Dairy products
cultured cream product and traditional condiment
living tradition
Cream, starter culture, soups, potatoes, pancakes, curd, kastinys, sauces
Cultured cream
What is grietinė?
Grietinė is cultured cream. It has the richness of milk fat and a light acidity, so it works both as a cold condiment and as the base for a sauce.
In Lithuanian cooking, sour cream constantly appears with potatoes, pancakes, curd, soups, dumplings, and mushrooms. On a traditional farm, it was skimmed from the surface of settled milk, and butter was churned from it, so grietinė is both a condiment and a dairy-processing ingredient.
Grietinė and Kastinys
Žemaitiškas kastinys shows that sour cream can be not an addition but the main material. When worked with butter and a sour milk product, it becomes a separate dish.
For that reason grietinė is an important part of dairy-product technique, not only a spoonful on barščiai.
Using It in Hot Dishes
Sour cream can curdle in heat if added directly to boiling soup. It is better to mix it separately with hot liquid and only then return it to the pot.
This simple tempering helps keep a smoother sauce and a gentler soup texture.
Serving Uses
Sour cream suits potato pancakes, cepelinai, dumplings, šaltibarščiai, sauerkraut soup, mushroom dishes, and fresh curd cheese.
With salt, dill, and garlic it becomes a simple cold sauce for boiled potatoes.
Recipe
How to make homemade grietinė
Homemade grietinė is made by culturing rich cream with a live starter. The result depends on the cream's fat content, the starter, and the temperature.
Ingredients
- 500 ml 30-35% cream
- 2 tbsp live sour cream, kefir, or cultured milk
- A pinch of salt if making sauce
- Dill or garlic for sauce, optional
Method
- Bring the cream to room temperature.
- Stir in the live starter and pour into a clean container.
- Cover and keep at room temperature until thickened and lightly sour.
- Chill in the refrigerator. For sauce, mix in salt, dill, or garlic.
Notes
The richer the cream, the thicker the sour cream.
When adding sour cream to soup, first mix it with a spoonful of hot liquid so it does not curdle.
