Dairy products are one of the highlights of Russian cuisine, and there are several products that are difficult to find in the U.S. that are very common here. Two of these are kefir and ryazhenka.
Kefir has become more popular in the U.S. recently, and I have seen in sold in some American grocery stores, but usually with fruit flavoring added. In Russia, kefir is sold as a natural dairy product without added flavoring. In fact, "all natural" is an important aspect for many Russians when buying products and especially when buying dairy products, although fruit-flavored yogurts are also quite popular.
Kefir looks like a cross between milk and yogurt, with an-ever-so-slightly chunky texture, and it has a sharp bite to it. It is made using a bacteria culture to ferment milk, and historically, people did this at home, but today most Russians buy kefir in a package at the grocery store. I have looked for fresh kefir at the markets here but have not seen any.
Ryazhenka is similar in flavor to kefir but milder. It is less sharp but still slightly sharper than plain yogurt, and it has a smooth texture. As you might be able to see in the picture below, kefir (on the left) is pure white, while ryazhenka (on the right) has a brown tint. This is because ryazhenka is baked fermented milk. this was historically made by baking fermented milk in an oven or on low heat on the stove for several hours, but again, Russians today usually just buy it at the grocery store.
Most Russians simply drink kefir and ryazhenka straight, but if you want, you can use them in other ways. They are good mixed with fresh or dried fruit and nuts, and I enjoy substituting them for milk with granola and muesli or pouring a little on top of oatmeal. I have also heard that ryazhenka can be used as a substitute for buttermilk when making pancakes, but I have not tried this myself. Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas about how to eat kefir and ryazhenka!
It's interesting that you've come across fruit-flavored kefir in the US but not in Russia... My experience has been the opposite. When I was a kid, Soviet stores sold both plain kefir and "fruktovy kefir" (fruit-flavored kefir). Here in the US, I've only seen plain kefir. I've always preferred the plain kind, and to this day I don't really like sweetened and fruit-flavored dairy products. Speaking of which, one unusual product I discovered when I went back to Russia in 2001 was fruit-flavored milk! Have you come across it yet?
ReplyDeleteYou also asked about different ways to eat kefir and ryazhenka... One thing you can do with kefir is make tvorog. There are many different ways of doing it, but here is an easy recipe that my mom and I follow:
Pour kefir into a saucepan or pot and set a burner on the stove to the lowest setting. Let the pot sit on the burner for 1-1.5 hours until the kefir separates into whey and a cheeselike mass. Remove from heat and cool, then pour into a colander lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. You can let the whey drain into the sink or you can save it (some people drink it or use it to make borscht). Taste your tvorog; if it is too soft and moist, tie the ends of the cheesecloth to form a sack and hang it to over a sink or something to catch the drops for a few hours or overnight. Store in the fridge when done. (This recipe also works with buttermilk here in the US.)
I have not seen fruit-flavored milk here! I'm going to look for it. It sounds like the strawberry milk I remember my best friend drinking when I was growing up. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I have a chance, I will try to make homemade tvorog out of kefir. Does it take much better than the store or market versions? Also, do you know if you can make it with the kefir sold in the U.S., or do you have to use buttermilk? Is there buttermilk in Russia? How does buttermilk relate to kefir -- is there any connection?
Thank you for your great insights!
I'm not sure about the quality of store-bought tvorog in Russia these days, but 15-20 years ago you could not find good tvorog in the stores. My family did buy it sometimes, but we did not feel that it was good enough to eat plan. It usually tasted sort of grainy and dry. We used it to make syrniki or lenivye vareniki, or mixed it with noodles, raisins, eggs, sugar and flour to make a kugel. Whenever we wanted some tvorog that could be enjoyed without cooking or baking it into things, my mom and grandma made it themselves.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that you can make tvorog with kefir that is sold in the US - in fact, it's probably preferable to buttermilk. The reason I haven't used kefir in the US is because the only kind I've found so far has 1% fat content, and my mom tells me it's not quite enough fat to make good tvorog. She says somewhere around 3% or more would be better. On the other hand, the buttermilk I've been using has only 2% fat, and it's worked pretty well for me so far. I will try making tvorog out of kefir some day soon and will report back to you!
Regarding the difference between buttermilk and kefir, and whether kefir exists in Russia... My favorite online dictionary (Multitran.ru) translates buttermilk as "pakhta," which sounds about right, as pakhta is a low-fat by-product of making butter, and it does taste sort of like buttermilk. I think the major difference is that in the US, sodium citrate is added to buttermilk, probably to enhance the taste, while pakhta (at least back when I last drank it, which was about 20 years ago) didn't have any additives.
This blog is wonderful! I am now experimenting with milk kefir from milk kefir grains. Milk kefir can leaven bread, pizza and bagels well.
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ReplyDeleteI grew up on home made Kefir, ryazhenka, sour cream, tvorog, yogurt, and butter … my mom made it for us all the time and didn't start buying tvorog or butter in the stores until I was in high school and we could no longer get the milk she used for it … which was raw, full fat milk.
ReplyDeleteMom would separate the cream from the milk and bake the milk in the oven to make ryazhenka and when it cooled down to the proper temp she added the cultures … which was left over from the last batch. I loved it the best.
My dad preferred Kefir which he remembered growing up drinking when he lived in Russia. It was a bit too acidic for my taste … but I drank it when that was what we had in the house.
Mom and Dad believed it was important to have the cultured milk products for healthy living … and also that we humans needed to eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and dilled vegetables and fruits; which mom made until she passed away in 1994. There were enough canned foods of that type to last my dad the next 3 years!.
To this day I prefer ryazhenka over any other cultured milk product and have made it successfully at home using whole milk and cultured sour cream mixed with milk, or milk with lemon juice that are left out on the counter until they ferment to start a new culture. It is especially easy to make in the summertime when the conditions in the kitchen are naturally warm.