Ryazhanka (Fermented Caramelized Milk) Recipe (2024)

I’m eager to make this, but there may be an important cultural culinary difference here. Most sour cream in the US is store-bought and not live-cultured. I’m assuming that is different in Ukraine, because most American sour cream won’t ferment a thing. You’ll just be eating 2-day hot milk (yikes). Stick to kefir or yogurt or something else with live lactic acid bacteria for a safe drink. This sounds DELICIOUS and I will be making it ASAP!

It is best to substitute with sour cream, creme fraiche or a piece of sourdough rye bread to ferment the baked milk! Hope that helps.

There may be valid reasons to avoid ultra-pasteurized dairy, but the false notion that "the culture can't grow in it" is not one of them. Lactobacilli will ferment the ultra-pasteurized lactose as well as the caramelized lactose in this recipe; I make creme fraiche from ultra-pasteurized heavy cream and a bit of cultured buttermilk regularly.

I started making ryazhenka for myself some years ago. Cultured sour cream, low fat or regular, works best for me as a starter--the container will say whether it is cultured. I use pasturized milk but not ultrapasturized since the culture can't grow in it. I also add a can of evaporated can to the crockpot. Cook 10 hours, wait until milk is around 115 degrees, mix sour cream with 1 cup milk from crockpot and then return to crockpot. Wrap towels around crockpot to keep it warm until it thickens.

Delicious! No added sugar like kefir and yogurt here! I love it!Made exactly as told.

I'm wondering if the simmering step at the beginning is really necessary for this recipe? Could you just plop it into the slow cooker with the same result? I made this as described, however found that the milk curdled in the slow cooker - I still saw the whole thing through and enjoyed the flavor but ended up straining it to remove the small milk pieces that coagulated which interfered with the overall texture. Did others experience this?

Why the coffee filters? Something in the air?

I’ve made this in the slow cooker before, and regular, store-bought (full fat) sour cream works just fine.

What temperature should the target be for the low slow-cooker setting? Mine is set at 185 F and I'm wondering if I should adjust it.

Delicious! No added sugar like kefir and yogurt here! I love it!Made exactly as told.

Could this be done with a nut milk? While it would not have lactic acid, would it work?

I can't wait to try this! Thank you for sharing with us :)

I can't wait to try this! Thank you Olga for the suggestion for fermentation!

could we use lowfat kefir? i'm not worried about fat content, it's just what's already/always in my fridge. thanks!

Would this work with goat milk?

Also try to add kefir to dulce de leche.

Can you use goat milk? I have dairy goats and make a lot of yogurt and kefir. This sounds amazing!

Any idea how this is for the lactose intolerant? I have no problem with my own homemade yogurt (made with whole milk and fermented for about seven hours) but can’t tolerate straight milk.

I started making ryazhenka for myself some years ago. Cultured sour cream, low fat or regular, works best for me as a starter--the container will say whether it is cultured. I use pasturized milk but not ultrapasturized since the culture can't grow in it. I also add a can of evaporated can to the crockpot. Cook 10 hours, wait until milk is around 115 degrees, mix sour cream with 1 cup milk from crockpot and then return to crockpot. Wrap towels around crockpot to keep it warm until it thickens.

I wonder if you can use Finnish viilia in this as the fermentor instead of Kefir.