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Ryazhanka
Baked fermented milk drink
Ryazhanka (ряжанка): oven-baked milk fermented into a creamy, caramel-tinted drink
Ryazhanka starts with topleny moloko, milk baked slowly until it turns beige and smells of toffee, which was once done overnight in the cooling clay stove after bread day. Cultured with a little sour cream, it sets into a thick, spoonable drink with a mild tang and a soft caramel note that kefir never has. In Poltava and Sumy dairies it is sold in tall glass bottles, and people drink it at breakfast or with a slice of rye bread as a late snack. Use pasteurised milk, a clean jar, and refrigerate it as soon as it has set. Where most people go wrong is fermenting it too hot or too long, which makes it sour and watery with whey; check it after 4 hours. Throw away any batch with mould or an off smell. Chef's tip: let the brown skin form and break it back into the milk two or three times during baking; that skin is where the colour and flavour come from.
- Total time
- 480 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups whole milkpasteurised
- ¾ cup double cream
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 225°F (194°F fan). Rinse a 1.5 litre ovenproof pot and a 1.5 litre glass jar with boiling water.
5 minStep 2: Bring 4 ¼ cups whole milk and ¾ cup double cream almost to the boil in the pot over a medium heat, stirring, until bubbles form around the edge.
8 minStep 3: Move the uncovered pot to the oven and bake for 3 hours, stirring the brown skin back into the milk every hour, until the milk is creamy beige and smells of caramel.
180 minStep 4: Take it out and leave to cool to 38–104°F, checking with a thermometer; this takes about 45 minutes.
45 minStep 5: Whisk 3 tbsp sour cream with live cultures with a little of the warm milk, then stir it in and pour into the clean jar.
2 minStep 6: Cover and keep at 35–104°F, for example in the oven with only the light on, for 4–5 hours, until set like a soft yogurt.
270 minStep 7: Close the jar and refrigerate straight away. Stir until smooth before pouring and drink within 5 days.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 13 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ryazhanka take?
- About 480 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 470 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of double cream?
- Whipping cream, same amount (less rich; whips softer).
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