Gatyk

Ingredients

Milk

• 2 litreswhole milk, cow’s or sheep’s
• 4 tbspgatyk from the last batch, as starter

To serve

• çörek or flatbread
• cold water and salt, for a summer drink
• chorba, to stir it into

Directions

1. Bring the milk to a boil, then lower the heat and hold it just below a boil for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. That long hold is what gives gatyk its body. It concentrates the milk slightly and sets up the proteins, and milk merely brought to temperature gives a thin, weeping set.
3. Cool to 42 to 45°C (108 to 113°F).
4. Loosen the starter with a ladle of the warm milk, stir it back in, and pour into a clay bowl or jar.
5. Cover and wrap the whole vessel in a thick cloth or quilt, then leave it somewhere warm and completely undisturbed for six to eight hours.
6. Do not move it, tilt it or peek before six hours. A curd knocked while it is setting breaks and never comes back together.
7. It is set when the surface holds a clean edge as you tilt it and the taste is gently sour.
8. Refrigerate straight away. It keeps a week, sharpening as it goes.
9. Eat it with bread, thin it with cold water and salt as a summer drink, or stir it into chorba off the heat — added to a boiling pot it splits.

Technique

• Ten minutes just under the boil before cooling. This is the difference.
• Wrap it warm and leave it alone.
• Never add it to a boiling soup. Off the heat, always.

Substitutions

• Bought live yoghurt as the starter.
• Sheep’s milk for a much richer set, which is the traditional version.
• An oven with only the light on, in place of the quilt.

Variations

• Hung in cloth it becomes süzme; salted and dried it becomes gurt.
• The Turkish yoğurt and Azerbaijani qatıq are the same under other spellings.

History

Cultured cow or sheep milk; diluted with water and salt it becomes a summer drink.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gatyk?

Gatyk is a cheese & dairy from Turkmenistan: sour set milk eaten with bread and stirred into soups. Cultured cow or sheep milk; diluted with water and salt it becomes a summer drink.

How long does Gatyk take to make?

Gatyk takes 15 min plus 6 to 8 hours setting of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gatyk?

Yes, within limits. Bought live yoghurt as the starter. Sheep’s milk for a much richer set, which is the traditional version. An oven with only the light on, in place of the quilt.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gatyk?

Cover and wrap the whole vessel in a thick cloth or quilt, then leave it somewhere warm and completely undisturbed for six to eight hours.