page_title: Kaymak
section_title: Balkans
hierarchical_section_title: Kaymak / Balkans
caption_attribution_description: Srpski (latinica)‎: Tradicionalne drvene posude za razlivanje mleka i čuvanje kajmaka (Etnografski muzej u Beogradu) English: Traditional wooden bowls for spilling milk and storing cream (Etnographic Museum in Belgrade)
context_page_description: Kaymak is a creamy dairy product similar to clotted cream, made from the milk of water buffalo, cows, sheep, or goats in Central Asia, some Balkan countries, some Caucasus countries, Turkic regions, Iran and Iraq.
  The traditional method of making kaymak is to boil the milk slowly, then simmer it for two hours over a very low heat. After the heat source is shut off, the cream is skimmed and left to chill for several hours or days. Kaymak has a high percentage of milk fat, typically about 60%. It has a thick, creamy consistency and a rich taste.
context_section_description: Known as kajmak, it is almost always made at home, though there is beginning to be commercial production. Kajmak is most expensive when freshest—only a day or two old. It can keep for weeks in the fridge but becomes harder and loses quality. Kajmak can also be matured in dried animal skin sacks; one variation is called skorup. Kajmak also describes the creamy foam in the Turkish coffee.
  It is usually enjoyed as an appetizer or for Saturday morning breakfast, as Saturdays are market days with the best kajmak, but also as a condiment. The simplest recipe is lepinja sa kajmakom  pita bread filled with kaymak in Serbia) consumed for breakfast or as fast food. Bosnians, Montenegrins, Serbs, and Macedonians consider it a national meal. Other traditional dishes with kajmak (sold in restaurants) include pljeskavica sa kajmakom (the Balkan version of a hamburger patty topped with melted kajmak), as well as ribić u kajmaku (beef shank, simmered with kajmak).
caption: Traditional wooden bowls for making and storing kaymak (Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade)
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