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Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Serbia

Kajmak (ripened clotted cream)кајмак

Kajmak is the skin that forms on boiled milk as it cools slowly in wide, shallow pans. The skin is lifted off, salted layer by layer and packed into vessels, then eaten fresh or ripened for up to about 30 days. With no starter added, bacteria left in the milk or from the surroundings sour it slowly to pH 4.5–5. Made in 4 steps over 31 days. The longest step, ripen or keep cold, takes up to 30 days (Barać M 2022) and runs at 4–18 °C (Barać M 2022). Salt is 0.5–0.6 % (Barać M 2022). Residual indigenous milk bacteria and non-starter lactic acid bacteria from the surroundings does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 30 daysReported[barac2022]Ripen or keep cold
Temperature4–18 °CReported[barac2022]Ripen or keep cold
Salt0.5–0.6 %Measured[barac2022]Lift off the skin and salt it in layers
AciditypH 4.9 → 4.53Measured[barac2022]Ripen or keep cold

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold and small-dairy food with no fixed amounts; the milk is the recipe and salt is added by layer.
Fresh cow milk, most often hand-milked; sheep milk less often · Filtered, then boiled[nkns]
Salt · Added to each layer; finished kajmak held about 0.5–0.6 % NaCl in one study[nkns][barac2022]
Starter: spontaneous (no starter; bacteria left in the milk and from the surroundings)

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 days

Start
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What changes: Fresh milk is filtered and boiled for about an hour

Step 1 of 4
Boil the milk
Time
1 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: boiled milk.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

long, hard heating kills most of the milk's bacteria

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Kajmak is not made from separated cream; it is the skin lifted off boiled milk as it cools, and no starter or rennet is used. Ripened kajmak sours slowly from bacteria left in the milk or from the surroundings, which makes it closer to a soft cheese than fresh clotted cream.

Related ferments

Safety

Kajmak is highly perishable and is filled and ripened by hand, where Listeria monocytogenes can get in from the room. A 2026 study says it needs a use-by date, strict refrigeration at 4 °C and a working HACCP and self-monitoring system.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes (recontamination during manual filling and ripening).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The skill of making kajmak was entered in Serbia's national register of intangible cultural heritage on 26 December 2016; in the Užice region it is part of local identity.

  1. [barac2022] Barać M., Vučić T., Špirović-Trifunović B., Barać N., Smiljanić M. 2022, Protein and fatty acid profiles of kajmak ripened at two different temperatures, Food Science and Technology (Campinas) 42:e63322, doi:10.1590/fst.63322paper
  2. [nkns] Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, National Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Serbia, Skill and craft of making kajmak (registered 26 December 2016)archive
  3. [stessl2026] Stessl B., Hennes T., Ludewig M., Pietzka A., Wagner M. 2026, Manufacturing traditional Balkan kajmak, strategies to mitigate Listeria monocytogenes recontamination, International Journal of Food Microbiology, doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2026.111989paper