Edge Rewrite
everything Source code View original
// HTMLRewriter · presentation

This page was redesigned at the edge.

Cloudflare fetched the original article and streamed it through HTMLRewriter to apply an entirely new visual system without rebuilding the source page.

// request.cf · coarse context

A page that knows where it met you.

Only coarse request metadata is shown. This demo does not display or persist visitor IP addresses.

Country
US
Cloudflare location
CMH
Connection
HTTP/2
Language
Not provided

Ray ID: a408f6573ae6d04f

Jump to content

// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did kaymak say when it ran into its friend? "You butter believe it's me!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaymak
Kaymak from Turkey
Alternative namesQishta, sarshir, ser, ajkë
CourseBreakfast and dessert
Place of originCentral Asia
Region or stateArmenia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, India, Mongolia, Georgia, Albania, Greece, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Croatia, Tajikistan
Main ingredientsMilk
Similar dishesMalai, clotted cream
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Kaymak

Kaymak (Turkish: [kaj.mak] ⓘ), also known as qishta (Arabic: قشدة) or sarshir (Persian: سَرشیر), is a creamy dairy food similar to clotted cream, made from the milk of water buffalo, cows, sheep, or goats in Central Asia, most Turkic regions on the Eurasian Steppe, the Caucasus, Turkey, most Balkan countries, the Levant, Iran and Iraq.

The traditional method of making kaymak is to boil the raw milk slowly, then simmer it for two hours over a very low heat. After the heat source is shut off, the cream is skimmed and left to chill (and mildly ferment) for several hours or days. Kaymak has a high percentage of milk fat, typically about 60%. It has a thick, creamy consistency (not entirely compact, because of milk protein fibers) and a rich taste.[1]

Etymology

[edit]

The word kaymak is of Turkish origin and means "cream".[2][3] It derives from Old Turkic kanak ("the skin on milk, clotted milk").[4] The earliest known written attestation of the word occurs in the 11th-century Turkic dictionary Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk by Mahmud al-Kashgari.[5]

Related forms occur widely among Turkic languages, including qaymaq in Azerbaijani, қаймақ in Kazakh (qaymaq), каймак (kaymak) in Kyrgyz, каймак (qaymaq) in Tatar, gaýmak in Turkmen, قايماق (qaymaq) in Uyghur, and qaymoq in Uzbek.[6] The same word has also entered several neighboring languages, including καϊμάκι (kaïmáki) in Greek,[7] კაიმაღი (kaimaghi) in Georgian,[8] قيمق (qaymaq) or قيمر (geymar) in Gulf and Iraqi Arabic,[9] qeymax in Kurdish (Kurmanji),[10] فايق (ḳáymaḳ) in Persian,[11] кајмак (kajmak) in Serbo-Croatian,[12] каймак (kajmak) in Bulgarian,[13] кајмак (kajmak) in Macedonian,[14] kajmak in Albanian,[15] and caimac in Romanian.[16]

In Iran, kaymak is also known as سَرشیر (sarshir), which translates to "top of the milk",[17] and likewise as սեր (ser) in Armenia.[18] In the Levant and Egypt, the dish is called قشدة (qishta) (or its regional variations ashta and eshta).[9][19][20] In Albania, it is also called ajkë.[15]

History

[edit]

Early Chinese historical sources during the first century BCE record the preparation of a skimmed cream called sū (酥) made from cow and sheep milk, noting that it was adopted from Central Asian pastoralists that lived along the northern and northwestern frontiers of modern-day China.[21] During the Qing dynasty, Chinese imperial texts reveal the preparation of sū: repeatedly boiling milk, stirring it, allowing it to cool, and lifting the dense skin off the top to make sū.[21]

Preserved clotted cream has been recovered from Mongol-period burials dating to around the 13th century.[22][23] In modern Mongolian cuisine, there is a clotted cream product called öröm.[23]

By region

[edit]

Afghanistan

[edit]

In Afghanistan, qaimak or qaymaq is thinner and is eaten for breakfast meals usually with bread. People typically top qaimak with honey, sugar, or mix it with jam. It can be spread on pastries or added to milk tea. Qaimak can be purchased at grocery stores in Afghanistan or made at home. Afghan qaimak can be made from cow or buffalo milk.

Balkans

[edit]
Palenta, cornmeal mush with kajmak and bacon
Traditional wooden bowls for making and storing kaymak (Ethnographic Museum, Belgrade)

Known as kajmak, it is almost always made at home, though commercial production has increased. Kajmak is most expensive when at its freshest—only a day or two old. It can keep for weeks in the refrigerator but becomes harder and loses quality.[24] Kajmak can also be matured in dried animal-skin sacks; one variation is called skorup. The term kajmak is also used for the creamy foam in Turkish coffee, and many other coffees in the Balkans.

Kajmak is usually enjoyed as an appetizer or for Saturday morning breakfast (as Saturdays are market days when the best kajmak can be bought), and also as a condiment. The simplest recipe is lepinja s kajmakom (white bread shaped in a circle and shorter than regular bread filled with kajmak), consumed for breakfast or as fast food.

Bulgarians, Bosnians, Montenegrins, Serbs, and Albanians consider it a national meal.

In Serbia, it is stuffed inside a chicken or other meat cutlet, breaded, and fried into a dish called Karađorđeva šnicla, similar to a stuffed schnitzel.

Other (Serbian) traditional dishes with kajmak (sold in restaurants) include pljeskavica s kajmakom (the Balkan hamburger patty topped with melted kajmak), as well as ribić u kajmaku (beef shank simmered with kajmak).[25]

It is called in Albanian: ajkë.

Armenia

[edit]

In Armenia, kaymak is mostly called sar (սար) or seruts’k (սերուցք).[26] It is mostly popular in Western Armenia communities, but not a really commercialized product and mostly a product found in villages. It is a creamy dairy product made by simmering fresh buffalo, sheep, or cow milk, then cooling it slowly, during which a thick layer of cream forms on top. This cream is then skimmed off and sometimes lightly fermented. It is often served with honey, bread, or fruit, especially at breakfast or during special occasions.[26] It is also used for desserts, like with gata, kadaif, or baklava, but some eat it fresh. It can also be used as a filling for pancakes.[27][28][29]

Georgia

[edit]
A bucket containing kaimaghi in a home in Keda, Georgia

In the Adjara region of Georgia, bordering Turkey, კაიმაღი (kaimaghi) is made from cow's milk in homes in the mountainous municipalities of Keda, Shuakhevi, and Khulo. It is typically eaten with Georgian cheese and/or bread, and is only rarely served in restaurants.[30][31]

Greece

[edit]

Kaïmaki (καϊμάκι) is a soft cream cheese that can be spread on bread or used in cooking as a filling in food and for desserts. Kaïmaki can also be found as a chewy ice cream that is flavoured with mastic.[32]

Iraq

[edit]
Iraqi geymar (qeimar)

In Iraq, it is called geymar or qeimar (قيمر) and is very popular. Iraqi geymar is usually made from the rich fatty milk of cows or buffaloes, which are prevalent in the marshes of southern Iraq. It is available both factory-produced and from local vendors or farmers as geymar Arab.[citation needed]

Iraqis tend to serve geymar for breakfast with bread, honey or jam. The most popular way is to spread it on an Iraqi pastry bread called kahi and cover it with date honey. Qeymar on kahi with date syrup or honey is a long-standing traditional breakfast in Baghdad and throughout southern and northern Iraq.[33]

Iran

[edit]

In Iran, sarsheer (سرشیر) is made using a different method which does not involve heating the milk, thus keeping enzymes and other cultures of the milk alive.

Turkey

[edit]
Turkish ekmek kadayıfı topped with kaymak

Shops in Turkey have been devoted to kaymak production and consumption for centuries. Kaymak is mainly consumed today for breakfast along with the traditional Turkish breakfast. One type of kaymak is found in the Afyonkarahisar region where the water buffalo are fed from the residue of poppy seeds pressed for oil. Kaymak is traditionally eaten with baklava and other Turkish desserts, fruit preserve and honey (bal kaymak) or as a filling in pancakes.[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Kaymak Recipe". 24 January 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Kurmann, Joseph A.; Rasic, Jeremija L.; Kroger, Manfred (1992). Encyclopedia of Fermented Fresh Milk Products: An International Inventory of Fermented Milk, Cream, Buttermilk, Whey, and Related Products. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-442-00869-7.
  3. ↑ Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. p. 442. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.
  4. ↑ Clauson, Gerard (1972). An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-864112-4.
  5. ↑ al-Kashghari, Mahmud (1982). Tekin, Şinasi; Tekin, Goniil Alpay (eds.). Compendium of The Turkic Dialects: Part I. Translated by Dankoff, Robert; Kelly, James. Harvard University Printing Office. p. 294.
  6. ↑ Oztopcu, Kurtulus; Abouv, Zhoumagaly; Kambarov, Nasir; Azemoun, Youssef (2016). Dictionary of Turkic Languages. Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-136-85640-2.
  7. ↑ Georgakopoulou, Alexandra; Silk, Michael (2013). Standard Languages and Language Standards – Greek, Past and Present. Ashgate Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4094-8042-6.
  8. ↑ Travaux de l'Université d'état de Tiflis (in Georgian). Universitt. 1975. p. 66.
  9. 1 2 Davidson, Alan (2014). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 416. ISBN 978-0-19-967733-7.
  10. ↑ Manfredi, Stefano (2020). Arabic and Contact-Induced Change. Language Science Press. p. 470. ISBN 978-3-96110-251-8.
  11. ↑ Palmer, Edward Henry (1876). A Concise Dictionary of the Persian Language (in Persian). Trübner. p. 465.
  12. ↑ Layton, T. A. (2015). The Cheese Handbook: Over 250 Varieties Described, with Recipes. Dover Publications. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-486-16110-5.
  13. ↑ Grannes, Alf (1996). Turco-Bulgarica: Articles in English and French Concerning Turkish Influence on Bulgarian (in Bulgarian). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 145. ISBN 978-3-447-03819-5.
  14. ↑ Murtezani, Izaim (2001). Turcisms in the Language of the Albanian and Macedonian Folk Poetry: A Comparative Study (in Macedonian). Institut za folklor "Marko Cepenkov". pp. 44, 125. ISBN 978-9989-642-31-9.
  15. 1 2 Korça, Myxhahid (2007). Fjalor Shqip-Turqisht, Turqisht-Shqip (in Albanian). Logos-A. p. 468. ISBN 978-9989-58-257-8.
  16. ↑ Bakić-Mirić, Nataša; Erkinovich Gaipov, Davronzhon (2014). Building Cultural Bridges in Education. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-4438-5566-2.
  17. ↑ Setareh, Saghar (4 May 2023). Pomegranates & Artichokes: Recipes and memories of a journey from Iran to Italy. Murdoch Books. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-76118-662-2.
  18. ↑ Ararat. Armenian General Benevolent Union of America. 1998. p. 70.
  19. ↑ Walker, Harlan (1991). Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery, 1990: Feasting and Fasting: Proceedings. Oxford: Oxford Symposium. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-907325-46-8.
  20. ↑ Zubaida, Sami (2014). "Our Kitchen in 1940s Baghdad". In McWilliams, Mark (ed.). Food & Material Culture: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2013. Oxford Symposium. p. 387. ISBN 978-1-909248-40-3.
  21. 1 2 Toleno, Robban (2021). 奶以及奶製品 [Milk and Dairy Products]. In Cheung, Sidney C. H. (ed.). Berkshire Encyclopedia of Chinese Cuisines. Great Barrington, MA: Berkshire Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-64326-041-9.
  22. ↑ "800 year old dairy and silks recovered from Mongolian permafrost". www.shh.mpg.de.
  23. 1 2 Jeong, Choongwon; Wilkin, Shevan; Amgalantugs, Tsend; Bouwman, Abigail S.; Taylor, William Timothy Treal; Hagan, Richard W.; Bromage, Sabri; Tsolmon, Soninkhishig; Trachsel, Christian; Grossmann, Jonas; Littleton, Judith; Makarewicz, Cheryl A.; Krigbaum, John; Burri, Marta; Scott, Ashley; Davaasambuu, Ganmaa; Wright, Joshua; Irmer, Franziska; Myagmar, Erdene; Boivin, Nicole; Robbeets, Martine; Rühli, Frank J.; Krause, Johannes; Frohlich, Bruno; Hendy, Jessica; Warinner, Christina (2018). "Bronze Age population dynamics and the rise of dairy pastoralism on the eastern Eurasian steppe". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 115 (48): E11248–E11255. doi:10.1073/pnas.1813608115. ISSN 1091-6490. PMC 6275519.
  24. ↑ Vrzić, Nikola (December 28, 2000). "Sve srpske kašike" (Windows-1250). NIN (in Serbian). Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  25. ↑ Staff, Chef's Pencil (2023-04-12). "Famous Serbian Foods: What to Eat & Drink in Belgrade (With Pictures!)". Chef's Pencil. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  26. 1 2 Uvezian, Sonia (2001). The Cuisine of Armenia. Siamanto Press. pp. 359–360. ISBN 978-0-9709716-7-8.
  27. ↑ "Bastegh, Perhaps?". The Armenian Kitchen. 18 January 2011.
  28. ↑ Hoogasian-Villa, Susie (2017). Armenian Village Life Before 1914. ISBN 978-0814317006.
  29. ↑ "Cream Filling for Kadaif". The Armenian Kitchen. 16 December 2011.
  30. ↑ "Top 10 'must try' foods in Adjara". GoBatumi. 2018-01-05. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  31. ↑ "Kaimaghi". Georgia Travel. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  32. ↑ Dent, Grace (31 January 2025). "Krokodilos, London W8: 'Suddenly I'm Christina Onassis'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  33. ↑ "الكاهي والقيمر".. فطور عراقي أصيل يجذب الآلاف كل صباح في قلب بغداد ["Kahi and Qaymar" – an authentic Iraqi breakfast that attracts thousands every morning in the heart of Baghdad.]. CNN Arabic (in Arabic). 14 July 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2025. [In the heart of Sadriya Street in Baghdad, Kahi and Qaymar Rasoul is one of the most popular breakfast destinations in the Iraqi capital. It serves up a flaky, buttery kahi pie with creamy qaymar made from buffalo milk, a combination that Iraqis have loved for generations.]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaymak&oldid=1375951394"