would patiently lift the skins from shallow
dishes of cream and arrange them in wrinkled
mounds to imitate the appearance of a
cabbage. Cabbage cream is now a mere
curiosity. But the 16th century English
invention called clotted cream (and its
Turkish and Afghan relatives kaymak and
qymaq) remain vital traditions.
Old-fashioned clotted cream is made by
heating cream just short of the boil in shallow
pans for several hours, then letting it cool and
stand for a day or so, and removing the thick
solid layer. Heat accelerates the rise of the fat
globules, evaporates some of the water, melts
some of the aggregated globules into pockets
of butterfat, and creates a cooked flavor. The
result is a mix of thick, granular, fatty areas
and thin, creamy ones, with a rich, nutty
flavor and a straw-colored surface. Clotted
cream is around 60% fat, and is spread onto
scones and biscuits and eaten with fruit.
barry
(Barry)
#1