kaymak

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{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Kaymak

| image = Kaymak in Turkey.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Kaymak from Turkey

| alternate_name = Malai

| country = Central Asia

| region = Iraq, Syria, Iran, India, Mongolia, Georgia, Albania, Greece, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India.

| creator =

| course = Breakfast and dessert

| type =

| served =

| main_ingredient = Milk

| variations = Kaymer, Qaymer, Qeimer, Qaymiq, Qashta, Ashta, Makahan

| calories =

| other =

}}

Kaymak, sarshir, or qashta/ashta ({{langx|fa|سَرشیر}} {{lang|fa-Latn|saršir}}; {{langx|ar|قشطة}} {{lang|ar-Latn|qeshta}} or {{lang|ar|قيمر}} {{lang|ar-Latn|geymar}}; {{langx|tr|Kaymak}}) is a creamy dairy food similar to clotted cream, made from the milk of water buffalo, cows, sheep, or goats in Central Asia, some Balkan countries, some Caucasus countries, the Levant, Turkic regions, Iran and Iraq.

The traditional method of making kaymak is to boil the raw 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 (and mildly ferment) for several hours or days. Kaymak has a high percentage of milk fat, typically about 60%. It has a thick, creamy consistency (not entirely compact, because of milk protein fibers) and a rich taste.{{cite web |date=24 January 2021 |title=Kaymak Recipe |url=https://turkishstylecooking.com/kaymak-recipe.html|access-date=12 August 2021 }}

Etymology

The word kaymak has Central Asian Turkic origins, possibly formed from the verb {{lang|trk|kaymak}}, which means 'melt' and 'molding of metal' in Turkic.{{cite web |url=http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=kaymak |title=kaymak |publisher=Nişanyan Sözlük |language=tr |access-date=13 July 2017 }} The first written records of the word kaymak is in the {{lang|ar-Latn|Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk}} of Mahmud al-Kashgari. The word remains as {{lang|mn-Latn|kaylgmak}} in Mongolian, which refers to a fried clotted cream, and with small variations in Turkic languages as {{lang|az|qaymaq}} in Azerbaijani, {{lang|uz|qaymoq}} in Uzbek, {{lang|kk|қаймақ}} in Kazakh and Shor, {{lang|ky|каймак}} in Kyrgyz, {{lang|tr|kaymak}} in Turkish, {{lang|tk|gaýmak}} in Turkmen, {{lang|ka|კაიმაღი}} ({{lang|ka-Latn|kaimaghi}}) in Georgian, {{lang|el|καϊμάκι}} ({{lang|el-Latn|kaïmáki}}) in Greek, and {{lang|sh-Cyrl|кајмак}} ({{lang|sh|kajmak}}) in Serbo-Croatian, {{lang|ro|caimac}} in Romanian. This dairy food is called {{lang|fa-Latn|sarshir}} ({{lang|fa|سَرشیر}}) 'top of the milk' in Iran. They use this name because after boiling milk, a layer of fat stands on the top of the boiled milk. {{Cite web |title=De la Lăptărie cu bucurie |url=https://laptariacucaimac.ro/ |access-date=2022-02-02 |language=ro-RO}}{{Cite web |title=kaymak in Romanian |work=English–Romanian Dictionary |publisher=Glosbe |url=https://glosbe.com/en/ro/kaymak |access-date=2022-02-02 }}

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, {{lang|ps-Latn|qaimak}} or {{lang|ps-Latn|qaymaq}} is thinner and is eaten for breakfast meals usually with bread. People typically top qaimak with honey, sugar, or mix it with jam. It can be spread on pastries or added to milk tea. Qaimak can be purchased at grocery stores in Afghanistan or made at home. Afghan qaimak can be made from cow or buffalo milk.

Balkans

File:Cicvara (10274863185).jpg

File:Traditional wooden bowls for making kaymak.jpg)]]

Known as {{lang|sh|kajmak}}, it is almost always made at home, though commercial production has increased. Kajmak is most expensive when at its freshest—only a day or two old. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator but becomes harder and loses quality.{{cite news |title=Sve srpske kašike |first=Nikola|last=Vrzić |url=http://www.nin.co.rs/2000-12/28/15928.html |work=NIN |date=December 28, 2000 |access-date=13 June 2012 |language=sr |format=Windows-1250}} Kajmak can also be matured in dried animal-skin sacks; one variation is called {{lang|sh|skorup}}. The term {{lang|sh|kajmak}} is also used for the creamy foam in Turkish coffee, and many other coffees in the Balkans.

Kajmak is usually enjoyed as an appetizer or for Saturday morning breakfast (as Saturdays are market days when the best kajmak can be bought), and also as a condiment. The simplest recipe is {{lang|sh|lepinja s kajmakom}} (pita bread filled with kajmak), consumed for breakfast or as fast food.

Bulgarians, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Serbs, and Albanians consider it a national meal.

In Serbia, it is stuffed inside a chicken or other meat cutlet, breaded, and fried into a dish called Karađorđeva šnicla, similar to a stuffed schnitzel.

Other (Serbian) traditional dishes with kajmak (sold in restaurants) include {{lang|sh|pljeskavica s kajmakom}} (the Balkan hamburger patty topped with melted kajmak), as well as {{lang|sh|ribić u kajmaku}} (beef shank simmered with kajmak).{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Chef's Pencil |date=2023-04-12 |title=Famous Serbian Foods: What to Eat & Drink in Belgrade (With Pictures!) |url=https://www.chefspencil.com/top-10-serbian-dishes/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Chef's Pencil |language=en-US}}

In Albanian it is called ajkë.

Georgia

File:Kaimaghi.jpg

In the Adjara region of Georgia, bordering Turkey, {{lang|ka|კაიმაღი}} ({{lang|ka-Latn|kaimaghi}}) is made from cow's milk in homes in the mountainous municipalities of Keda, Shuakhevi, and Khulo. It is typically eaten with Georgian cheese and/or bread, and is only rarely served in restaurants.{{Cite web |date=2018-01-05 |title=TOP 10 „MUST TRY“ FOODS IN ADJARA |url=https://gobatumi.com/en/top-facts/meckhre |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=gobatumi.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-12-05 |title=Kaimaghi |url=https://georgia.travel/kaimaghi |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Georgia Travel |language=en}}

Greece

{{lang|el-Latn|Kaïmaki}} ({{lang|el|καϊμάκι}}) is a soft cream cheese that can be spread on bread or used in cooking as a filling in food and for desserts. Kaïmaki can also be found as a chewy ice cream that is flavoured with mastic.{{cite web |last1=Dent |first1=Grace |title=Krokodilos, London W8: 'Suddenly I'm Christina Onassis' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jan/31/krokodilos-london-w8-grace-dent-restaurant-review |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 February 2025 |date=31 January 2025}}

Iraq

In Iraq, it is called {{lang|ar-Latn|geymar}} or {{lang|ar-Latn|qeimar}} ({{lang|ar|قيمر}}) and is very popular. Iraqi {{lang|ar-Latn|geymar}} is usually made from the rich fatty milk of cows or buffaloes, which are prevalent in the marshes of southern Iraq. It is available both factory-produced and from local vendors or farmers as {{lang|ar-Latn|geymar Arab}}.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Iraqis tend to serve {{lang|ar-Latn|geymar}} for breakfast with bread, honey or jam. The most popular way is to spread it on an Iraqi pastry bread called {{lang|ar-Latn|kahi}} and cover it with date honey. {{lang|ar-Latn|Qeymar}} on {{lang|ar-Latn|kahi}} with date syrup or honey is a long-standing traditional breakfast in Baghdad and throughout southern and northern Iraq.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Iran

In Iran, {{lang|fa-Latn|sarsheer}} ({{lang|fa|سرشیر}}) is made using a different method which does not involve heating the milk, thus keeping enzymes and other cultures of the milk alive.

Turkey

File:Vişneli_ekmek_kadayıfı_-_Ankara.jpg topped with kaymak]]

Shops in Turkey have been devoted to kaymak production and consumption for centuries. Kaymak is mainly consumed today for breakfast along with the traditional Turkish breakfast. One type of kaymak is found in the Afyonkarahisar region where the water buffalo are fed from the residue of poppy seeds pressed for oil. Kaymak is traditionally eaten with baklava and other Turkish desserts, fruit preserve and honey (bal kaymak) or as a filling in pancakes.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Citations

References

[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928145321/http://editore.slowfood.com/editore/riviste/slowark/EN/25/papavero.html The Poppy Growers of İsmailköy (2002)]
Davidson, Alan (1999). "Kaymak". Oxford Companion to Food. pp. 428–429. {{ISBN|0-19-211579-0}}.
[http://www.travelserbia.info/serbian-cuisine.php An Introduction into the Serbian Cuisine]

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20130624222707/http://www.havuzsauna.com/detay.asp?y=639 The famous kaymak breakfast of "Pando Usta" at Beşiktaş, Istanbul]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060926222537/http://faq.macedonia.org/cuisine/kajmak.html Kaymak recipe]

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Category:Appetizers

Category:Balkan cuisine

Category:Central Asian cuisine

Category:Condiments

Category:Fermented dairy products

Category:Iranian cuisine

Category:Iraqi cuisine

Category:Indian cuisine

Category:Kyrgyz cuisine

Category:Middle Eastern cuisine