Ingredients
Baked milk
- 2 litreswhole milk
Souring
- 150 mlsour cream, or 4 tbsp live riazhanka as starter
To serve
- cold, in a glass
- with bread and honey
- or with fresh berries
Directions
- Pour the milk into a wide clay or ceramic dish. It must be wide and shallow, because the browning happens at the surface.
- Bake at 130°C (265°F) for four hours, uncovered. Low and slow is the whole recipe.
- A brown skin will form on top. Push it down under the milk with a spoon every 40 minutes or so. Each skin you sink carries browned milk sugar and protein into the body of the milk, and doing this five or six times is what turns the milk from white to caramel and gives riazhanka its taste.
- Do not let it boil or bubble. Above about 140°C (285°F) it catches at the edges and the whole dish tastes scorched instead of caramelised.
- The milk is ready when it is the colour of weak tea, has reduced by about a fifth, and smells strongly of caramel.
- Cool it to 40°C (104°F) — warm, not hot.
- Loosen the sour cream with a ladle of the warm milk, stir it back through, cover, and wrap the dish in a towel.
- Leave somewhere warm and undisturbed for six to eight hours until it has set to a soft, spoonable thickness.
- Refrigerate. It keeps five days. Drink it cold from a glass, or eat it with bread and honey.
- Keep four spoonfuls back to sour the next batch.
Technique
- Sink the skin every 40 minutes. That is where the colour and flavour come from.
- 130°C (265°F) and no higher. Scorched milk cannot be saved.
- Cool to 40°C (104°F) before the starter goes in, or you kill it.
Substitutions
- A slow cooker on low for six to eight hours, which does the same job unattended.
- Bought baked milk (toplene moloko), which skips the four hours.
- Live yoghurt as the starter, which gives a sharper result.
Variations
- Varenets, the Russian version, soured with cream in the same way.
- Drunk with a pinch of salt, or used as the liquid in pancake batter.
History
Milk is baked for hours until it browns, then soured with cream, a preparation belonging to the clay-oven kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
What is Riazhanka?
Riazhanka is a cheese & dairy from Ukraine: fermented baked milk, caramel-coloured and mildly sweet. Milk is baked for hours until it browns, then soured with cream, a preparation belonging to the clay-oven kitchen.
How long does Riazhanka take to make?
Riazhanka takes 15 min plus 6 to 8 hours souring of preparation and 4 hours of cooking. The recipe makes makes 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Riazhanka?
Yes, within limits. A slow cooker on low for six to eight hours, which does the same job unattended. Bought baked milk (toplene moloko), which skips the four hours. Live yoghurt as the starter, which gives a sharper result.
What is the most important thing to get right in Riazhanka?
Pour the milk into a wide clay or ceramic dish. It must be wide and shallow, because the browning happens at the surface.
