say “dank je” instead of “dank u wel” which in Dutch means “than you very much”, and this confusion would have given the name “dangke”.
Nowadays, dangke is more often made of cow’s milk because Buffalo milk is rare and difficult to find; Buffalo dangke is still produced only by local communities and in the traditional way.