clabber
Milk left to sour and thicken into soft curds.
Also called bonny clabber, clabbered milk.
Updated September 21, 2026
clabber pronunciation
/KLAB-er/
Meaning
Raw milk set out till it turns thick, tangy, and spoonable. Country kitchens ate clabber plain, with a little sugar, or saved it for churning into butter and buttermilk. Pasteurized store milk does not clabber the same way, so the dish faded once iceboxes and cartons took over. Folks still say milk will clabber if you leave it warm too long.
How folks use it
- “Set that milk by the stove and it'll clabber by morning.”
- “Granddaddy ate clabber with cornbread like it was dessert.”
Origin and etymology
Tied to Irish and Scots-Irish bonnyclabber, from words for milk and thick sour milk (often linked to Irish bainne and clábar). Scotch-Irish settlers brought the food and the name into the American backcountry. In the U.S. clabber mainly means the soured milk itself, a South and Midland farm staple for generations.
Frequently asked questions
Is clabber the same as yogurt?
Same neighborhood, different path. Clabber is milk that soured and thickened on its own. Yogurt uses cultured starters on purpose.