How to Make Kiseli Kupus: Whole Sour Cabbage Heads for Sarma
Kiseli kupus is Balkan sour cabbage: whole cored heads of white cabbage fermented in brine and used leaf by leaf, above all for sarma. Use salt equal to…
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Fermented Foods of Eastern Europe and the Balkans
Kvass, fermented milks, sheep cheese, sour soups and whole-vegetable pickles from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Borș Recipe: Romanian Fermented Wheat Bran for Souring Ciorbă
Borș is a Romanian and Moldovan sour liquid made by fermenting scalded wheat bran in water for 2–4 days (1–2 days with some old borș as starter). Lactic…
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Trahanas Recipe: Greek Sour Milk and Cracked Wheat for Soup
Trahanas is the Greek and Cypriot pantry crumble of fermented milk (sour trahanas) or fresh milk (sweet) and cracked wheat: the milk is fermented, the wheat added, the…
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Turšija: Balkan Fermented Whole Vegetables, and How to Brine Them
Turšija is the Balkan tradition of pickling whole or large-cut vegetables – peppers, cucumbers, green tomatoes, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage – for winter. The fermented kind is made…
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Ryazhenka: Russia’s Fermented Baked Milk and How to Make It at Home
Ryazhenka is an Eastern European fermented milk made from baked milk: whole milk is held just below boiling for several hours until caramel-tan, cooled to about 42°C, mixed…
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Kiselo Mlyako: How to Make Bulgarian Yogurt at Home
Kiselo mlyako is Bulgarian yogurt: milk fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus at about 42–45°C until it sets into a firm, sour, unstrained curd, usually…
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Żurek Recipe: Polish Sour Rye Soup and How to Make the Żur Starter
Żurek is Poland's sour rye soup, soured with żur – rye flour and water fermented for about 4–5 days, then strained. A Kraków study found the best rye…
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Bryndza Cheese: Slovakia’s Sheep Cheese, Bryndzové Halušky and a Homemade Version
Bryndza is Slovakia's soft, spreadable, salty sheep's cheese, made by ripening fresh ewes' milk lump cheese and grinding it with salt. Slovenská bryndza is an EU-protected PGI (2008)…
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Kvass Recipe: How to Make Traditional Rye Bread Kvass at Home
Kvass is a traditional Eastern European drink made by fermenting dark rye bread (or rye malt) with water, sugar, yeast and lactic acid bacteria. To make it, toast…
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