Kaimaghi (the Adjaran form of kaymak) is the thick clotted cream skimmed from slowly heated cow's milk, and is the foundational dairy product of Upper Adjara. Nearly every Adjaran butter dish (borano, khavitsi, the burnt butter iaghi) begins from kaimaghi or its derivatives. It is eaten with mchadi and cheese, spread on bread, or served as a dessert with baklava, honey pancakes, quince or apple. It is central to the Muslim Adjaran dairy-preservation economy that defines the region's kitchen.
Dense, silky and intensely milky, with a faintly nutty note from the slow heating, spreading like cold butter but richer. Eaten with mchadi or on a honey pancake, it is pure concentrated cream.
Whole cow's milk is heated slowly to about 80C, then held at that temperature so a thick layer of fat and protein rises and clots on the surface. The milk is then cooled undisturbed, and the thick cream layer is skimmed off whole. The slow, gentle heating is what allows the fat to clump into a cohesive layer rather than dispersing; fast heating breaks the structure.
Variations
A richer version uses buffalo milk. Some households lightly salt it for savoury use.
On the Palate
Where Kaimaghi sits in the Georgian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
6 steps · 15 min
- 14 min
Pour 3 litres whole cow's milk into a wide, shallow pan.
- 220 min
Heat very slowly to 80C, holding it there for 20 minutes without boiling; a skin will form on the surface.
Watch outHeat the milk slowly to 80 and hold it — gentle heat lets the fat clot into one cohesive layer; heat it fast and the cream never gathers.
- 312 min
Remove from the heat and let the milk cool undisturbed to room temperature, then refrigerate 12 hours.
- 44 min
Run a knife around the edge of the cream layer and lift it off in one thick sheet.
Watch outAfter chilling, run a knife round the edge and lift the cream off in one whole sheet — tear it and you're left with scraps, not the prized single layer.
- 55 min
Store the kaimaghi chilled; it keeps about a week.
- 65 min
Serve at room temperature with mchadi and cheese, or with honey and bread.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
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