Ryazhenka

 

Unless you are Russian, Ukrainian or from a country close to these, surely this drink does not sound like you at all. In appearance it is a drink like any other obtained from the fermentation of milk, but it is more than that.

First of all, it does not use normal milk, but cooked milk. Cooked milk is made by heating whole milk for long periods of time. This prolonged heating causes reactions that caramelize the liquid and give the milk a characteristic beige color.

Lactobacillus bacteria are then added, such as those used to make yogurt, but since cooked milk is sweeter than natural milk, the result does not need to be sweetened to be ingested.

Today ryazhenka can be bought in any Russian supermarket, being much more popular in its country of origin than yogurt or kefir. Next we are going to make ryazhenka in a homemade way and with ingredients available in any western kitchen.

INGREDIENTS :

• One and a half liters (1.5 L/7.5 cups) of whole milk
• 200 grams (7 oz) of natural yogurt without sugar

First of all we are going to make cooked milk. For this we boil a liter and a half of milk in order to eliminate any existing bacteria. Let it cold down. Once it is cold, we return to the fire, leaving it as low as possible for about 8 hours. Be careful that the milk does not boil at any time. When the process is finished, a brown-beige layer will have formed on the liquid that some remove and others find that it is the grace of the drink, so to taste.

Another way to make cooked milk is to put it in the oven at 160 degrees for 2 hours, avoiding boiling again.

Using the method of the fire or the oven the result will be the same : a brown colored milk.

We let the milk gets room temperature (but never too cold) and mix with the yogurt, unless by some chance you have an original ryazhenka carton and you can use part of it to mix with the milk, which would be more orthodox. Leave the casserole in a dark place and covered with a cotton cloth and after eight hours you will have your homemade ryazhenka.

Drink it at room temperature or take to the fridge, as you prefer.