Gaymak

Ingredients

Milk

• 2 litreswhole unhomogenised cow’s or camel’s milk
• or 1 litre milk plus 500 ml double cream

To serve

• hot çörek bread
• honey or jam
• green tea

Directions

1. Pour the milk into a wide shallow pan. The crust forms on the surface, so the wider the pan the more gaymak you get.
2. Heat until it is steaming and just about to move — around 85°C (185°F) — then drop the heat to the lowest it will go.
3. Hold it there for two hours and never stir. One stir folds the forming skin back in and you begin again.
4. Instead of stirring, lift the pan and let it drop a few centimetres from time to time, which thickens the surface without tearing it.
5. A thick wrinkled layer of fat and protein will build on top. That layer is the gaymak.
6. Take it off the heat, leave it uncovered two hours at room temperature, then refrigerate the whole pan for 12 hours.
7. The overnight chill is what lets you lift the crust off in whole sheets. Warm, it tears into shreds.
8. Lift it away with a wide spatula, roll or fold the sheets into a dish, and serve cold with hot bread and honey.
9. Camel-milk gaymak is the prized one in the desert regions, thinner and slightly saline, and it needs a longer heat because camel milk is lower in the fat that rises.
10. Eat within two days. It is nearly all fat and it turns quickly.

Technique

• Wide pan, lowest heat, no stirring, chill overnight.
• Unhomogenised milk. Homogenised milk barely crusts at all.
• The milk left underneath is used for tea or for setting gatyk.

Substitutions

• Double cream heated the same way, which is faster and richer.
• Buffalo milk, which crusts very readily.
• Bought kaymak or clotted cream.

Variations

• The Turkish kaymak, Tajik qaymoq and Afghan qaimaq are the same thing.
• Whipped with honey into a spread for bread.

History

Skimmed after slow heating; camel-milk gaymak is especially prized in the desert regions.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gaymak?

Gaymak is a cheese & dairy from Turkmenistan: thick clotted cream from cow or camel milk, eaten with bread and tea. Skimmed after slow heating; camel-milk gaymak is especially prized in the desert regions.

How long does Gaymak take to make?

Gaymak 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 Gaymak?

Yes, within limits. Double cream heated the same way, which is faster and richer. Buffalo milk, which crusts very readily. Bought kaymak or clotted cream.

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

Hold it there for two hours and never stir. One stir folds the forming skin back in and you begin again.