🧈 Kajmak
Kajmak is a rich, lightly salted clotted cream from the Balkans. It forms as a thick skin on slowly heated cream, which is skimmed off, salted and left to mature. Young kajmak is soft, white and mild; aged kajmak turns yellowish and pleasantly tangy. It is served as a spread, stuffed into grilled meat or served beside pljeskavica and ćevapi.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 litre full-fat cream
- 1 tsp salt
- A wide shallow pan and a slotted spoon
Method
- Pour the cream into a wide, shallow pan and heat it very gently, without boiling, for about 1 hour.
- Turn off the heat and leave the pan in a cool place overnight so a thick skin forms on top.
- Skim off the skin with a slotted spoon and layer it in a clean container, sprinkling each layer with a little salt.
- Repeat the gentle heating and cooling with the remaining cream if more skin forms.
- Refrigerate for 1–2 days; it keeps for about a week.
How to make it lighter
- Kajmak is very rich: a thin spread of about one tablespoon goes a long way.
- Use it as the main fat of the meal instead of adding oil or other spreads.
- Pair it with grilled vegetables or salad rather than with large starchy sides.
History
Kajmak is made across the Balkans, Turkey and the wider region, and the name is of Turkic origin. In Serbia it is a staple of rural households and village markets and is closely tied to grilled-meat dishes.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →