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Fermentation Atlas

Fermented milk from Lithuania, Samogitia

Žemaitiškas kastinys

Žemaitiškas kastinys is a stiff, spreadable dairy food made from sour cream, a little sour milk and butter. The cream mix is warmed to 25–30 °C and stirred into softened butter an eighth at a time, always in one direction, so the buttermilk never separates. It is a cultured-cream spread, not a cheese; the souring happens in the cream before it is made. Salt is 1–1.5 % (Publication of an application for a TSG 2011). Lactic flora of the sour cream and sour milk does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Temperature25–30 °CSet[tsg2013]Warm the cream mix and soften the butter
Salt1–1.5 %Set[tsg2013]Salt and season
Fully documentedFermented milkTSG application (EC No LT-TSG-0007-0910-11.11.2011; OJ C 237, 15.8.2013)More fermented milkMore from Europe

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAmounts are per 100 kg of finished kastinys, as fixed by the TSG specification. A 1983 home recipe in the same file uses ½ litre of sour cream, 1 spoon of butter, ½ teaspoon of caraway and salt.
80–83 kg per 100 kg of productSour cream, 25–30 % fat[tsg2013]
6–7 kg per 100 kgButter, at least 82 % fat[tsg2013]
5–5.5 kg per 100 kgSour milk, 2.5–4 % fat[tsg2013]
1–1.5 kg per 100 kgSalt[tsg2013]
0.1–0.15 kg per 100 kgHerbs and spices (black pepper, allspice, caraway, dill, mint, or a mix) · Optional[tsg2013]
1–2 kg per 100 kgGarlic or onion, chopped · Optional[tsg2013]
Starternone added; the sour cream and sour milk are already soured
Start
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What changes: Starting material: sour cream, sour milk and butter, weighed to the recipe

Step 1 of 6
Weigh out the ingredients
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: sour cream, sour milk, butter, salt and seasonings, weighed to the recipe.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

Other kastinys are beaten, may use kefir or only sour milk, and get all the cream at once. Žemaitiškas kastinys is stirred slowly in one direction, an eighth of the cream at a time at 25–30 °C, so the buttermilk never separates.

Composition
Fat 25–30 % depending on the recipe; salt 1–1.5 %
Boundary
A spread of cultured cream and butter, not a cheese; nothing is fermented during making
Storage
A commercial 200 g pack of 30 % fat is labelled for 0–6 °C

Related ferments

Variants

  • SeasonedWith caraway, black pepper, allspice, dill or mint, and garlic or onion.

Safety

Keep it cold; it is cooled to 6 °C after packing, and a commercial pack is labelled for storage at 0–6 °C.

History and sources

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

It was described in Polish-language writing of 1846 and 1869, and in Lithuanian recipe books of 1927, 1935 and 1983. Accounts kept by the National Museum of Lithuania describe stirring cream and butter in a warmed clay bowl with a wooden spoon, always the same way.

  1. [tsg2013] Publication of an application for a TSG, 'Žemaitiškas kastinys', EC No LT-TSG-0007-0910-11.11.2011, Official Journal of the European Union C 237, 15.8.2013, pp. 40–43 (2013/C 237/08), copy hosted by GOV.UKspec
  2. [zpienas] Žemaitijos pienas, product page 'Kastinys 30 %' (200 g)web