Traditional Serbian Kajmak Recipe

Kajmak is a Serbian/Croatian fresh, unripened or "new" cheese made from unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk. It is fluffy and light in texture—you might compare it to whipped cream cheese in that regard, but it doesn't taste like cream cheese. It tastes like a slightly stronger cheese, but it's also sweet at the same time. Some compare it to clotted cream.

It's usually served with bread as an appetizer (lepinja sa kajmakom), but it's also used as a condiment melted on the Balkan version of a hamburger patty (pljeskavica sa kajmakom), simmered with beef shank meat (ribić u kajmaku), or tucked in pita bread with ćevapčići sausages. It's delicious anywhere you want a strong tasting cheese with a bit of sweetness.

While this recipe produces a young kajmak that is to be consumed immediately, traditional Serbian kajmak can also be matured for several months in wooden vessels called čabrica, with salt being added to the layers of kajmak and maturation for several months. In this process, excess liquid drains from the maturing kajmak, producing an even richer final product.

This new, unaged or fresh cheese, with a shelf life of about two weeks, is not only common in Serbia as an appetizer or served with bread instead of butter, but it's also popular in other parts of the the Balkans, as well as the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, India, and Turkey. It just goes by different names.

If left to ferment, aged kajmak is yellow and has a stronger taste; it's required for a pastry (pita) called gibanica.