Ingredients
Curd
- 1.5 litresthick soured milk or plain yoghurt
- 1 tspsalt
To keep
- olive or sunflower oil, to cover
To serve
- flatbread
- or thinned into soup
- fresh herbs and oil
Directions
- Stir the salt through the soured milk. Salting first pulls water out faster and seasons the curd evenly.
- Line a sieve with a double layer of muslin, tip in the milk, tie the corners and hang it over a bowl somewhere cool for 8 to 12 hours.
- Never squeeze the cloth — pressing pushes solids through the weave and gives a grainy curd.
- It is ready when it is thick enough to hold a spoon upright but still spreadable. This is the stage between soured milk and dried kurut.
- Serve fresh on flatbread with oil and herbs, or stir a spoonful into soup off the heat.
- To keep it for winter, roll it into balls, dry the surfaces on a rack for a few hours, then pack into a jar and cover completely with oil.
- Keep the oil-packed jar refrigerated and fully submerged. Mountain households kept it in a cold store, but a modern kitchen is warmer and dairy under oil at room temperature is not worth the risk.
- It keeps five days fresh, or two months under oil in the fridge.
Technique
- Salt before draining, never squeeze.
- Dry the surfaces of the balls before they go under oil. Wet curd sealed under oil is where a jar goes wrong.
- Keep the whey — it is drunk cold and used in bread.
Substitutions
- Any thick live yoghurt in place of soured milk.
- Sheep’s milk, which drains richer.
Variations
- Dried hard and rolled into balls it becomes kurut, which keeps for years.
- The Kazakh suzbe and Uzbek suzma are the same curd.
History
The fresh stage before kurut is dried; kept in jars under oil for winter in mountain households.
Frequently asked questions
What is Suzmo?
Suzmo is a cheese & dairy from Kyrgyzstan: sour milk drained to a thick salty curd, spread on bread or thinned into soup. The fresh stage before kurut is dried; kept in jars under oil for winter in mountain households.
How long does Suzmo take to make?
Suzmo takes 10 min plus 12 hours draining of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes about 500 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Suzmo?
Yes, within limits. Any thick live yoghurt in place of soured milk. Sheep’s milk, which drains richer.
What is the most important thing to get right in Suzmo?
Never squeeze the cloth — pressing pushes solids through the weave and gives a grainy curd.
