Qaymoq

Ingredients

Milk

• 2 litreswhole unhomogenised milk, the creamier the better
• or 1 litre milk plus 500 ml double cream

To serve

• hot non bread
• honey
• green tea
• dried fruit and walnuts

Directions

1. Pour the milk into a wide shallow pan. Wide is the point: the crust forms on the surface, so a broad pan makes far more qaymoq than a deep one.
2. Bring it just to the point of steaming — around 85°C (185°F) — then drop the heat as low as it will go.
3. Hold it there for about two hours without stirring, ever. A single stir folds the forming skin back into the milk and you start again.
4. Lift the pan and let it fall a few centimetres now and then instead of stirring, which is how it is done traditionally to thicken the surface without breaking it.
5. A thick wrinkled crust of fat and protein will build on top. That crust is the qaymoq.
6. Take it off the heat and leave it uncovered at room temperature for two hours, then refrigerate the whole pan for 12 hours.
7. The overnight chill is what lets you lift it. Warm, the crust tears into shreds; properly cold, it comes away in whole sheets.
8. Lift the set crust off in pieces with a wide spatula and roll or fold them into the serving dish.
9. Serve cold with hot bread and honey. The remaining milk beneath is used for tea or for setting jurghot.
10. Eat within two days. It is almost pure fat and it goes rancid quickly.

Technique

• Wide pan, very low heat, no stirring.
• Chill overnight before lifting the crust.
• Unhomogenised milk if you can get it. Homogenised milk barely forms a crust at all.

Substitutions

• Double cream heated the same way, which gives a much faster and richer result.
• Buffalo milk, which is what makes the Indian and Afghan versions so thick.
• Bought kaymak or clotted cream, which are close relatives.

Variations

• The Turkish kaymak and Afghan qaimaq are the same thing.
• Spread on bread with walnuts and honey, which is the standard Tajik breakfast.

History

Skimmed from slowly boiled milk, it opens a Tajik guest table alongside sweets and dried fruit.

Frequently asked questions

What is Qaymoq?

Qaymoq is a cheese & dairy from Tajikistan: thick clotted cream eaten at breakfast with hot bread, honey and tea. Skimmed from slowly boiled milk, it opens a Tajik guest table alongside sweets and dried fruit.

How long does Qaymoq take to make?

Qaymoq takes 10 min plus 12 hours chilling of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 300 g. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Qaymoq?

Yes, within limits. Double cream heated the same way, which gives a much faster and richer result. Buffalo milk, which is what makes the Indian and Afghan versions so thick. Bought kaymak or clotted cream, which are close relatives.

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

Pour the milk into a wide shallow pan. Wide is the point: the crust forms on the surface, so a broad pan makes far more qaymoq than a deep one.