QASHTA/KAYMAK
middle eastern clotted cream
Years ago, I was wandering through Tripoli in northern Lebanon, hoping to come across interesting street food. Instead, I struck gold when I peeked through a doorway to find a group of men making qashta, the Arab version of English clotted cream. They were skimming cream off milk that was bubbling in huge shallow, round pans set over gas burners; the skimmed cream was left to drain before being packed into containers. The vast room in which they worked was dark except for shafts of sunlight streaming through the narrow windows, and the scene was rather medieval. But I was brought back to the modern world when they told me they were using powdered milk to make the qashta. The magic of the moment was broken.
Fortunately, not all qashta is made with powdered milk. Some use sheep’s milk, which produces the most luxurious qashta. I occasionally make the cream at home using fresh milk that I let simmer on the corner of the stove, but I more often rely on this much faster method, which thickens the milk with semolina and cream. You can also use cornstarch or white bread crumbs. The result is not the same as with the slow method, which requires a large quantity of milk that yields only a small amount of cream, but it’s much quicker to make, and even professionals are using this method now.
In Turkey, kaymak is served for breakfast; in Lebanon and Syria, it’s served both as a dessert, drizzled with honey, and as a filling or garnish for pastry.
MAKES 13/4 CUPS [420 ML]
11/3 cups [320 ml] whole milk
1/3 cup [50 g] fine semolina
1/4 cup [60 ml] heavy cream
Put the milk in a saucepan and stir in the semolina and cream. Place over medium-low heat and bring to a boil, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Boil for another 3 to 5 minutes, continuing to whisk, until the mixture is thicker than crème fraîche or sour cream. Let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.