Kajmak, cream and butter

In short

• Kajmak is made from heated milk: brought to the boil, then cooled slowly in shallow pans for 12–24 h.
• 1 kg of kajmak takes roughly 12–20 L of whole cow's milk; 1 kg of butter about 20–25 L.
• Cream for butter and soured cream is pasteurised: 80–85 °C (176–185 °F) for 5 min or 63 °C (145 °F) for 30 min.
• Butter is churned at 10–14 °C (50–57 °F), then washed in cold water until the water runs clear.
• Ghee (clarified butter), free of water and solids, keeps for months somewhere cool and dark.

What's inside

Chapters

1. The fat in milk
2. Cream: skimming and separating
3. Recipe: soured cream
4. Kajmak: young and aged
5. Recipe: young kajmak
6. Aged kajmak
7. Butter: churning
8. Storage and signs of spoilage
9. Common mistakes
10. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Kajmak and butter calendar
• Kajmak, cream and butter calculator
• Kajmak and butter batch diary
• Aged kajmak ripening record
• Inventory