Ingredients
Cream
- 2 litreswhole milk, unhomogenised if possible, or
- 1 litredouble cream with 500 ml whole milk
- a pinch of salt
To serve
- roasted peppers
- cornbread or fresh bread
- honey
Directions
- Pour the milk into the widest shallow pan you have — the cream sets at the surface, so width is the whole variable.
- Heat gently to just below a simmer, around 85°C (185°F), and hold it there for an hour to an hour and a half without stirring once.
- Do not stir. Stirring breaks the skin as it forms, and letting that skin thicken undisturbed is the entire method.
- Turn off the heat and leave the pan completely still somewhere cool for eight to twelve hours, then refrigerate four hours more.
- Lift the thick top layer off whole with a wide spatula, or roll it as you lift.
- Stir in a small pinch of salt if you are serving it savoury, or leave it plain for honey.
- Serve fresh, spooned over roasted peppers or on cornbread. Maze is eaten young and unmatured — this is the fresh cream, not the aged skorup or kajmak of the same region.
- It keeps three days in the fridge.
Technique
- Wide pan, low heat, no stirring. Each of those is a way it goes wrong.
- This is the fresh version. The matured one — layered with salt in a wooden tub for months — is a different preserve that the atlas gives no method for.
- Unhomogenised milk gives far more cream.
Substitutions
- Double cream with whole milk, the practical supermarket route.
- Sheep’s milk, which is what the Sharr shepherds would have used.
Variations
- Montenegrin skorup and Bosnian kajmak are the matured versions of the same thing.
- Whipped with a little honey as a sweet cream.
History
Highland dairy of the Sharr and Rugova pastures, the fat layer lifted off milk in shepherds’ huts.
Frequently asked questions
What is Maze?
Maze is a cheese & dairy from Kosovo: clotted cream skimmed from boiled milk, spooned over peppers and cornbread. Highland dairy of the Sharr and Rugova pastures, the fat layer lifted off milk in shepherds’ huts.
How long does Maze take to make?
Maze takes 10 min plus 12 hours setting of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 300 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Maze?
Yes, within limits. Double cream with whole milk, the practical supermarket route. Sheep’s milk, which is what the Sharr shepherds would have used.
What is the most important thing to get right in Maze?
Pour the milk into the widest shallow pan you have — the cream sets at the surface, so width is the whole variable.
