MOSUL, Iraq – At 6am each morning, shepherds deliver fresh buffalo milk to al-Jazeera factory in Mosul where it is churned to make yoghurt and curd. Zakarya Ahmed is a trader from Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan. He regularly makes the 75-kilometer journey to Mosul to buy the city’s famous curd made from buffalo milk. “I have come from Duhok specifically to buy the popular curd of Mosul,” Ahmed told Rudaw. “The curd is not synthetic and is purely made from buffalo milk. It is also cheap.” Buffalo milk is used to make several products but is perfect for making curd as it is high in fats. “Buffalo milk is fatty, so we make curd, yogurt, cream, and types of cheese out of it,” shepherd Sofyan Shahir told Rudaw. “We love these buffaloes. We call them by name and they follow us. Then we kiss them!” Zaki Qassim, manager of al-Jazeera factory, explains the process. “We receive the milk then purify it and put in tanks to be boiled at 90-95 degrees,” Qassim told Rudaw. “Later we put it in fridge for 24 hours. Finally, we cut the curd.” Mosul was once a mighty trade and manufacturing centre. But when Islamic State (ISIS) militants seized the city in 2014 its bazaar and factories were destroyed. Although it was retaken in 2017, much of Mosul’s commercial life still lies in ruins. Today, around 20 factories in Mosul produce roughly five tons of curd every day. Half is exported to other parts of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. A kilo of curd is sold to traders for 18,000 dinars ($15). Traders then sell it to customers for 22,000-25,000 dinars ($18-$21).
