🧀 Soured milk
Also known as: sour milk, clabber
Soured on its own or with a starter.
Prostokvasha (clabbered milk) is one of the simplest fermented milk products: milk that has curdled through the action of lactic acid bacteria. In traditional cooking it was made by natural souring — raw milk was left somewhere warm and its own microflora soured it; milk was also started with a spoonful of ready prostokvasha or sour cream. Industrial prostokvasha is made from pasteurised milk with pure cultures (mesophilic lactococci, sometimes with thermophilic streptococcus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus).
Similar naturally soured milks are known in many cultures — from Scandinavian fermented milk products to Eastern European sour milk. Prostokvasha is drunk, eaten with a spoon and used for pancakes, fritters and baking.
It differs from kefir in having no yeasts or kefir grains, and from yogurt in its simpler starter and softer curd. Keep in mind that pasteurised milk without a starter usually does not sour “properly” but spoils, while natural souring of raw milk carries a safety risk; so it is more reliable to use a starter.
How it connects to milk
🧀 Soured milk → made from → 🥛 Milk
Links
- How it is made
- 🔄 Fermentation
- Made from
- 🥛 Milk
- Where it is traditional
- 🌍 Eastern Europe
- Product type
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products
- Part of
- 🥣 Fermented milk products
- Wine and milk
- 🍷 Wild yeast
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between prostokvasha and kefir?
Prostokvasha is soured only by lactic acid bacteria, while kefir is made with grains that also contain yeasts. That is why kefir is slightly fizzy and prostokvasha is not.
Can you make clabbered milk from pasteurised milk?
Yes, but you need a starter — for example, a spoonful of ready prostokvasha or sour cream. Without it, pasteurised milk often spoils instead of souring.
What is Mechnikov prostokvasha?
A type of prostokvasha soured with thermophilic streptococcus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, named after the microbiologist Ilya Mechnikov.
Similar
🧀 Varenets · 🧀 Ryazhenka · 🥣 Tvorog · 🥣 Sour cream · 🥣 Skyr · 🧀 Matsoni
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.