Koseret: The Clarifying Herb

Ask why Ethiopian spiced butter keeps beautifully for months, and the answer is a shrubby highland herb most of the world has never tasted: koseret. Native to Ethiopia and dried in fragrant bundles, koseret is the clarifying herb — the ingredient that gives niter kibbeh both its staying power and a good share of its soul.

What it tastes like

Koseret (Lippia abyssinica, a relative of lemon verbena) carries a complex perfume: lemony, minty, faintly camphorous, with a dry herbal sweetness underneath. It is assertive — a little scents a whole pot of butter — and utterly distinctive: once you know it, you recognize Ethiopian kibe anywhere.

Why butter loves it

When butter is clarified with koseret (alongside korerima, besobela, and the rest of the kibbeh manteria), the herb does two jobs: it infuses flavor, and its natural properties help preserve the butter without refrigeration — the traditional reason every batch of niter kibbeh includes it. In Gurage cooking, koseret also seasons kitfo's butter and the spiced ayib that comes beside it.

Beyond the butter

Try koseret rubbed on chicken before roasting, steeped into oil for vegetables, or added to a braise the way you'd use a bay leaf — remove the stems before serving. It also makes a surprising, lovely tea.

Get Koseret | Clarifying Herb and pair it with Kibbeh Manteria to clarify your own butter the traditional way — our guide to niter kibbeh walks you through it.