Estonian Milk and Milk Products (2010)

Publisher: Estonian Dairy Association
All rights reserved.

Production: Menu Publishing House

ISBN 978-9949-33-309-7 (epub)

Introduction

Both milk, and food products made from milk, have a very long history, and still hold their established place in the top rank of the best food products.

Milk products have a very high biological value, and are one of those foods that the human body needs throughout its life. Their versatility satisfies the different tastes of various consumers, and at the same time the many forms all fulfil their main roles in the metabolism of the human organism.

Milk products are one of the most rapidly developing fields in our food processing industry – new milk-based products with brand new additional ingredients are introduced to the market regularly. Estonian manufacturers will continue their contributions to maintaining the place of honour that milk and milk products have occupied in our everyday diet, both in Estonia and in the rest of the European Union.

This book gives a short overview of the centuries-long history of dairying and more than century-old cattle breeding activities in Estonia. It includes the classification of milk products and gives a picture of the dairy products manufactured in Estonia. The book doesn’t describe any particular milk product as such, but a product group, because the main nutritional values of such a product group endure through time, explaining why and when – from the standpoint of the metabolism of the human organism – milk, kefir, butter, sour cream, yogurt, etc, are ideal for the human body.

The composition of the recipes in the book bears in mind both their appealing tastes and the health advantages intrinsic to milk products.

From Manor Dairies to Modern Dairy Industry

Estonian agriculture is versatile and has centuries-old traditions, and dairying has been one of its pillars throughout the years. On the one hand, our climatic conditions have always favoured the development of dairy farming, and on the other, the Estonian breeding herd is very productive thanks to the century-long selective breeding of our cattle.

The first records about dairying in Estonia date back to 1433 when butter as a payment in kind was mentioned in the Tallinn council records. At the beginning of the 19th century, the development of dairying started to thrive in the Estonian manors that established, in addition to distilleries, also cattle farms with breeding centres.

Due to the improvement of cattle and their proper care milk production increased, and dairies were set up in the manors. They also hired specialists in the fields of animal and dairy husbandry from abroad, such as butter masters from Denmark and cheese masters from Switzerland, who shared their skills and tricks of the trade with local Estonians employed in the manor dairies.

At the end of the 19th century there were around 200 manually-, steam- or horse-powered manor dairies producing butter, sour cream and cheese in Estonia. As early as the second half of the 19th century butter became an important export for Estonia, being sent to Great Britain and Denmark.

Milk Brought Wealth to Farms

Butter and milk were not everyday foods in old Estonian farm households. In summer, milk was sufficient for the farm’s own needs, but cows didn’t milk in winter as they were then fed only on straw and cordgrass.

Beef cattle breeding stagnated until agrarian reform in the middle of the 19th century allowed peasants to purchase farmsteads outright. The number of pack animals on farms decreased, more beef cattle were purchased, and farmers learned how to take better care of them and feed them better. Cows became providers for the family as milk and its products were valuable goods and their main source of money.

In the 19th century, a typical Estonian farm had two milking cows giving on average less than 1,000kg of milk in a year. Butter and milk was still scarce on the peasant’s table, as home-made butter was salted and sold in the town markets.

Dairy cattle breeding became a foundation of the Estonian farmstead and agriculture as a whole. Soon, all the farms produced enough milk that it wasn’t practical for everybody to make butter themselves. In 1875, C. R. Jakobson, a farmers’ adviser and the founder of the Estonian Farmers’ Society, established a model dairy in Kurgja. In 1894, the first Estonian privately owned dairy industry was established in Paide.

Attempts to establish the first dairy co-operative were made already in 1897, but actual co-operation in dairying began only in 1899 at the first congress of the deputies of the Estonian Farmers’ Societies. As the tsarist authorities were afraid of co-operative activities for political reasons, the first statute of a dairy co-operative was approved only in 1908 in Imavere, Viljandi County.

Estonian farmers now followed the ‘E pluribus unum’ principle. Co-operation developed into a well-organised network and soon it could be seen that where dairy co-operatives worked well, so too did cattle breeding and agriculture develop well.

Butter and Cheese Export

World War I was a great setback for Estonian dairying. In 1918, when the Republic of Estonia was declared independent, there were only 87 registered dairies in Estonia, however their number started to increase rapidly. At first, the heads of the independent Republic of Estonia didn’t favour the export of dairy products, and considered the food on the table of local people more important, but as a result of the insistence of the farmers’ leaders the ban on the export of fats was abolished in 1921. At the same time, the state started to demand the inspection of dairy products so that only high-quality butter would be exported from Estonia.

From 1924 to 1939, the export of butter accounted for about a quarter of the total goods’ export of Estonia, and as much as half of the export of agricultural produce. Two-thirds of the butter was exported to the English and one-third to the German market. The export of cheese was not so successful. Production of cheese was random and unstable through the years.

By 1934, the Estonian dairy industry was almost completely based on cooperative activities. At the end of the first Estonian Republic, there were 696 active dairy industrial units in Estonia processing over 400,000 tonnes of milk in a year. The first milking machine was put into use in Estonia in 1938.

Estonia as an Important Dairying Country

Estonia remained an important dairying country during its incorporation into the Soviet Union. Immediately after the World War II, milk was still processed in numerous dairy co-operatives that had survived the war, but step by step old and small dairy industrial units and dairies were closed. In 1951, there were 212 dairy industrial units in Estonia; by 1980, their number had decreased to 41.

Agricultural reforms began in 1989 with the establishment of farmsteads. Restoration of independence in Estonia in 1991 turned a new page in the Estonian economy. Privatisation started both in agriculture and in the processing industry, and collective farms (kolkhozes) and state farms (sovkhozes) were liquidated. During the first decade of independence the production and consumption of milk decreased dramatically.

After Estonia joined the European Union, milk production in Estonia geared up again. New industrial units were built, equipment and technologies were modernised, and new dairy products were introduced to the market.

Today, the number of dairy industrial units in Estonia is around 40, whilst 15 processing units are in the hands of five owners. There are also several distinctive small producers on the market who have found a niche for themselves, and who are producing interesting dairy products with exclusive ingredients or traditional national products.

Estonians value dairy products, and their everyday diet includes more cheese, fermented milk products and kefir, yogurts, fresh and sour cream than even just a decade ago. The selection of various dairy products in our stores is more diverse than in many other countries in the European Union.

Research and Development in Estonian Dairying

In 1900, professor K. Happich established the Bacteriological Dairy Laboratory in Tartu which started research work in the field of dairying. They studied the bacteriology of milk and milk products, the chemical composition of milk, butter and cheese and the relation of the quality of milk products to the bacteriological cultures. Bacteriological cultures suitable for the fermentation of milk and cream were developed in the laboratory and sold even to Russia.

Continuous studies on the quality of milk products began in 1924 when the law on the inspection of the export of dairy products was adopted. The laboratory of the Control Station of the Export of Dairy Products mandatorily inspected the microbiological quality of all exported dairy products, and the quality of water, packaging materials and additives used in dairy industries. They also produced starters from pure cultures of lactic acid bacteria that were sent by post to all registered dairies free of charge. Nikolai King, who became one of the most outstanding dairy scientists in Estonia, worked in the Control Station of the Export of Dairy Products.

At the end on the 1930’s, Õisu Dairying Institute with its Experimental Dairying Station (chaired by Nikolai King) became one of the scientific research centres of dairy farming in Estonia. The scientific work covered butter and cheese making. They also tested the equipment used in dairying both technically and technologically. The scientific works of King were published in several dairying magazines abroad.

The Chair of Dairying of the University of Tartu (from 1939, the Institute of Dairying) became the centre of dairying research, focussing on research in the field of the microbiology of milk and milk products.

In 1965, a Construction and Technology Bureau was established for the Ministry of Meat and Dairy Industry of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, the main task of which was the scientific-technical development of meat and dairy industries. Product development was carried out according to the possibilities and understanding of that time, and must be highly valued today. The institution was active until the beginning of the 1990’s.

During the Soviet times scientific activities in the field of dairying were concentrated in Tartu, where the work was continued at first at the University of Tartu, and later in the respective department of the Agricultural Academy of Estonia. The first Swallow of summer – Lactobacillus fermentum ME3 – was discovered in 1995 by the group of scientists of the University of Tartu lead by professors Mikelsaar and Zilmer. This is the first achievement in product development in our dairying and the first lactobacillus of Estonian origin. We should also mention the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum TENSIA™ and Lactobacillus plantarum INDUCIA™, the properties of which have been studied and described by the Bio-Competence Centre of Healthy Dairy Products in cooperation with the scientists of the University of Tartu.

These living bacteria improve the health of the human organism.

Black and White in the North, Red in the South

If you drive from the north to the south through the small land of Estonia in summer, you can see how the colour of their cattle changes – the black and white herds in North Estonia are replaced with the red ones of southern Estonia. This is the result of the work of the local Baltic German landlords who laid the foundation of modern dairy production in Estonia in the 19th century.

Estonian Holstein Breed

1838 is regarded as the beginning of selective cattle breeding in Estonia, the year when they started to import black and white cattle of the Dutch Friesian breed - the ancestors of the modern Holstein breed - from Holland. Later, this breed was imported from Germany. Dutch Friesian cows were distinguished by their high milk yield. They had short legs, a wide compact body and they weighed 500kg and more.

Today, both the black and white, and red and white cows are known as Holstein dairy cattle; this breed has become the most numerous dairy breed in the world, being popular due to its high milk production compared with other breeds.

Selective breeding of Holstein cattle in Estonia began in 1975 when they started to improve the old Estonian Black and White breed using bull semen imported from the USA. Today, our Holstein dairy cattle have longer legs, their bodies are longer and deeper, and body weights have increased – adult cows weigh over 700kg. The animals are calm and have a very good appetite.

In 1998 the Estonian Black and White breed was renamed the Estonian Holstein breed. The Holstein breed is suitable both for smaller farms as well as modern industrial farms with loose housing systems. The proportion of Holsteins has increased by one fourth during the last two decades, making up 77% of the total dairy cattle population of Estonia.

Today, the Estonian Holstein breed is known outside Estonia as well. Since regaining independence in 1991, heifers of Holstein breed have been sold to Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Poland, Holland, Malta, Spain, Romania, Moldova and Turkey. Long-term purposeful breeding, the use of international breeding material, good breed type and high milk production, all speak in favour of the Estonian Holstein breed. It is also important that the cows come from dairy farms with a suitable herd structure that are free from infectious diseases.

The milk production of the Holstein breed cows has significantly increased during the last decade. 68,058 Estonian Holstein breed cows were subject to performance testing in 2009, and they milked on average 7,614 kilograms of milk each with 4.09% fat and 3.35% protein content. The milk production exceeded 8,000kg per head in 121 herds. In 2009, a new 305day production record was broken: 18,935 kilograms of milk and 1,365 kilograms of fat and proteins.

Vissi beauty competitions with international experts judging the candidates are held every year to nominate the prettiest cow of Holstein breed.

Estonian Red Breed

The selective breeding of the Estonian Red breed started at the same time as the selective breeding of other European breeds, and was developed as a result of a hundred years of selective breeding work. The Danish Red breed has influenced the development of this breed a lot. In improving the Estonian Red breed the following were used in crossbreeding: Angler, North-Schleswig, and Danish Red breeds.

In 1892, 21 Angler breed cows were imported from Germany, and this laid the foundation for the pure-breeding of Angler stock in the Estonian manors. Imported bulls were used to improve the local herds in crossbreeding. The acknowledged breeders in the 19th century were Academician Middendorff and Sievers, an instructor of Angler breeding.

In 1885, the Baltic Cattle-Breeders’ Association (established in 1885) started to register cattle in the herdbook which was first published in 1886 under the title “Balti aretuskarja tõuraamat” (Herdbook of Baltic Breeding Herd). This was the first herdbook in the whole of Russia and speeded up the progress of selective breeding.

Much attention was paid to milk production first, and other characteristics were considered less important. In the early 1890s, professor Stegmann began to promote cattle with stronger constitutions, and therefore the import of the Danish Red cattle started as they already had a big body weight and high milk productivity. The Red cattle breed started to spread through Estonian farm herds at the end of the 19th century. Jaan Mägi, who considered the Angler breed to be best adapted to our conditions, was actively advocating breeding of the Red, and he set up the Estonian Angler Breeders’ Society in 1919. In 1926, he passed his work over to Aksel Mägiste.

In 1928, Mägi renamed the Estonian Angler breed the Estonian Red breed, and the society was renamed the Estonian Red Cattle Breeding Society. The Red breed has survived several ebbs and flows. Many valuable breeding herds were destroyed during World War I. World War II and the following collectivisation brought about another major setback. It was some time before milk production was restored. The best years during the Soviet times were from 1985 to 1990 when the highest milk production results per cow were achieved. In 1989, the average milk production per cow was 3,919kg, with 4.07% fat and 3.39% protein content. The biggest number (168,053) of Red cows in Estonia was registered in 1975. Since then, the number has been gradually decreasing, there being only 20,578 cows at the end of 2009.

A new stage began in 1993 when the breeders of Danish Reds invited the breeders of the Angler, Lithuanian Red, Latvian Brown and Estonian Red cattle to Denmark. As a result of this meeting the European Red Dairy Breed Association was established, the main focus of which was increasing the protein content of milk, the health or disease resistance of cattle, ease of calving, and strong legs and cloven hooves. Participation in the work of this association has offered good opportunities to the breeders of Estonian Red cattle to communicate with the European Red cattle breeders and to get valuable breeding material on favourable terms, helping to popularise the Estonian Red breed all over Europe.

A major breakthrough has been achieved in the milk production of the cows during the past years. There are many Red breed cows who milk over 10,000 kilograms of milk in a year. The record of the breed was achieved in 2009 with 16,051 kilograms. The average annual milk production of cows in many herds is over 8,000 kilograms.

The cow of the Estonian Red breed is calm and friendly. The breed is characterised by its red main colour, one that may vary from red, mottled red to brown colours depending on the breeding material from different countries (both light and dark tones are allowed). The colour black is not approved.

Estonian Native Breed

The history of the breeding of Estonian Native cattle goes back to the 19th century. The need to improve the local herd was first mentioned as early as 1803.

The Estonian Native cattle breed has developed from the local aboriginal herd throughout the centuries, but purposeful measuring and evaluation of the cows of the Native breed and the selection of bulls began in 1909 lead by Aleksander Lilienblatt who had received special education in Finland.

The registration of the cows of the Native breed in the herdbook started in 1914. The Estonian Native Cattle Breeders’ Society was established on 20th April 1920 to better conduct the breeding work, the goal of which was a pale red and genetically polled dairy cattle of low or medium weight, with strong conformation and longevity, very productive and with milk of an especially high fat percentage .

Bull associations and stations were established for breeding. In 1939, there were 59 breeding centres for Native cattle in Estonia. The results of the purposeful breeding work carried out under the leadership of the society were remarkable. According to the records in the 1938/39 Estonian milk recording yearbook a cow of the Estonian Native breed produced 4.8 kg of milk fat with 100 feed units.

A dismissive attitude during the stagnation of the Soviet Union period deprived the breeders of the Estonian Native breed of their organisation – in 1947, the Estonian Native Cattle Breeders’ Society was liquidated and the improvement of Estonian Native cattle was co-ordinated by the other breeding centres. This was a big mistake which caused the breeding of Estonian Native cattle to stagnate for a long time. The number of Native cattle decreased to the critical point in terms of preservation of the breed – only 696 animals at the beginning of 1989.

At that time, the political situation in Estonia had started to change and people had the desire to develop a local cattle breed – the Estonian Native breed. In 1989, the Estonian Native Cattle Breeders’ Society was re-established on the initiative of Ain-Ilmar Leesment, and this marked the new beginning in the selective breeding of the Estonian Native cattle.

As of the 1st January 2010 there are 111 herds of Estonian Native cattle, with 713 animals, including 363 cows, in Estonia. There are 11 breeding bulls in the nine herds, and the semen of 20 bulls of the Estonian Native breed is available in the Kehtna Artificial Insemination Station.

The core of the Native breed comes from 24 breeding farms with 317 Native breed cows.

The Estonian Native breed is displayed on at least three nationwide fairs and competitions every year, and they choose the most beautiful cow of the Native breed at the Ülenurme exhibition.

The genetic milk production ability of the Estonian Native cattle has been studied in two feeding tests. In the Põlula experimental farm, the cows of the Native breed milked 6,000–8,500kg of milk in their first lactation in 2000–2002. The results have improved year by year.

The Estonian Native Cattle Breeders’ Society works closely together with the scientists of the Estonian University of Life Sciences. One of the ways of preserving the breed is to deep-freeze the embryos, the number of which is 103 at present.

The Estonian Native cattle breed has been included in the World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity since 1993, a book that records the endangered species and breeds published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Milk, its Average Nutritional Value and Calcium Content

The various types of milk consumed as food and their approximate average nutritional values per 100 grams. Source: Mattei, R. 2005

Type | Proteins (g) | Fat (g) | Lactose (g) | Calcium (mg) | Kcal
Cow’s milk | 3.3 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 115 | 63
Breast milk | 1 | 4.4 | 6.9 | 30 | 71
Buffalo’s milk | 3.8 | 7.5 | 4.9 | 190 | 102
Goat’s milk | 3.3 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 130 | 71
Ewe’s milk | 5.6 | 7.5 | 4.4 | 200 | 107
Mare’s milk | 2.2 | 1.6 | 6 | 90 | 47
Asses’ milk | 2.1 | 1.5 | 6.2 | 80 | 47
Camel’s milk | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.1 |  | 69
Yak’s milk | 5.2 | 7 | 4.6 |  | 102
Llama’s milk | 3.9 | 3.2 | 5.3 |  | 6
Reindeer milk | 10.3 | 22.5 | 2.4 |  | 253

Classification of Milk Products

1. Milk

1.1 Pasteurized drinking milk

1.2 UHT milk

1.3 Flavoured milk drinks

2. Fresh cream

2.1 Single cream (10%)

2.2 Whipping cream (35%)

3. Fermented milk products

3.1 Kefir

3.2 Fermented buttermilk

3.3 Sour milk

3.4 Sour cream

4. Yogurt

4.1 Natural yogurt (unflavoured)

4.2 Flavoured yogurt

4.3 Drinking yogurt

4.4 Yogurt drink

5. Curd and curd products

5.1 Natural curd (unflavoured)

5.2 Curd dessert

5.3 Glazed cheese curd

5.4 Glazed dessert

6. Cheese

6.1 Unripened cheeses

6.1.1 Cottage cheese

6.1.2 Fresh cheese

6.1.3 Brine cheese

6.1.4 Ricotta

6.1.5 Mascarpone

6.1.6 Mozzarella

6.1.7 Sõir (Estonian cooked curd cheese)

6.2 Ripened cheeses

6.2.1 Hard rennet cheeses

6.2.1.1 Parmesan

6.2.1.2 Emmental

6.2.2 Semi-hard and semi-soft cheeses

6.2.2.1 Edam

6.2.2.2 Gouda

6.2.2.3 Tilsiter

6.2.2.4 Havarti

6.2.2.5 Smoked cheese

6.2.3 Soft cheeses

6.2.3.1 Roquefort

6.2.3.2 Gorgonzola

6.2.3.3 Brie

6.2.3.4 Camembert

6.3 Processed cheeses

7. Butter
8. Milk desserts

8.1 Pudding

9. Concentrated and dried milk products

9.1 Evaporated milk products

9.1.1 Evaporated milk

9.1.2 Condensed milk

9.2 Dried milk products

1. MILK

1.1 Pasteurized drinking milk

Based on the fat content, drinking milk is categorised into skimmed milk (fat content not over 0.5%), semi-skimmed milk (fat content between 1.5% and 1.8%) and whole milk (fat content not below 3.5%). Drinking milk is a standardised, homogenised and pasteurized dairy product. Drinking milk with a 2.5% fat content is the most common type of drinking milk in Estonia.

Pasteurized milk is white, with the slightly sweet taste characteristic of milk and without any additional flavours or aromas.

1.2 UHT milk

This is a milk with various fat contents that is standardised, homogenised and processed at a temperature over 100 °C, and packaged aseptically.

UHT milk is white, with a slightly sweet taste.

1.3 Flavoured milk drinks

Flavoured milk drinks are usually made from UHT milk with various fat contents by adding sugar, cocoa, juice, coffee, flavouring agents or other ingredients. The most popular flavours are chocolate, strawberry and banana. Flavoured milk drinks are also produced by adding flavouring agents to drinking milk. Milk drinks typically don’t contain over 30% of additional ingredients.

2. FRESH CREAM

Cream is a dairy product the fat content of which exceeds 10%. In manufacturing cream, milk is separated into skimmed milk and cream. Cream is then standardised to the desired fat content.

The types of fresh cream are distinguished by the type of their heat treatment – pasteurized or UHT cream.

2.1 Single cream (10%)

Single cream is produced by standardising the cream to the 10% fat content, then it is homogenised and pasteurized or UHT processed.

2.2 Whipping cream (35%)

Whipping cream is produced by standardising the cream to the ≥35% fat content, then it is homogenised and pasteurized or UHT processed.

3. FERMENTED MILK PRODUCTS

Fermented milk products are produced from homogenised or pasteurized milk or cream with the help of starters containing lactic acid bacteria. Some of these products have been enriched with different types of dairy products (whey powder, milk powder, buttermilk powder) before fermentation.

The use of different starters in manufacturing various types of products gives each product a specific texture and a characteristic taste.

Fermentation temperature and time vary by product. In manufacturing kefir, sour milk, sour cream and fermented buttermilk, lower fermentation temperatures (24–30 °C) are used. The manufacturing of yogurt requires higher fermentation temperatures (38–42 °C). All fermented dairy products are cooled before packaging in order to hinder the growth of the lactic acid bacteria in the products. The content of living lactic acid bacteria in fresh fermented dairy products should be ≥10⁷CFU/g. Fermented milk products should be stored at 2–6 °C.

3.1 Kefir

Kefir is a fermented milk product that was traditionally made with kefir fungi. Today, a starter made from kefir fungi is used. In addition to lactic acid bacteria, the kefir microflora also contains yeasts. Yeasts give kefir its characteristic, slightly sharp taste and effervescent texture. The yeast content of kefir should be 10⁴CFU/g.

Besides lactic acid fermentation, some alcohol and CO₂ are produced in kefir as a result of the effect of yeasts. Today, most kefir is produced with a 2.5% fat content.

3.2 Fermented buttermilk

Buttermilk is a liquid left behind after churning butter out of cream. Buttermilk may be marketed as a fresh or a fermented product, but the latter is more common. A mixture of buttermilk and skimmed milk is used as a raw material for making buttermilk to which mesophilic starter is added. Fermented buttermilk is a slightly sour and effervescent product, the fat content of which doesn’t exceed 0.5%.

3.3 Sour milk

Sour milk is a standardised fermented milk product. Mesophilic lactic acid bacteria are used for fermentation, and various fruit and berry ingredients may be added to the final product.

3.4 Sour cream

Sour cream is manufactured by adding mesophilic lactic acid bacteria to standardised cream. Sour creams with a 10% or 20% fat content are most common. Sour cream is a highly viscous and slightly sour dairy product.

4. YOGURT

Yogurt is a milk product with increased dry matter content the fermentation process of which takes place with the help of thermophilic starters. The fat-free dry matter content of yogurt is increased by 1–3% mainly by adding skimmed milk powder. Yogurt must contain different types of yogurt bacteria in the amount of ≥10⁷ CFU/g. Post-fermentation heat-treatment may be used to prolong its shelf-life. The yogurts that have been heat-treated after fermentation don’t contain lactic acid bacteria, so they can be kept at room temperature. Their shelf-life can extend to months.

4.1 Natural yogurt (unflavoured)

Natural yogurts have various fat contents and contain no additives nor additional ingredients.

4.2 Flavoured yogurt

Flavoured yogurt is a yogurt with various fat contents that contains additional ingredients and/or additives. Additional ingredients can include fruits and berries that are added in the form of a jam before packaging, cereals, nuts, etc. The content of fruit or berry ingredients can be up to 20% in the final product. In some cases, flavouring agents are used as additives.

4.3 Drinking yogurt

Drinking yogurt is a yogurt with various fat contents that has typically been homogenised before packaging. Homogenisation makes yogurt less viscous. Various jams are added to drinking yogurts before packaging.

4.4 Yogurt drink

Yogurt drink is a yogurt with various fat contents to which different additional ingredients have been added before homogenisation and packaging. The dry matter content of a yogurt drink is typically lower than that of drinking yogurt. The manufacture of yogurt drinks with different juices where the yogurt content may vary is popular.

5. CURD AND CURD PRODUCTS

5.1 Curd

Curd is a concentrated dairy product that is manufactured by fermenting pasteurized skimmed milk and by processing its curds. A rennet enzyme is used for manufacturing a certain type of curd.

Curd can be manufactured either by using the traditional method or by the separation method where the whey is separated from the curds. The texture of the traditional curd is grainy; the texture of the curd manufactured by the separation method resembles paste.

Natural unflavoured curd has a slightly sour taste. Fat-free curd and the curd with a 5% fat content are the most common types. Curd desserts or savoury curd products are manufactured from curd by adding various ingredients and cream.

Whey Drinks

Whey drinks with different flavours can be made by adding juice or flavouring agents to whey. The fat content of whey drinks is 0.1%.

5.2 Curd Desserts

Curd desserts are curd products with a creamy or paste-like texture. Fresh cream, yogurt, sour cream, different flavours or flavouring agents, sugar, and fruit and berry ingredients are added to curd to give the product its characteristic taste.

Most popular is to add jams to curd. Curd desserts have various fat contents.

5.3 Glazed cheese curd

A glazed cheese curd is a glazed curd product. Sugar, butter and other ingredients are first added to curd, then rectangular or cylindrical pieces are shaped from the flavoured curd mixture and covered with various glazes.

5.4 Glazed dessert

This is a glazed curd product that contains, besides curd, sugar and other ingredients, vegetable fat as well.

6. CHEESE

Cheese is a concentrate of milk proteins with various fat contents. Cheese milk proteins are coagulated by adding rennet enzymes and/or a starter to produce cheese curds. Removing whey from the curds produces cheese.

Cheese can be manufactured from cow’s, buffalo’s, ewe’s or goat’s milk. There are over 2,000 known types of cheese in the world.

The main classifications of cheese:

1) unripened cheeses (fresh cheeses, cottage cheese, brine cheeses);

2) ripened cheeses (hard, semi-hard, soft, pizza cheeses);

3) processed cheeses.

In addition there are other common classifications of cheeses, such as differentiation by:

1) the process (rennet cheeses, acid-set cheeses, processed cheeses);

2) the texture (hard, semi-hard, soft cheeses);

3) the type of milk (cheeses made from cow’s, buffalo’s, goat’s and ewe’s milk);

4) the content of dry matter, fat and water;

5) the ripening process (unripened, ripened cheeses);

6) the taste (mild, sweet, piquant);

7) the size of the holes (cheeses with large holes, with small holes, with a lacy texture);

8) the rind/surface characteristics (blue-veined cheeses, soft-ripened cheeses, rindless cheeses, smear-ripened cheeses).

It takes about 10 kg of milk to produce 1 kg of cheese.

6.1 Unripened cheeses

6.1.1 Cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is a grainy concentrated dairy product produced by fermenting pasteurized skimmed milk with a mesophilic starter. When the acidity is sufficient, a rennet enzyme is added to the mixture. Whey is separated from them during the processing of the curds. Fresh or sour cream is added to the curds of cottage cheese before packaging to adjust the fat content of the final product.

Cottage cheese can be either natural or flavoured. Fat-free cottage cheese or the cottage cheese with a 4% fat content are the most common.

6.1.2 Fresh cheeses

To produce fresh cheese, cream is fermented with a mesophilic starter. Then the mixture is concentrated. Fresh cheese is a plastic dairy product with a slightly sour taste, high viscosity and a smooth texture. Today, fresh cheese is also produced from curd to which various milk-based ingredients are added. The fat content of a traditional fresh cheese is 45%, but there are also varieties with a lower fat content.

6.1.3 Brine cheeses (feta)

Feta is a white rindless brine cheese. Traditional feta has a crumbly texture. Today, most of the feta cheeses are manufactured by using the ultrafiltration method. The cheese is manufactured from standardised pasteurized milk to which a starter and a rennet enzyme are added. Then the curds are processed. After the curds are pressed, the cheese is cut into smaller pieces and salt is added. Feta cheese has a characteristic sharp taste and a high salt content.

6.1.4 Ricotta

Ricotta is an Italian unripened whey cheese that resembles curd. Ricotta is manufactured from goat’s, ewe’s, buffalo’s or cow’s milk. The cheese has a soft and tender texture and a low fat content.

6.1.5 Mascarpone

Mascarpone is an Italian cheese produced mainly from cow’s milk. It has a smooth texture and a high fat content. Lactic acid bacteria starter is not used in making mascarpone; instead, citric acid or lemon juice is added to the cream.

6.1.6 Mozzarella

Mozzarella is an Italian semi-soft pizza cheese that is special due to the heat-treatment of the cheese curds. Mozzarella is made of buffalo’s or cow’s milk. The cheese is white and slightly elastic, with a soft taste. To increase its shelf-life, mozzarella is marketed packaged in brine.

6.1.7 Sõir

Sõir is an Estonian cooked cheese made of curd. Curd is mixed with milk and the mixture is heated. Curds and whey are then separated, beaten eggs are mixed in, the mixture is seasoned with salt and caraway seeds and poured into moulds to set. The final product has a slightly sour taste and a grainy texture.

6.2. Ripened Cheeses

Rennet and lactic acid bacteria are used in manufacturing all ripened cheeses. This group includes many different varieties of cheese that are essentially similar, but some of them are nevertheless very different.

6.2.1 Hard rennet cheeses

6.2.1.1 Parmesan

Parmesan is a hard rennet cheese that must be ripened in a place with a high humidity level for up to two years. Parmesan has a slightly sweet aftertaste, its texture is crumbly and there are no holes on the cut surface. This group includes for example Estonian Forte cheese, etc.

6.2.1.2 Emmental

Emmental is ripened for at least three months. The cheese has a yellow ochre colour and a slightly sweet aftertaste. It has a strong texture, and its cut surface has large round holes about the size of a walnut. This group includes Saaremaa Ekstra and other Estonian cheeses.

6.2.2 Semi-hard and semi-soft rennet cheeses

6.2.2.1 Edam

Edam is a Dutch semi-hard rennet cheese that is traditionally sold in spherical form.Thecheeseisripenedfor1-10months.Edamhasayellowishcolourandapure softtaste.Thecheesehasanelastictexture,iseasytocut,anditscutsurfacehasround or oval holes. The cheese has an even thin rind that is covered with yellow or red foil, wax or paraffin wax. This group includes the following Estonian cheeses: Dutch Ball Cheese, Dutch Cheese, Estonian Cheese, Estonian Golden Cheese, Võru Cheese, Edam Cheese, Saaremaa Edam, etc. Estonian Cheese has a pure and slightly sour taste and smell, and it is of white to pale yellow colour. The cheese has a soft plastic texture, and its cut surface can have round or slightly oval holes. Estonian Cheese is characterised by being made as cheese bars of long cylindrical shape. The diameter of the cheese bars is 8–12 cm and their length is 10–35 cm.

6.2.2.2 Gouda

Gouda is a Dutch semi-hard rennet cheese. It has a soft and slightly sweet taste and an elastic texture that is easy to cut. The cheese is pale yellow and its cut surface has round or oval holes. The cheese is ripened for 1-36 months. Gouda is typically of a shallow cylindrical shape. This group includes the following cheeses produced in Estonia: Võru Gouda Cheese, Saare Cheese, Marta Cheese, etc.

6.2.2.3 Tilsiter (Atleet, Russian Cheese)

The cheeses of Tilsiter type are semi-hard rennet cheeses. It has an even pale yellow colour, a slightly sour and characteristic smell and taste, and a butter-like consistency. The cut surface of the cheese has a lacy texture with irregular small holes in it. This group includes the following Estonian cheeses: Atleet, Russian Cheese, Saare Leet, Estman Cheese, etc.

6.2.2.4 Havarti

Havarti is a Danish semi-soft rennet cheese that is ripened for up to 3 months. It has a mild, slightly creamy and sour taste. It has an even texture, and the cut surface has small irregularly distributed holes. The cheese is of pale yellow to yellow colour. This group includes the following Estonian cheeses: Võru Havarti Cheese , etc.

6.2.2.5 Smoked cheeses

Smoked cheeses are typically semi-hard rennet cheeses that have been smoke-cured before packaging to get the characteristic light smoky flavour. This group includes the following Estonian cheeses: Kadaka Smoked Cheese, Alder-Smoke Cheese, Smoked Cheese, etc.

6.2.3 Soft cheeses

Blue-veined cheeses

6.2.3.1 Roquefort

Roquefort is a French soft blue-veined cheese made from heat-treated ewe’s milk. The cheese is ripened for 3 months. Roquefort has a strong, even a sharp taste. Its texture is creamy, and it has distinctive veins of green mould. Cheese bearing the name of Roquefort can be produced only in a certain region in France.

6.2.3.2 Gorgonzola

Gorgonzola is an Italian soft blue-veined cheese made from cow’s or goat’s milk. The cheese is ripened for 3-4 months. The cheese has a strong aroma and taste, and a flowing content. The cut surface of the cheese is marbled with greenish-blue mould. Cheese bearing the name of Gorgonzola can be produced only in a certain region in Italy.

Soft-Ripened Cheeses

6.2.3.3 Brie

Brie is a French soft-ripened cheese made from cow’s milk. The cheese is ripened for at least 1-5 weeks. Brie is pale yellow on the inside and is covered with an edible white mould rind. The cheese has a strong pleasant aroma and a slightly piquant taste. Cheese bearing the name of Brie can be produced only in a certain region in France. Breti Brie manufactured in Estonia belongs to this group.

6.2.3.4 Camembert

Camembert is a French soft-ripened cheese made from cow’s milk. Camembert is pale yellow on the inside and covered with an edible white mould rind. The cheese is ripened for at least 3 weeks. If the ripening time is longer its content becomes softer. The more ripened the cheese, the more intensive its taste. Cheese bearing the name of Camembert can be produced only in a certain region in France.

6.3 Processed cheeses

Processed cheese is made from natural cheeses and other milk components. Cheese is melted with the help of melting salts during heat-treatment. Various ingredients can be added to cheese to produce processed cheeses with different flavours. Processed cheese has a smooth texture, it is elastic, and it can be either cut or spread. Processed cheeses are also packaged in skin and smoked.

7. BUTTER

Butter is a water-in-fat emulsion with a solid plastic texture. Butter is produced from fresh or sour cream, and the final product is either a fresh cream or a sour cream butter. Nowadays, in manufacturing sour cream butter, lactic acid bacteria starters are used or lactic acid is added during the churning of cream. Butter contains 80–90% of fat and a maximum 16% of water and other milk components. It is allowed to add water and salt to butter.

A butter spread with 72% of milk fat content is also manufactured in Estonia.

It takes around 20 kg of milk to produce 1 kg of butter.

8. MILK DESSERTS

8.1 Pudding

Pudding is a commercially manufactured milk-based dessert, the main raw materials of which are milk, sugar and modified starch. Various additional ingredients can be added to the final product to improve its properties. The ingredients are mixed, the product is heat-treated and packaged into cups. Pudding is a milk dessert with smooth texture and high viscosity. Puddings with vanilla, chocolate and other flavours are produced.

9. CONCENTRATED AND DRIED MILK PRODUCTS

9.1 Evaporated milk products

9.1.1 Evaporated milk

Evaporated milk is a concentrated milk product with a dry matter content of at least 25%. The product is of white colour, and its content is smooth and viscous with the taste characteristic of pasteurized milk.

9.1.2 Condensed milk

Condensed milk is a concentrated milk product with sugar.

The product usually contains not more than 27% of water , 43–46% of sugar and at least 28% of dry matter of milk. Condensed milk has a pale yellow colour, smooth consistency and high viscosity and is a sweet milk product.

9.2 Dried milk products

In producing dried milk products water is separated from the raw material during processing. The moisture content in the final product mustn’t exceed 5%. Skimmed milk, whole milk, buttermilk, whey and cream powders are produced.

The Role of Milk in our Diet

Milk has occupied a place of honour in our diet for a good reason. Like all Nordic people, Estonians are known for their fondness of milk. Milk products and dishes prepared from milk are prominent in all the national cuisines of this region, and milk is considered one of the pillars of a healthy and balanced diet here. Dairy products are a suitable food for the human body throughout life.

Some Historical Facts

Until the beginning of the 20th century, neither milk nor butter were everyday foods in farm households in Estonia. Often, they had to do without any milk in winter, but the food was much more diverse and richer in summer. Traditionally, milk products were part of the festive menus of the biggest Estonian calendar holidays in spring and summer – Easter, Whitsun and Midsummer’s Day.

Curd was prepared by heating skimmed milk in an oven – this was mainly a dish known in South Estonia. Sõir – a local curd cheese comes from the southeastern part of Estonia, and is very common in Latvia as well.

Soon they started to add milk to soups and sauces. It also became an important ingredient in dumplings and bread dough. Buttermilk, left over after making butter, was used as a drink or added to the dough of karask – the barley bread that is very trendy nowadays.

Those well-known authentic desserts of ours that are becoming more and more popular today– bread soup, milk kissel, semolina cream, bubert (semolina pudding) and snowball soup – are all made from or served with milk.

Genuine butter, creamy sour cream, a wide selection of curds and healthy kefir, let alone milk and cream – they are all back on our table and greatly appreciated by the best gourmet chefs in Estonia. Our everyday menu is characterised by both ancient traditions and the new international trends that value freshness, good flavours, natural ingredients and authenticity. Milk is a unique and natural liquid food product with a balanced composition that supports human metabolism and development throughout life.

What Does Milk Contain?

Milk is a valuable liquid food product produced by mammary glands containing the macro- and micronutrients necessary for life. Cow’s milk contains about 78% of water. High water content is necessary for dissolving milk components. The water component of milk is structured, therefore it is suitable for satisfying the primary water need of both newborns and grown-ups, as it is readily absorbed into the bloodstream.

Milk contains over a hundred chemical compounds, most of which have considerable nutritional value. Cow’s milk, the most consumed type of milk in Estonia, contains around 13% of dry matter. It comprises:

• Lipids (mostly fats) 4–5%

• Proteins 2.5–5%

• Carbohydrates (mostly lactose) 4.6–4.8%

• Macro- and microminerals

• Vitamins

• Enzymes

• Hormones

• Pigments

Milk contains lipids mostly in the form of globules. Milk fat is relatively well assimilated due to its low melting temperature, appropriate content of fatty acids, the dispersion of fat globules and how they are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. Milk fat is an important source of energy, especially for a growing and developing organism. Therefore, low-fat milk and milk products shouldn’t be included in the diet of children.

Milk fats have a diverse biochemical composition: they may be saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated. Milk is a very important source of the short- and medium-chain fatty acids that are necessary for the functioning of the myocardium. Several fatty acids in milk have an anti-inflammatory effect, and they also may protect against certain infections.

Milk gets an essential part of its food energy from milk fats. Butter, whipping cream (35%), cheeses with high fat content, ice cream made of cream, glazed cheese curds, curd desserts – all are milk products with higher fat content. If milk is consumed in large quantities, the human body absorbs a considerable amount of milk fat from milk with higher fat content as well.

Milk contains 0.2–0.3% of sterols, mainly cholesterols. Most of milk cholesterol can be found in the layer covering the fat globules. The lower the fat content of milk the less cholesterol it contains. In case of normal consumption of milk and milk products, this cholesterol content is not dangerous at all. One glass of full milk with 3.5% fat content contains only 16–28 milligrams of cholesterol, only 8–12 milligrams of which are absorbed in the bloodstream. The human body, however, needs 250–350 milligrams of food cholesterol a day. Moreover, several milk fats have a cholesterol lowering effect in the human body.

Milk proteins contain all the amino acids (including the irreplaceable ones) that the human body needs. Therefore, milk proteins are of extremely high biological value.

Casein, the main milk protein, accounts for almost 80% of the milk proteins. Casein is the reserve protein in milk that gives milk its characteristic whitish colour. In addition to amino acids, casein is also a source of phosphorus that is very important for a human body, e.g for the maintenance and development of bones.

The rest of the milk proteins comprise albumins and globulins. Globulins play an important role in the development of the immunity of the human organism.

Several milk proteins are associated with the symptoms of milk allergy. People allergic to milk proteins should try goat’s milk, as well as fermented (sour) milk products, as fermentation changes the structure of the protein cells, and their allergenicity reduces or disappears altogether.

More protein-rich milk products are produced by concentrating the dry matter in milk. These are, for example, cheeses and curd products.

Milk sugar or lactose is an important source of galactose and glycose that have a slightly sweet taste. Lactose fosters the development of an acid environment in the gastrointestinal tract and helps to assimilate calcium. The gastrointestinal tract of some people cannot assimilate lactose fully or at all. They should prefer products with low milk sugar content, e.g fermented milk products, in their diet. Special lactose-free products are produced for those very few who suffer from lactose intolerance. One has to keep in mind that all the desserts made from milk contain besides milk sugar other sugars, mostly sucrose.

Milk contains several minerals of course, but first and foremost, milk is an important source of calcium. 100 grams of milk contain on an average 120mg of calcium that can be easily absorbed. In normal conditions, people get about three quarters of the necessary amount of calcium from milk and milk products.

Calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium in milk influence the human body together. They ensure the absorption of micro- and macronutrients and normal bone density, and are responsible for maintaining normal blood pressure. The human body assimilates calcium better from liquid milk products (drinking milk, yogurt, kefir and buttermilk). During the production of solid milk products (cheese, curd) some of the calcium content of raw milk remains in the whey, and does not get into the final products.

A heavy milk drinker also gets zinc, copper, iodine, manganese, iron, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, fluorine, boron, silicon and selenium from milk.

Milk contains almost all water- and fat-soluble vitamins. Of the latter, milk contains plenty of vitamin A and carotenoids, their provitamins, that give milk fat its yellowish colour. Vitamin D content in milk is not very high, but we receive a considerable amount of its recommended dietary allowance from dairy products. Vitamin D is necessary for calcium absorption and metabolism, and together with calcium, is of vital importance in bone health care. Vitamin E content in milk is about 1mg/l.

Milk contains mostly the following water-soluble vitamins: B₁, B₂, B₃, B₆, B₁₂ and folic acid. Ordinary drinking milk doesn’t represent an important source of Vitamin C.

The vitamin content in summer milk and its products is higher than in winter milk and its products.

What Type of Milk to Choose?

You may drink raw milk, prefer pasteurized milk with a relatively longer shelf-life, or UHT milk that may be kept for several months.

The advantage of raw milk is that its biochemical content (vitamins, enzymes, fat globules, etc) is preserved unchanged after milking. This ensures the high biological value of milk as a food product. In certain conditions, raw milk may contain pathogens that reproduce if the storage conditions are wrong. In any case, raw milk can be preserved for only a shorter time compared with pasteurized milk.

The main aim of pasteurizing milk is to extend its shelf-life and to destroy microbes dangerous to people. During pasteurization, the natural antibacterial properties of milk are destroyed as most of the milk enzymes become inactive. It also decreases the content of water- and fat-soluble vitamins by one tenth and increases milk acidity to some extent. At the same time, pasteurization partially hinders the degrading of milk fats. Pasteurized milk is not sterile as the bacterial spores retain their viability. After a certain time – depending on the storage conditions – pasteurized milk will spoil microbiologically.

During ultra-heat treatment (UHT) , milk is treated under high pressure at a temperature exceeding 100 °C for a few seconds. In these conditions, both bacteria and their spores are destroyed, thus UHT products can be considered sterile. High temperature also causes certain biochemical alterations in the milk composition (caramelization of milk sugar, structural changes in milk proteins, decrease of vitamin content). The long shelf-life of UHT milk may be considered its primary advantage.

Value Added Products

In addition to traditional lactic acid bacteria, several fermented milk products have special added probiotic lactic acid bacteria. These living bacteria have a positive effect on the microbial habitat of the gastrointestinal tract, and they improve the health of the human organism. The first Estonian so-called own probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus fermentum ME-3 (LfME-3) was discovered by the scientists of the University of Tartu in 1995. On the basis of thorough research LfME-3 has proven to be a probiotic that has the double package of patented characteristics – antimicrobial and anti-oxidising properties.

Secondly, we should mention probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum TENSIA™ and Lactobacillus plantarum INDUCIA™ which properties have been studied and described by the Bio-Competence Centre of Healthy Dairy Products in cooperation with the scientists of the University of Tartu.

In addition to its favourable effect on the human intestinal tract Lactobacillus plantarum TENSIA™ decreases systolic and diastolic blood pressure and helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

A special property of Lactobacillus plantarum INDUCIA™ is to improve the intestinal mucosal barrier function and to increase the immunological defence system of the human body.

All the aforementioned probiotic bacteria have been isolated from the intestinal tract of Estonian children and their healing effect has been clinically tested and proven.

Only the few probiotic bacterial strains that conform to the stringent requirements are used in commercial production. General requirements for the selection of probiotic bacteria are the following: microflora of human origin, no pathogenetic characteristics, ability to survive the passage through the gastrointestinal tract (especially the stomach), resistance to the effect of bile acids, adhesion to the human intestinal cells, survival and reproduction in the gastrointestinal tract, and positive effect on the human health. The latter may be manifested on several levels.

Long-term research has proven that probiotic bacteria:

• restore the normal microbial habitat in the gastrointestinal tract after treatment with antibiotics,

• improve the cleavage and thus assimilation of milk sugar,

• change the length of the fatty acid chains enzymatically,

• increase the absorption of B-group vitamins in the intestinal tract,

• improve the assimilation of calcium, iron and phosphorus in the intestinal tract,

• lower the risk of diarrhoea and reduce its duration and effect,

• improve the digestion of elderly people,

• strengthen the immune system,

• prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria indirectly (by occupying their habitation in the intestines) and directly (by secreting compounds that destroy bacteria),

• accelerate recovery from intestinal infectious diseases,

• reduce the allergenicity of the milk protein casein,

• reduce the life of dangerous compounds in the gastrointestinal tract and weaken the preconditions for the development of intestinal tumours,

• certain probiotic bacteria improve the regulation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Products containing probiotic bacteria must comply with several requirements, the most important of which is that the bacteria should maintain their viability in the dairy product in correct storage conditions without any major changes until the end of its shelf-life.

Milk is the Source of Vitality

Scientists have discovered over a hundred compounds in cow’s milk that can ensure the normal growth, development and good health of the human organism throughout life.

• Well-assimilated high calcium content ensures strong bones and teeth for a heavy milk drinker.

• Efficient absorption of calcium with magnesium, potassium and phosphorus compounds in milk fosters assimilation of all nutrients and helps to maintain blood pressure within the proper limits.

• Absorption of vital fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A, its provitamins, vitamins E and D) due to the special structure of milk fats is very efficient.

• Water-soluble vitamins, mostly representatives of the B-group vitamins are in a well-assimilated state as well.

• Many latest clinical studies have proven that regular milk consumption decreases the risk of osteoporosis, the risk of colorectal tumour, and it may lower blood pressure if milk is consumed together with fruits and vegetables.

• Milk products increase saliva secretion, reducing dental plaque and the risk of dental caries. Cheese at the end of a meal reduces acidity in the oral cavity and so is good for tooth enamel.

Genuine Estonian Butter

Butter is a food product that once increased the prosperity of the Estonian farmers and state. The legacy of the old butter masters is still held in high regard today.

Origin and History of Butter

Butter was first made probably accidentally when milk in a container fastened to a pack animal was churned.

The precondition to making butter – enough milk – was achieved with the development of cattle breeding.

In Mesopotamia, butter was known and used as early as 3500BC. Originally, butter wasn’t so much a food product for people as a skin conditioner, a medicine or an oblation to the gods. Making butter and its use as food spread more widely in Europe only in the 13th century; in Estonia, butter was probably introduced in the 14th century. Even at the beginning of the 19th century, butter was more of a luxury on the table of an Estonian peasant than an everyday food. Butter was eaten at important festivals such as Easter, Pentecost and Midsummer’s Day. Butter was the ‘feast food’ that was offered to guests. Peasants’ families enjoyed butter usually on Wednesdays and Saturdays when they ate porridge with a ‘butter eye’, and on Sundays with bread. Spreading butter on bread comes rather late in our food culture. Usually they took a bite of bread and cut a small piece of butter with a knife to go with it. The alternative was to cut out a triangular piece from the centre of the soft bread, put a piece of butter in it and to cover it with the removed piece of bread.

At the end of the 19th century they started to use butter for cooking on farms – butter was added to dumplings and dough; for Easter, even a butter and egg spread was prepared.

Butter was a food people craved for but was scarce and could not be easily afforded, so butter was a main theme in many old proverbs and sayings amongst the peasantry. For example: “Butter is bad three times: in summer, when it melts, in winter when it is hard and when there is none”. Some sayings hinted directly at the scarcity of butter, for example: “Don’t eat butter, butter is kept for the haymaking season” and “Alas, thick porridge only, as there is no butter in it”. There were also sayings full of hope, such as “Butter and bread safeguard the cattle” or “Take butter and touch fish, eat what your heart desires”.

The shortage of butter eased only during the first third of the 20th century, when dairy cattle breeding began to thrive in Estonia, and Estonian butter production increased so much that butter became an important export for the country.

What is the Composition of Butter?

Biochemically, butter consists of at least 80% of milk fats and less than 16% of water. Fatless dry matter constitutes up to 2% of the composition of butter. The latter comprises milk proteins, milk sugar, mineral compounds, vitamins, pigments and aroma substances. The milk fats in the butter determine the quality of the product. High-quality butter has to fall within the limits of two requirements. In warm places (at a temperature of 20–25 °C) a piece of butter has to maintain its characteristic consistency and may not lose its shape. In moderately cold temperatures (at a temperature of 10–15 °C), butter has to be sufficiently plastic - it can’t splinter or be crumbly. The best advice, to store butter at 2–6 °C, ensures that the product stays in good condition for at least a month and a half. When storing butter, the biggest enemies are warmth, oxygen and light that finally cause fatty acids to become stale, making the butter bitter.

In terms of diet there is no need to be afraid of milk fat. The fat content of butter is well assimilated in the gastrointestinal tract, as the fatty acids in butter are characterised by a relatively low melting temperature. When you eat about 14 grams of butter (e.g two thick slices of bread with butter, or have a large ‘butter eye’ in your porridge), your body assimilates several vital nutrients. From this amount of butter the gastrointestinal tract gets about 7 grams of the saturated fatty acids that the human body uses very well – mostly for energetic and structural purposes. It’s worth knowing that these 7 grams include almost 1 gram of the short-chain saturated fatty acids the myocardium needs for functioning in normal circumstances. At the same time, 14 grams of butter gives our body 2.4 grams of mono-unsaturated, and 0.5 grams of poly-unsaturated fatty acids that have a good influence on health in terms of the functioning of the human organism. And last but not least, all those fatty acids are natural, not chemically altered, that cannot be said about several food products that are used as butter substitutes. This portion of butter brings about 30 milligrams of cholesterol to the gastrointestinal tract, of which about one third is assimilated so there are no problems with cholesterol. On the positive side we should also mention the small lecithin content in butter. Taking all this into account, the fat content of butter is good for people! In addition, butter has a beautiful golden yellow appearance, it melts in the mouth, and has a nice aromatic smell.

As butter is mostly comprised of milk fat, it is very rich in calories. For example, when you eat a 14-gram piece of butter, your body gets a little less than 100 calories of food energy. Of course, the more water butter contains the lower its fat content.

The protein content of butter is relatively low, only around 1%. There is a rule that the lower the fat content of butter the higher the protein content of the product. We should stress though that the protein in butter has a favourable aminoacidic content. Carbohydrates are mainly in the form of lactose (milk sugar) in butter, but their quantity is rather small, again around 1%. So there are no problems with lactose either. All flavoured butter based spreads (sweet butter creams, chocolate butter containing cocoa, honey butter) have a higher carbohydrate content than pure butter.

Genuine butter mainly includes the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, but their quantity depends on the breed of the cow, their housing conditions, the season, and fodder. Butter owes its beautiful yellow colour to a fat-soluble pigment – natural beta-carotene. Its content also depends mainly on the fodder of the dairy cattle. Besides being beautiful to the eye, beta-carotene is useful for the human body as well, specifically, our body synthesizes vitamin A from it.

Water-soluble vitamins in the water content of butter have traces of some representatives of the B-group vitamins. Butter does not contain vitamin C, but does have some element of mineral compounds, the rest of them having been transferred to the contents of buttermilk. Table salt is added to butter for preserving purposes, and the salt content in the more salty varieties may be up to 1%. Consumers can always choose the less salty brands. It’s good to know that genuine butter is a product that does not contain any additives.

Kefir – a First-Class Food Product with a Fascinating Origin

According to an ancient legend it is believed that the lactic starter of kefir is of heavenly origin - the kefir fungi allegedly came from the prophet Muhammad himself who created this drink to reduce the consumption of alcohol.

The Secret of Kefir-Making

Kefir, a fermented milk drink, probably comes from the Caucasus region, where it was fermented in pouches made of goat’s stomaches outside in summer and in a warm room in winter. To prepare the drink, goat’s milk was poured into a pouch where the milk proteins curdled as a result of the effect of the stomach enzymes, and the drink fermented due to the action of various bacteria. When the drink was ready, it was removed from the stomach, new milk was poured in and the process was repeated. Later, kefir was made in pouches sewn from leather or in wooden barrels.

For a long time, only the peoples of the highland villages of Mount Elbrus held the secret of kefir-making, and besides goat’s milk, they made it from the milk of cows and sheep as well. Rumours about the healing effect of the fermented milk drink of the highland peoples spread far and wide, and elsewhere other people wanted to make their own kefir. The only thing they lacked was the starter that would turn milk into kefir. It wasn’t at all easy to get the starter or kefir fungi, as according to the belief of the highland peoples, it was not allowed to sell, exchange or make a gift of it. After long negotiations and even with some military intervention the kefir fungi finally arrived in Moscow, and in the 19th century, kefir-making spread slowly to other regions.

Kefir was known to the Estonians as early as the end of the 19th century, and the first article about this drink was published in 1889. Kefir became popular at the beginning of the 20th century when it was called power milk, and newspapers wrote about its composition, how to prepare it at home, and how to use it for healing purposes. Originally, kefir wasn’t a cheap drink at all, its price was as much as three times higher than the price of milk.

A Mixed Starter Culture

Today, kefir is manufactured with the help of a mixed starter that contains various yeasts and aroma-generating and acetic acid bacteria as well as lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli, lactococci). The microbiological composition of the starters varies from region to region. This may explain the reason why kefir from different regions, notwithstanding the same nutrient composition, has a different smell and taste.

Due to the mixed starter the fermentation process is also mixed; indeed, in addition to lactic acid, kefir contains carbon dioxide, various volatile acids, several flavouring compounds, and even a very small quantity of alcohol. Yeasts perform alcoholic fermentation, as a result of which milk sugar is converted into ethanol. The gas bubbles (carbon dioxide) that separate as a by-product of the alcoholic fermentation foster the formation of small-flaked curds in the product. There is around 0.5–1% of alcohol in kefir. The alcohol content depends both on the fermentation time and temperature, but there is no need to be afraid that this might cause intoxication.

Healthy Nutritional Content

Kefir contains all the groups of the main and micronutrients in suitable proportions. As the varieties of kefir on sale today mainly differ in their fat content, let’s start with that. Producers manufacture almost fatless (0.05%) kefir as well as products with a higher fat content (1%, 2.5% and 3.2%). Everyone who has tasted kefir knows its refreshing and slightly sharp flavour. At the same time – the higher the fat content of kefir, the less you feel it. Of course, the drink with a higher fat content gives more food energy, but there are no reasons for concern. The difference between low- and high-fat kefir is just over 3% or, in terms of calories, only 30 per 100 grams of the drink. Taking into account how important milk lipids with diverse composition are in the metabolism, this shouldn’t be a reason for you to consider giving up high-fat kefir. Kefir with higher fat content is especially important in the diet of children, as their taste is more sensitive and their energy requirements are higher. Absorption of some necessary mineral compounds in our gastrointestinal tract is lower with low-fat kefir, and it also contains less fat-soluble vitamins. We should also stress the fact that the myocardium prefers to use fatty acids in normal circumstances.

Kefir is not a problem in terms of cholesterol, because it contains this compound in very small quantities.

Now a few words about proteins. Depending on the fat content of the products, they contain 2 to 4% of protein. During fermentation, allergenicity of several milk proteins is reduced, so kefir causes fewer allergies compared with fresh milk. Hence the advice to give kefir to babies who are allergic to milk proteins. The fact that proteins in fermented milk products, including kefir, are easier to digest is not trivial either, as milk proteins in kefir are already curdled and also partially split by the enzymes of micro-organisms.

Depending on the fat content and duration of fermentation of the product, kefir contains around 3.5–4% of carbohydrates, mostly lactose. Like other fermented milk products, kefir contains less lactose compared with ordinary milk. The difference is caused by the fact that micro-organisms of the mixed starter use lactose for three purposes: for their own growth, and for producing lactic acid and alcohol.

The calorific value of kefir is rather low. On an average, you get 60-120 calories from a glass or a 200-gram portion of kefir. The first value is for the fat-free drink, the other for the drink with the highest fat content. The best-selling kefir in Estonia – with 2.5% fat content – gives around 100 calories per glass.

Kefir is an acidic drink with a pH value of between 4.2–4.6, so it has a stimulating effect on the digestive glands. A glass of kefir before the main course stimulates the digestive process afterwards, and improves the appetite as well. In addition, kefir increases the acidity of the stomach to some extent, thus improving the digestion of the people who suffer from hypoacidity.

Kefir also helps to assimilate micronutrients, vitamins and microelements. It’s good to know that microbes enrich the product with B-group vitamins; their contribution is especially high in synthesizing vitamin B₁₂. At the same time, kefir contains almost all the vitamins that were in the original milk.

We should emphasise calcium among the mineral substances in kefir. Some producers increase its content even more by adding calcium salts to kefir. Besides calcium, kefir also contains a considerable amount of magnesium and phosphorus compounds, and its potassium and sodium ratio is good for people.

The nutritional value of kefir in the eyes of a health conscious consumer should be increased by the fact that the product does not contain additives.

The Role of Kefir in our Diet

Kefir is usually described as a healthy and refreshing drink that slakes your thirst. You can successfully mix it with other thirst quenchers such as juices, and you can blend fruits with kefir to make smoothies.

Due to its acid environment, kefir is used as a base for meat marinades. It is the moderate acidity that helps to soften the connective tissue of meat without removing water from it or considerably altering its taste.

Kefir is often used in dressings and sauces. You can prepare spicy salad dressings from kefir and herbs. Kefir is an irreplaceable main component in summer cold soups with vegetables, meats and herbs.

You can use kefir with dry food products, such as mueslis, flakes and kama – a traditional Estonian meal containing milled rye, wheat, barley and peas. The acidity of kefir is useful when making dough as well. When organic acids react with various raising agents, a gas separates that makes pastry light and fluffy.

You can also use kefir to make jellies and layered jellies by adding ingredients with various colours.

A General Picture of Cheese

There are a great number of various cheeses, and they all are somewhat different, but essentially, all cheeses are rather alike, and the following is a general picture of cheese – one of the most famous representatives of milk products.

The Origin and History of Cheese

A legend tells the following story about the origin of cheese. A long time ago, an Arabic pedlar began his long journey through the desert. He took along milk in a pouch made from a sheep’s stomach to quench his thirst. Some time later, when he wanted to drink from the pouch, only a dribble came out. When he opened the pouch, instead of milk, he found a whitish solid substance there. Milk microbes, bioactive substances in the sheep’s stomach, the warming effect of solar radiation, constant churning and the pressure of the leather bag had curdled the milk. This is thought to be the way that – almost half-accidentally – the secret of cheese-making was discovered. The aforesaid factors are important in present-day cheese manufacturing as well – although in a more modern way.

The art of cheese-making first evolved in Asia and Arabia, from where it later spread to Europe. The first cheeses were probably made around 6,000 to 7,000 years ago. Cheese was known by the representatives of several ancient cultures – Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Sumerians. The making and eating of cheese was held in high regard in ancient Rome too. There were even special cheese-making kitchens in the households of wealthy noblemen. This was indeed a food for wealthy people, as cheese was even more expensive than wine in the Roman empire.

Romans refined cheese-making with two important innovations: they started to mature cheese and to smoke it so it would keep for longer. The slogan „No meals without cheese!” is also of Roman origin. The English word ‘cheese’, German Käse, Italian cacio, Spanish queso and Dutch kaas are all derived from the Latin word caseus, meaning cheese in translation, that has also given its name to casein, the reserve protein of milk.

Cheese has been consumed in Estonia for centuries. Written records about cheese as a food product date back to the 14th century, and this valuable food was originally used as a dessert in the menu of wealthy burghers and landlords. During the Middle Ages, cheese was produced by Estonian Swedes in Estonia. Local people, however, were suspicious about eating cheese: cheese was considered a strangely smelling stale food that had been stored too long. Cheese-making started to spread more widely in the dairies of the Estonian rural manors in the 19th century, and increased during the times of dairy cooperatives in the first two decades of the 20th century.

Nutrients in Cheese

Cheese has been valued since ancient times for its nutritional value, long storage life and great taste. Cheeses also have the necessary nutrients in suitable proportions that are needed for the metabolism of the human body. They contain well-assimilated proteins with high biological value, various milk fats, mineral substances and vitamins. All cheeses also have the water that comes from milk: water content in high-fat cheeses is lower, and higher in low-fat cheeses. Soft cheeses contain considerably more water than hard cheeses.

The most valuable part of cheese is its proteins. Essentially, cheese is the concentrate of dry matter in milk (especially proteins and fats) that is enhanced and processed by the micro-organisms of the starter. It is also important that casein, the reserve protein of milk, forms the so-called main skeleton of cheese that binds milk fats during cheese-making. On average, there are 22–31 grams of proteins in a 100-gram portion of cheese. Cheeses with higher fat content have less proteins, cheeses with lower fat content contain somewhat more.

Milk proteins cleave during the ripening of cheese to a greater or smaller extent, so they are readily digested in our gastrointestinal tract and transformed into the amino acids that are important for people. The longer cheese matures the more cleaved its proteins are. Cheese proteins have sufficient quantities of all the amino acids that the human body needs in suitable proportions. Cheese is a food product of animal origin, so people who avoid meat in their diet for some reason or another should add cheese to the vegetable component of their diet.

As cheese proteins are considerably processed compared with milk,they do not cause the allergies that are characteristic of milk proteins. During the long ripening process, a high biogenic amine content is formed in some types of mould-ripened cheeses that may, in certain quantities, cause short headaches after eating for some people who are hypersensitive to them.

Some people have problems with lactose digestion when drinking milk; when eating cheese, no such problems occur. The small amount of milk sugar that cheese contains at the beginning of the manufacturing process does not survive it, as the micro-organisms that process cheese ferment lactose into other compounds. During lactose fermentation, small amounts of lactic, acidic and butyric acids that are in many ways useful for our gastrointestinal tract, and even some alcohol, may form in cheeses. There is no lactose in long matured cheeses and those few people who have problems with digesting lactose may eat them happily. The most reliable proof about zero lactose content is the following note on the label of cheese packaging: carbohydrate content 0 grams.

Fats comprise the third group of main nutrients in cheeses. The components (fatty acids) of cheese fats are one of the bases of the formation of cheese smells and flavours. The fat content of different types of cheeses may vary a lot. This is an important characteristic, and it is usually indicated as fat in the dry matter content of cheese. Cheeses are classified, according to their fat content, from high-fat cheeses (fat in dry matter content over 60%) to low-fat cheeses (fat in dry matter content less than 10%). If the fat content is indicated for the total weight of cheese, it is of course smaller, as cheese does not contain dry matter alone.

The general fat content of cheese is usually indicated in the nutritional value per 100g of the product. The fat content of cheese comprises the main part of the calorie value of this product. 100 grams of high-fat cheeses contain 75–110 milligrams of cholesterol, only 25–35 milligrams of which are absorbed in the bloodstream (the recommended daily allowance of food cholesterol is 250–350 milligrams). If consumed moderately, even high-fat cheeses don’t cause any significant cholesterol problems. People who have very high cholesterol levels should choose cheeses with a lower fat content (the light varieties) that contain less cholesterol. It’s good to know that cheese fats contain mostly saturated fatty acids, although about one third of the fat content is comprised of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. In addition, cheese has the best ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids for the human body. Products labelled as cheese do not contain trans-fatty acids. Due to the fat content, it is not advised that people who have weight problems consume large quantities of high-fat cheeses all the time.

Cheeses contain plenty of the calcium and phosphorus compounds that are readily assimilated by the human body, so cheese is an ideal food for those who are afraid of osteoporosis. These two elements are preserved in cheeses primarily due to the fact that they are bound to milk proteins. It’s also good to know that both the calcium-phosphorus ratio and the content of milk fats in cheese support their absorption. For example, a 20-gram slice of cheese contains, depending on the type, around 100-200mg of calcium. Although some of the calcium remains in the composition of whey during the cheese-making process, enough of this valuable mineral also stays in the cheese. Furthermore, calcium chloride is added as a firming agent to cheeses.

Cheese is a rich source of magnesium and a repository of the microelements zinc and selenium. Due to the specific composition of mineral compounds in cheese, a piece of hard cheese at the end of a meal helps to prevent teeth damage or the risk of dental caries to some extent.

Cheese always contains table salt that is added for better separation of cheese proteins, flavour and preservation purposes. As various cheeses have different table salt content (0.8–3%), you should check the labelling for salt content as well. People who have to limit the use of table salt for health reasons should choose less salty varieties of cheeses.

Cheese contains several micronutrients – relatively many fat-soluble vitamins (A and D) and several water-soluble B-group vitamins. The bacteria that are active in cheese processing produce the representatives of the latter group. A 100-gram piece of cheese contains at least one third of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B₁₂ (there are very few good sources of this vitamin in a form that is suitable for the human organism!) and a considerable amount of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins B₂, B₅ and folic acid.

Storing Cheese

In order to preserve the microenvironment of cheese and to ensure protection from external influences, producers pack cheeses into plastic foil, wax or paraffin wax.

When storing cheese at home you should take into account that the quality of cheese gradually deteriorates when it dries or gets into direct contact with free oxygen. Cheese shouldn’t be stored with food products with strong odours either. You should store cheese at a moderately cold temperature of 5–10 °C. The correct smell and flavour of cheese is revealed only when cheese is taken out of the refrigerator and allowed to warm to room temperature.

In order to preserve sliced cheese better, producers pack them in a gas atmosphere. When the retail package is once opened, the protective effect of the gas disappears and the cheese slices should be consumed quite soon. Although there are several mould-ripened cheeses on sale, you should bear in mind that any accidental mould on cheese doesn’t automatically turn it into a mouldripened cheese, and you shouldn’t eat it. The trump card of cheese as a food product is the fact that it doesn’t cause food poisoning if it spoils during the warm season.

Cheese is a treat for cheese lovers, both as a separate dish and as a component in many meals and pastry. You should definitely taste many varieties of cheeses, but for continuous consumption we advise you to choose a few types that suit you best based on accurate information.

Perfect Yogurt

Yogurt is a very popular product. Over the years, the choice of Estonian yogurts has widened and the sales figures have increased. What is the key to the success of yogurt? It is definitely the diversity of the product. It is great if a food product can satisfy several needs simultaneously. This is the case with yogurts – they fill your stomach, quench your thirst, look after the health of your gastrointestinal tract and take care of your skin both from the inside and outside.

A Healing Fermented Milk Product Known for a Long Time

Fermented dairy products have been well-known in the Mediterranean countries since ancient times. Step by step, people learned how to make fermented milk with various flavours and textures that contained micro-organisms, mainly lactic acid bacteria, as inseparable components. In the interest of historical truth we have to add that the secret of yogurt-making was probably discovered by the Turks. The word ‘yogurt’, that is so widely used today, is also derived from the Turkish language. Over the centuries, people have used yogurt for various purposes. In India, yogurt was thought to be a drink of the gods; in folk medicine, it has been used as a treatment for insomnia and against aging. In the Mediterranean countries, regular consumption of yogurt is thought to foster longevity.

Yogurts produced in Estonia are made of cow’s milk – milk is the main raw material in yogurt production. Yogurt products made of cow’s milk are especially popular in Northern Europe and America. Yogurts made of sheep’s or goat’s milk are preferred in Turkey. In the Arabic countries, yogurt is produced from a mixture of camel’s and ewe’s milk. In Egypt and India, on the other hand, they use buffalo’s milk as the raw material for making yogurt. And this is not the end of the list – you can buy yogurts made of deer’s, yak’s and mare’s milk in different parts of the world.

In yogurt-making, they use a bacterial starter containing at least two types of lactic acid bacteria: lactobacilli and streptococci. The lactic acid bacteria in the yogurt starter have several functions. They cleave milk sugar and produce organic acids (mostly lactic acid) from it, curdle milk proteins, produce the flavouring compounds characteristic of yogurt, ensure the necessary consistency of the product and synthesize several vitamins. The bacteria of the starter can cleave milk proteins and fats as well, so that the human body is able to assimilate those milk nutrients even better.

Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats in Yogurt

The main carbohydrate in natural yogurt is milk sugar. The lactic acid bacteria of the starter use milk sugar as a source of the energy and carbon needed for their growth. As a result of their vital functions the lactose content in yogurt decreases. The lower milk sugar content of yogurt (compared with milk) is the reason it suits those few people whose gastrointestinal tracts do not tolerate milk sugar well. It does not mean that all yogurts have low carbohydrate content: this is true only in case of natural yogurt. The carbohydrate content of flavoured yogurts is definitely higher (10–16%) due to their ingredients rich in carbohydrates (jam, syrup, fruit bits, honey, chocolate, ice cream, bread crumbs, oatmeal, etc.). Yogurts flavoured with artificial sweeteners taste sweet but contain the minimum amount of carbohydrates. These products are meant for those few people who have serious metabolic disorders.

The protein content of yogurts on sale in Estonia is around 3–4%. Milk protein is vital to the organism, as it is a nutritious food protein. It contains all the amino acids the human body needs in the appropriate quantities and composition. During the yogurt manufacturing process milk or skimmed milk powder is added to the raw material. As their content primarily consists of proteins, this increases the protein content of yogurt even more, this being beneficial for consumers. We shouldn’t forget the fact that due to the activity of lactic acid bacteria the milk proteins in yogurt are more or less curdled, and so easier to digest. Compared with fresh milk, yogurt is digested much more quickly. It is also important that the fermenting process decreases the allergenicity of milk proteins. So people who cannot drink milk due to an allergy to milk proteins should try yogurt, or goat’s milk yogurt in case of severe allergic symptoms.

The fat content of yogurt directly depends on the fat content of the raw material, as lactic acid bacteria usually do not alter the quantity of milk fats much. Yogurts are divided into three groups based on their fat content.

First of all are the so-called low-fat products, the fat content of which is between 0.1–0.5%. Various thickening agents (modified starch, pectin, gelatine, guar gum, locust bean gum) are often added to low-fat yogurts. The added fibre-rich component (bran, oat flakes) fosters the digestion process of a yogurt eater.

The second group comprises milk yogurts with a fat content of 1.5–3%.

This is the unrivalled best-selling product group. Dessert yogurts or yogurt desserts have more fat – around 5–10%.

And the fat content of some cream yogurts is even higher. The more fat the product contains the thicker and creamier is its texture. The food fats in yogurt are important in terms of energy. The fatty acid composition of their lipids is diverse enough that it is biologically valuable. In addition, fatty acids give the product its special taste and a softness and smoothness that you can feel in your mouth.

Vitamins and Minerals in Yogurt

Milk vitamins are well preserved in yogurt. Low-fat yogurts are an exception, as their water-soluble vitamin content is much lower. Of course, the micro-organisms in the composition of the starter contribute to enriching the product with vitamins. The most important fat-soluble vitamin in yogurt is vitamin A, in low-fat yogurts also vitamin D and, of course, the B-group vitamins B₂, B₅, B₁₀ and B₁₂. To sum up, if consumed on a regular basis, yogurt, especially probiotic yogurt, satisfies many of our vitamin requirements.

The manufacturing process of yogurt does not affect the mineral content of yogurt either. As a liquid dairy product, yogurt is important to us due to its calcium, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus content. The calciumphosphorus ratio in yogurt fosters the assimilation of these elements. Growing children, pregnant women, and aged people generally suffer from calcium deficiency. Yogurt should definitely have a regular place in their diet. Yogurt also contains microelements – fluorides.

Probiotic Yogurts

Probiotic yogurts have occupied a special place in the world of yogurts. This is a group of functional products that is most numerous in our food stores. Special lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilli, biphido bacteria), that were originally isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of breast-fed infants, are added to probiotic yogurts.

The probiotic lactic acid bacteria that are selected for production must have a favourable effect on the health of the consumer, they must have the ability to survive the passage through the acidic environment of the stomach, and to reproduce in the intestinal tract; they must give the food product a good taste and smell, and they have to maintain their viability and quantity during the whole shelf-life of the product.

The positive effect of the probiotic bacteria on the consumers is manifested in several ways. This additional help is especially important in case of chronic indigestion problems or after the devastating influence of antibiotic treatment on the bacterial environment. As diversity is the basis of biological success, the informed consumer should eat the probiotic yogurts of different producers in turn.

Yogurt Preserves at Cool Temperature

High-quality yogurt containing lactic acid bacteria kept at 2–6 °C lasts at least a couple of weeks. Correct storage conditions, appropriate packaging and lactic acid bacteria themselves protect yogurt from spoiling. Although yogurt is a dairy product that keeps well, you should take a look at the use-by date before buying the product. If the temperature requirements in the storage chain have been violated, the fermentation process in the packed yogurt accelerates and the flavour and quality of the product decreases.

Yogurt in Other Food Products and Skin Conditioners

Yogurt is added to the composition of other food products as well. Yogurt ice cream, yogurt margarine, yogurt mayonnaise, yogurt curd and yogurt dip are the best known of them. There are special desserts made of whipped yogurt.When producing yogurt ice cream, yogurt is made first with the help of the starter. It has to mature for some hours, then the mixture is whisked and frozen. Yogurt ice cream is not pasteurized and although frozen, the product contains living lactic acid bacteria. As yogurt ice creams have a rather low calorie content they are suitable also for those who are watching their figures or want to lose weight.

Yogurt margarine tastes mild; it is a rather energy-rich but low-protein food product that contains all the components typical of margarines, plus yogurt. It’s good to know that there are no living bacteria in yogurt margarine. The yogurt component in yogurt mayonnaise helps to lower the overall calorie content of that product. Added yogurt makes the taste of the mayonnaise milder as well.

Yogurt dip is a flavoured low-fat yogurt that is used as a ready-made dressing.

Yogurt has other fields of application as well. In the cosmetics industry, for example, this food product is used either on its own, or together with other substances for making moisturizing, smoothing, soothing, anti-aging and skin nutrition masks. The rejuvenating effect of natural yogurt on the skin is based on the lactic acid contained in the product belonging among the so-called alpha hydroxy acids (AHA). AHAs remove dead skin cells from the surface of the skin (a peeling effect), thus regenerating a smoother and less wrinkled skin. You have to keep in mind though that human skin has different sensitivity to AHAs and the acidity of the yogurt used for masks may differ.

In addition to yogurt used in home skin care, deodorants and shower gels with a yogurt component are manufactured commercially.

Refreshing Sour Cream

Silky milk cream feels like a luxury. It smoothes tastes and supports the digestion, helping us to assimilate several nutrients that, without the help of milk fat, would leave our digestive tract largely unabsorbed.

Some Historical Facts

The original technique of making sour cream was probably discovered by accident. At one point, cattle farmers understood that the texture of the surface layer of fermented milk was much thicker and tasted even better. Due to the activity of the micro-organisms in milk, the cream that came to the surface of high-fat milk fermented into sour cream.

Only a few centuries ago, sour cream was rarely made in Estonia, since milk was used as food and cream was seldom separated from it. If milk was skimmed, butter was made of the cream rather than sour cream. In connection with the gradual increase of dairy cattle breeding and milk production at the beginning of the 19th century, little by little, sour cream found its way onto the tables of farmers.

In the viewpoint of farm households, sour cream had at least two distinct advantages: it was easy to make and the natural acidic environment favoured its preservation in conditions where the possibilities of keeping food products cool were scarce.

How was sour cream used on farms in the old times? Sour cream was mostly added to soups, for example to the broth made of fresh cabbage leaves in summer or to sauerkraut soup. Sour cream was not added to soups to improve their taste but to compensate for the shortage of meat. Nutritious sour cream provided people with the necessary food energy.

In wealthier households, porridge made of flour was decorated with a ‘cream eye’. Sour cream was eaten with kama dumplings (kama is the traditional Estonian meal containing milled rye, wheat, barley and peas) as a sort of dressing. A very good dish – in its old sense – was the barley bread made on an open fire. It was basted with butter and then dipped in sour cream while eating.

At the beginning of the last century, making sour cream on the farms became increasingly popular, but most of the product was still used for making butter. The Estonian sour cream butter that was exported was famous for its taste and smell.

A Food Product with a Diverse Composition

Sour cream contains all the necessary main nutrients in appropriate proportions. As the sour cream on sale in Estonia mostly varies in its milk fat content we’ll discuss that first.

The fat content of sour cream produced in Estonia is between 10–30%. It is possible to produce sour cream with a fat content of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30%. The higher the fat content of the product the more food energy it gives to the consumer. Each 10 percentage points of fat increases the calorific value of each 100 grams of the product by around 90 calories. If the fat percentage is higher the cholesterol content increases as well. A 100-gram portion of 20% sour cream, for example, contains 40–60 milligrams of cholesterol. This doesn’t cause any problems though, as less than the half of it is absorbed into the bloodstream, and a normally functioning human body requires 250 to 350 milligrams of cholesterol daily.

A 100-gram portion of sour cream brings about 20% of fats into our gastrointestinal tract. This amount of fat contains 2-2.5 grams of the short-chain saturated fatty acids that are a very good way of satisfying the energy needs of the myocardium. In addition to the aforesaid, the mentioned amount of fat includes 5-7 grams of mono-unsaturated and 0.4-0.8 grams of poly-unsaturated fatty acids, both having a good effect on the human organism. The same amount of sour cream contains only 9-10 grams of long-chain saturated fatty acids. Sour cream, of course, doesn’t contain the problematic trans-fatty acids.

The higher the fat content of sour cream, the thicker is the cream and the silkier and softer it tastes on the palate. Products with different fat content are packaged marked with different colours, so that it is easy for buyers to tell the difference. Sour cream containing 20% fat is the best selling in Estonia. Sour cream with a 10% fat content is suitable for those who are watching their figures. Sour cream with less than 10% fat, that is thinner, can nevertheless be thickened with natural thickening or milder firming agents. In practice, various modified starches or gelatine are added to thicken sour cream.

Even those who prefer fatty foods may consider sour cream with the highest, 30% fat content, too rich a mouthful.

In addition to milk fat, sour cream contains also proteins that originate from milk. Consequently, all the goodness that is present in the case of milk proteins is also there in the case of sour cream proteins. As the human organism doesn’t need only food proteins as such but the amino acids they contain, we have to stress the importance of the amino acidic composition of these proteins, as they are appropriate and proportionate to the human body. It is also good that the fermentation process itself and the acidic environment favour the preliminary alteration of the milk proteins in such a way that they are digested more quickly and efficiently. To be honest, the relatively small protein content in sour cream is a disadvantage. Depending on the fat content, 100 grams of sour cream contains only 2.6–3 grams of protein. There is a rule that the higher the fat content of the product the lower its protein content. You cannot increase the amount of proteins even by eating more sour cream, as your organism would get too many calories.

The carbohydrate content in sour cream varies to some extent – from 2.7 to 4%.

There are two reasons for this. Unlike many other dairy products, carbohydrates are not added to sour cream during industrial processing. Sour creams that contain modified starches as a thickening agent are the exception. The other reason is that sour cream is manufactured rather quickly and the product doesn’t become too acid, so milk sugar cannot disintegrate due to the acidic environment.

Milk sugar or lactose comprises most of the carbohydrates in sour cream. Compared with ordinary milk, sour cream has less lactose, as part of the milk sugar is used by the bacteria in the starter. It helps them to reproduce and produce organic acids suitable for the cells of the mucous membrane of our gastrointestinal tract.

Only a few special types of sour cream have a reduced carbohydrate content, where the amount of milk sugar has been considerably decreased with the help of the preliminary enzymatic processing. These products are meant for those people who suffer from lactose intolerance. To be honest, the taste of this sour cream differs from the taste of the ordinary products.

As sour cream is produced from cream, it too contains minerals necessary to people, especially calcium and phosphorus compounds. The very low sodium content of natural sour cream is also advantageous. Sour cream with a very high fat content can be considered an additional source of vitamin D.

Regarding the calorie content of sour cream, its figure is strictly related to the fat content of the product. If sour cream with a lower fat content gives 118 additional calories per 100g of product, then in the case of sour cream with 30% fat content this figure is almost 300. Between the two extremes, comes sour cream with 20% fat content and almost 200 calories per 100g.

Culinary Uses of Sour Cream

People most often use sour cream in salads, and this is very good practice, taking into consideration its biochemical composition. Namely, salads usually consist of a variety of products that contain both fat- and water-soluble components, and sour cream contains both the aqueous and fat phases. When added to salads, sour cream acts as a homogenizer, dissolving components with adverse characteristics.

Despite the good taste of natural sour cream, some people like to enhance its flavour with herbs and spices. One of the great culinary characteristics of sour cream is the fact that it is an ideal environment for various added flavours. You can blend different ground spices in sour cream and let the components dissolve in the various parts of the creamy substance.

You can make a dipping sauce from sour cream. Such a thick and strongflavoured cold dressing is usually made from 20% sour cream. Dipping sauces are also on sale, either ready-made (with herbs; with garlic and cheese or tzatziki flavoured) or as dry powders. In the latter case, the powder mix should be blended into the sour cream in the right proportions and allowed to season for some time.

Sour cream has very wide culinary applications. It is added to various soups, pastry, bakes, roasts, stews, jellies, creams, salty and sweet pastry fillings, etc.

Sour creams produced in Estonia can usually be kept for 10–15 days. Sour cream can be stored at cold temperatures and in unopened packages (2–6 oC) for even longer – only its taste becomes more sour. That’s the effect of the lactic acid bacteria that help to preserve the product and that ferment it further. At the same time, sour cream is not at all so acidic that it causes health problems to people who don’t readily tolerate food products with a high acid content.

Buttermilk – a Modest but Powerful Player

Buttermilk is either a fresh or fermented by-product of butter making. Fermented buttermilk has been highly valued and consumed in Estonia over the ages. As it is biologically a very valuable food in terms of health compared to other fermented milk drinks, buttermilk has undeservedly been in the background nowadays.

History of Buttermilk

Buttermilk occupied a place of honour among food products from the start when they produced hand-made butter at home. They used all the buttermilk then. In wealthier farm households that had more buttermilk they used it both as a thirst quencher and together with other foods. Several drinks were made from buttermilk, such as a fermented rye flour drink. Rye flour was added to hot water, it was fermented in a warm place and later, to improve its flavour, fresh buttermilk was added that also fermented in the mixture. There was another way to prepare it as well: some rye flour was added to boiling water, it was mixed and they waited until the flour settled to the bottom. The liquid on top was added to fresh buttermilk and the mixture was fermented.

In South Estonia, they used to make a specific farm food once a week – groats porridge with fresh buttermilk. Buttermilk was almost indispensable in making barley bread dough because, barley pastry made with buttermilk was much fluffier, so tasted better, and was ultimately healthier. These are very good examples of how peasant knowledge created mixed dishes with high biological value as long ago as the old times by combining foods of vegetarian (rye, barley, etc) and animal (buttermilk) origin that perfectly supplement each other!

Today, fermented buttermilk is manufactured by fermenting fresh buttermilk with a special bacterial starter. The use of various lactic acid bacteria in the composition of the starter is beneficial, as some new compounds, such as peptides that have a favourable effect on the human health, are created in the product. In order to improve its composition, some skimmed milk is also added to buttermilk before fermentation.

Macronutrients in Buttermilk

Water content in buttermilk at its highest is 91–92%. A high water content allows the use of buttermilk both for maintaining the water balance of the human body and as a quick thirst quencher. As the water content of buttermilk is mainly bound to proteins, it is absorbed from the intestines slowly enough that this drink is better than any type of water, either ordinary or flavoured.

The dry matter in buttermilk (8–9%) contains macronutrients (milk proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) and micronutrients (mineral substances, vitamins).

Fermented buttermilk contains nutritious milk proteins (up to 3 grams per 100g of buttermilk) that have a very high biological value for the human organism. During fermentation, proteins in the buttermilk become even more digestible and their allergenicity is reduced or disappears for certain consumers.The carbohydrate content of buttermilk on sale in our stores is between 4.3–4.5%. The majority of it comprises lactose or milk sugar, and to some extent glycose and galactose that are generated during the cleavage of lactose. And this provides another added value. People who have problems with lactose in fresh milk may successfully drink fermented buttermilk. The reason for it is that the lactic acid bacteria of the starter have partially consumed the lactose for their own needs, i.e. the enzymes secreted by them in the fermentation environment have decomposed part of the milk sugar in the product.

And there are more benefits, namely, the lactic acid bacteria of the starter synthesize lactic acid from milk sugar. This organic acid helps to absorb calcium and it also gives buttermilk its sour taste. Sour buttermilk stimulates the function of the gastrointestinal tract of people who suffer from stomach hypoacidity. Adults who have problems with indigestion should drink a glass of buttermilk on an empty stomach. The fermented milk on sale in Estonia belongs among the food products that contain so-called living microbes. Living lactic acid bacteria in the fermented buttermilk help buttermilk consumers to restore the natural microbiological habitat in their intestines, and thus foster the digestion and absorption of some nutrients. Due to the presence of living bacteria in the product it should be stored at a cold temperature. In the warm, the vital functions of lactic acid bacteria accelerate and they convert more milk sugar into lactic acid. As a result, the taste of the product becomes more sour than may be acceptable to the palate of many people.

Only recently, biobuttermilk drinks were also produced in Estonia. They contained buttermilk, fatless milk and an additional substance of which the content was up to 14%. The name biobuttermilk was used due to the fact that probiotic bacteria were used during fermentation. The additional substances were aloe vera, blood orange or grapefruit. Compared with ordinary buttermilk, the biobuttermilk drinks contained more carbohydrates (mostly due to their higher content of glycose, fructose and sucrose). Due to the higher carbohydrate content, biobuttermilk drinks contained more calories compared with ordinary buttermilk. The content of other nutrients, such as proteins and fats, in the biobuttermilk drinks, on the contrary, was the same as in the ordinary buttermilk.

As the fat content of buttermilk is very low (usually 0.5% or lower) it is a very suitable thirst quencher for those who watch their figure. The biological value of buttermilk fats is also in the fact that they contain the phospholipids, mainly lecithin, that are necessary for the human organism. Milk lecithin is mainly concentrated in the membranes of fat globules. When making butter, the membranes of the fat globules are destroyed; by conjoining the milk fats butter is formed and the majority of lecithin, together with milk sugar, stays in buttermilk. The human body needs lecithin for several purposes: in the composition of cell membranes, for normal brain function, and for replenishing the supplies of choline or vitamin B₄ . Often it is advised to use lecithin preparations but it is easier, more natural and cheaper to eat food products rich in lecithin that also provide a certain amount of other necessary phospholipids.

The energy value of fermented buttermilk is determined by the carbohydrates and proteins in its composition. Due to their comparatively modest quantity the calorific value of fermented buttermilk is rather low. If you drink 200 grams of buttermilk, you get only around 56–70 calories of food energy.

Micronutrients in Buttermilk

The content of calcium and phosphorus compounds in buttermilk is more or less similar to that of cow’s milk. Buttermilk is a very good source of potassium. A glass of buttermilk gives a nice amount of magnesium too. Buttermilk contains more water-soluble vitamins than the fat-soluble ones. This is due to the specific composition of buttermilk, as depending on the manufacturing technology it contains rather a small amount of milk fats. During fermentation, buttermilk is enriched with various B-group vitamins. This dairy product is a substantial source of the vitamin B₂ that is suitable for the human organism.

Various Applications

Buttermilk is a superb food product. If drinking buttermilk isn’t enough to stave off hunger, you can mix it with kama (a traditional Estonian meal containing milled rye, wheat, barley and peas) to get a versatile, useful and easy meal. If you think the taste of the fermented buttermilk too dull you can blend in jams, berries, vegetables or green herbs to make drinks with various flavours. Their calorific value is definitely higher, though. Fermented buttermilk is perfect as the main component in the cold soups that are very popular during the warm season. Even today, buttermilk is used in the composition of various doughs and batters, especially when raising agents are added to them. Due to the interaction of the organic acids in buttermilk and raising agents the separating gases make the pastry fluffy.

Liquid buttermilk is a suitable component in pastry and baked curd dishes. You can use buttermilk at home as a high quality starter for fermenting milk. You have only to add about 5-10% of fermented buttermilk to milk, mix them well and let it ferment at room temperature. The bacteria in the starter of the fermented buttermilk ensure a high quality result both in terms of texture and taste.

The organic acids (mainly lactic acid) in buttermilk are used for various culinary and cosmetic applications. The mild acid environment of buttermilk is very good for marinating meat and as a base of mild marinades. Lactic acid has also a skin peeling effect so buttermilk can be used in cosmetic skin care products.

Buttermilk is widely known outside Estonia as well. For example in Ireland, buttermilk and garlic are considered to be a universal medication against colds. In many countries, buttermilk is thought to be a good means of easing stomach disorders after the excessive consumption of alcohol.

Due to the special biochemical composition of buttermilk, buttermilk powder - the concentrate of dry matter in buttermilk - has wide application in food industry. Buttermilk powder is often used in whipped creams, mainly due to its lecithin and protein content. Specifically, lecithin has twin characteristics – part of its molecule binds well with water, the other part with fats, so it is a good emulsifier, binding the two phases in creams into one whole, and building bridges between them on the molecular level. The success of lecithin as an emulsifier is proven by its use as a food additive (E322).

The proteins of buttermilk powder play a role in creams as well – they stabilize whipped preparations by encapsulating microquantities of air in them. And of course, using a relatively fatless buttermilk powder in creams serves another purpose – it reduces their calorific value. On certain occasions, buttermilk powder is also added to fermented mixed milk drinks; its purpose then is to improve the nutritional and biochemical characteristics of the product.

Sour Milk – the First Dairy Product in the World

We will probably never find out when it was discovered that ‘spoilt milk’ had a good taste and a long shelf-life, but in any case it was a very long time ago. We could say that sour milk was the very first dairy product in the history of mankind.

A Very Long History

The domestication of dairy cattle began around 10,000 years ago in warm climate areas. Originally, cattle were raised for their meat and hides. Milk was added to the benefits later. Milk from domesticated animals (originally from goats) was consumed fresh or it was allowed to ferment in earthenware. As cattle breeding developed, produce from other milkers was added to goat’s milk. The original fermentation of milk was more an inevitability than a foresight because it was the only way of keeping milk fresh in a warm climate for a long time. The micro-organisms of milk performed as the original starter. Unfortunately, it was also difficult to stop milk fermentation in hot climate, so it fermented completely and contained too much lactic acid in the end.

The Progress Story of Sour Milk and its Ongoing Popularity

Originally, fermentation happened absolutely by accident, but soon pragmatic people started to make simple but important observations. They discovered that fresh milk fermented faster and better if some fermented milk was added to it. Usually they used a special fermentation container, and when the fermented milk was poured out they replaced it with the fresh one. So over time, various starters were created either by accidental or informed choices that fostered the fermentation process and laid the foundation for the creation of various fermented milk products. Hence the explanation of why various fermented dairy products with different textures, smells and tastes made from the milk of different animals are so valued in different countries.

The difference between various types of fermented milk is illustrated by the fact that in various regions of Scandinavia various types of drinks with different composition are valued. In Sweden, people like sour milk with very thick curds that almost resemble jelly. Danes prefer an even thicker type – their national sour milk resembles a mixture of sour milk and curd paste. Finns, on the other hand, choose to drink the ordinary sour milk (in our terms) that was and still is popular in Estonia as well. Local types of sour milk in the Caucasus region differ from each other by their more or less sharper taste and the level of natural carbonisation.

Sour milk was used as food in a variety of ways in Estonian farm households. The simplest way was to drink sour milk when eating porridge or bread. Unfortunately, sour milk was scarce as cows milked little and the milking period didn’t last long. Sour milk was usually mixed with water to dilute it. When eaten together with porridge, sour milk was served in a separate bowl and the eaters dipped the spoonfuls of porridge into it.

Fermented dairy products are popular for a good reason. They have a nice distinct taste, smell, texture, and dietary and healing properties. The taste of milk changes during fermentation, and new aromas are generated that foster the use of sour milk as a food product too. It was also important that during fermentation the consistency of milk became thicker, so a drink turned into a more solid food. The selection of different types of sour milk is wide.

Advantages of Sour Milk

In general we may say that all the types of sour milk are easy to digest and the human organism assimilates them well. Furthermore, they improve appetite, stimulate the functions of the pancreas and the liver and the secretion of bile. And there are more benefits. The milk proteins of sour milk are partially curdled due to the acidic environment, so they are readily digestable, that means the amino acids in their composition are absorbed well into our bloodstream. This can be called external preliminary digestion, something that doesn’t diminish the biological value of proteins as their amino acid content doesn’t change.

The protein content of sour milk manufactured in Estonia is usually 2.9%. The somewhat altered state of milk casein due to the activity of living lactic acid bacteria reduces the possibilities of allergenicity. Compared with the proteins in fresh milk the proteins in fermented dairy products cause fewer allergic reactions. The advantage of the commercially manufactured sour milk with 2.5% fat content is also that, even if a lot is consumed, it doesn’t give a lot of food fats or calories – the human body gets around 50 calories from a 100-gram portion of the product. At the same time, the fat content of sour milk is sufficient to ensure the absorption of the necessary micronutrients from the product and to give the product flavours that are palatable to many people. As in the case of other fermented milk products, we should stress the suitability of sour milk for people who have problems digesting milk sugar. The lactose content in sour milk is lower, and the lactic acid bacteria consumed together with sour milk help to partially cleave lactose.

The carbohydrate content of the 2.5% sour milk that is on sale in Estonia is around 4%.

The human body gets micronutrients from sour milk as well. Speaking of minerals, sour milk contains a considerable amount of calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulphur and sodium compounds. We get a small amount of microelements such as selenium, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt and iodine from sour milk.

Regarding vitamins, sour milk mainly contains various vitamins of the B-group (notably vitamins B₂, B₅ and B₁₂ ): some of them come from the original milk and some are generated by the living lactic acid bacteria.

There are some additional bonus features. Lactic acid in the composition of fermented milk products stimulates the functions of various digestive glands, so it fosters the digestion process. The regular consumption of sour milk also improves the function of the intestines, helping to avoid constipation. When drinking sour milk that has not been pasteurized the gastrointestinal tract of the consumer is enriched with lactic acid bacteria to a greater or lesser extent. The use of probiotic bacteria in the starter of the sour milk is especially beneficial as they also contribute to improving the health of consumers. The bacteria in a certain selected starter can produce compounds in sour milk that have an antibiotic effect. Sour milk with this composition is recommended in several special diets.

Applications of Sour Milk

One widely spread dish made from sour milk was liquid flour gruel. Cold or warm gruel cooked from barley or rye flour was added to skimmed sour milk (butter was made from the milk fat). The gruel and sour milk mixture was often allowed to ferment further. The gruel and sour milk drink was used as a thirst quencher, eaten with other dishes or as a food on its own. This food combined animal (sour milk) and vegetarian (cereal flour) components that made up a rich and diverse meal. Rye flour was preferred as the flour component in this dish. The mixed drink made from rye was easier to drink and it fermented quickly. In various regions the sour milk and cereal flour mixed drink had different names. Sour milk and flour mixtures were preferred for two reasons. Firstly, their nutritional value was higher than of the sour milk alone, and secondly, they tasted better. Sour milk was the main ingredient when making kama, the traditional Estonian meal containing milled rye, wheat, barley and peas.

In old times, sour milk was also combined with a broth made from groats. They made a thick groats porridge first, then poured fresh milk over it and allowed it to ferment. When the mixture tasted sour it was mixed thoroughly and the liquid on top was used as food.

On the farms, sour milk was also used in bread doughs for fostering the fermentation process – especially in winter when it was cold. They started to use sour milk and baking soda as raising agents in the composition of various doughs and batters (for example in barley bread) very much later on. In particular, when mixing sour milk and baking soda, carbon dioxide is released that helps the dough to raise.

Making Sour Milk at Home

Nowadays, there are two ways to get sour milk – you can either buy sour milk manufactured by dairy industries from a store, or you can make it at home yourself. But we should keep in mind that milk in a closed package with the use-by date passed, or that has been kept in non-compliant conditions doesn’t ferment into sour milk at all. All you will find in the package is a liquid with an unpleasant smell and a disgusting taste.

You can make sour milk from raw milk at home. In this case the fermentation process takes place spontaneously if the conditions are right. You can add the starter with lactic acid bacteria to get a good result. A starter should also be used if you want to ferment pasteurized milk. You can use either a special starter or milk products that contain living lactic acid bacteria for this purpose. You should add about 5% of this product (sour cream, fermented buttermilk, sour milk, etc.) to the original milk that you want to ferment. You should warm the milk to 20–25 °C first, add the starter, and mix the two carefully. After a while when curds with a suitable thickness have formed, you should cool the sour milk quickly, either stirring it or not. Sour milk should be stored at a cold temperature, as the lactic-acidic fermentation activates quickly in warm places, and as a result, two unfavourable changes may take place in the product over time: the product becomes too sour to the palate, and it may not suit those people who cannot consume sour drinks due to inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract. Sour milk that has fermented too long doesn’t suit the diet of infants either. If the environment becomes too sour, the lactic acid bacteria start to die gradually and the microbiological value of the product decreases. The product may also stratify into two phases in case of excessive acidification: the protein- and fat-rich layer on top and the aqueous phase at the bottom.

You can increase the nutritional value of sour milk made at home or bought from a store by adding sugar, jams, mueslis and kama-meal to it, or by using it as a component when preparing other dishes such as doughs, batters or marinades.

The quality of sour milk or a product made from sour milk depends on various factors, the most important of which are the following:

• The composition and quality of the original milk

• The duration and temperature of the fermentation process of the original milk

• The quantity and composition of the starter

• The acidic content of the product and circumstances that can influence it

• The oxygen content of the product

• The storage temperature of the product during its shelf-life

The flavour of sour milk drinks mostly depends on the ingredients used and their quantities.

Cottage Cheese – a Cheese or a Curd?

The question about cottage cheese is this: is it a cheese or a curd? Although it looks more like curd, its production process resembles that of cheeses.

Main Nutrients in Cottage Cheese

All cottage cheeses are soft and contain a lot of water – their moisture content is up to almost 80%. The remaining one fifth consists of dry matter. If this product is stored over a long period of time, for example in a plastic bag or a cup, some of the water may drain out of it and form a layer underneath. At the same time, the high water content of cottage cheese is not permanent – if the product is kept in an open package for a long period the surface layer dries out very quickly. This brings about partial changes in its structure, colour and flavour as well.

The first group of macronutrients in cottage cheese is fats. The diversification of cottage cheeses started with altering the fat content in the product, and the consumer had a choice between products with minimum, medium or high fat content. It is no secret that the fat content of cottage cheese is often increased at home by adding sour cream before eating.

Today we can buy the so-called fat-free cottage cheese (contains up to 0.1% of fat) and the classical product – cottage cheese with 4% fat content. The fat content of cottage cheese may be as high as 6%. Unfortunately, cottage cheese with a low fat content is rather dull to the palate and also dryish, as fats give the food its usual softness and characteristic taste. People are however resourceful, so fat-free cottage cheese is even mixed with mineral water to make it tastier. It’s good to know that various added ingredients will generally increase the fat content of cottage cheese, but the increase is not great.

The second group of macronutrients in cottage cheese is carbohydrates. In the manufacturing process most of the milk sugar of the product remains in the whey, and some of it is used as food by the microbes in the starter. Therefore, natural cottage cheese is a product with a lower milk sugar (lactose) content and it can be recommended to people who cannot consume fresh milk due to lactose intolerance. The lactose content of natural cottage cheese without any additional ingredients is around 2–3%. The same rule applies here as well that additives both increase the general carbohydrate content of cottage cheeses and diversify their composition. Jam as an ingredient makes a big contribution.

The third group of macronutrients in cottage cheese is proteins. The biological value of cottage cheese as a food product is increased by its relatively high protein content – that is around 14–18% in genuine cottage cheeses.

It is also important that milk proteins have amino acids in an appropriate composition for the human organism, so are digested easily. During the manufacturing of cottage cheese the bacteria of the starter, rennet and the acidic environment affect the proteins in such a way that makes them even more digestible.

Regarding flavoured products containing various ingredients, their protein content is somewhat lower compared with the protein content of natural cottage cheese. There is also a correlation between the fat and protein content – fattier cottage cheeses contain less proteins and the products with a lower fat content contain more. You should keep in mind that a 100-gram portion of cottage cheese with medium fat content satisfies around 18–25% of the recommended dietary allowance of proteins, and that these are high quality food proteins.

In general, natural cottage cheese with a medium fat content (4%) without any additional ingredients is not a very energy-rich food – a 100-gram portion of it gives the consumer around 100 calories of food energy. You should also take into account that various ingredients change the calorific value of the product. They increase the energy value to a certain extent, but there are also some that do the opposite. With additional ingredients, the increase-decrease of the calorific value of the product is usually around 20 calories per 100-gram portion. Their fear of calories is the reason why people prone to overweight prefer fat-free cottage cheese in their menu, but the prolonged use of the latter may bring about problems with the assimilation of certain types of micronutrients in the gastrointestinal tract.

Micronutrients in Cottage Cheese

Natural cottage cheese is often praised for its rich calcium content. This is not wrong, but we should also point out that, compared with liquid dairy products, cottage cheese contains much less calcium as a considerable amount of it remains in the whey that is drained out of the product. Cottage cheese is still a very good source of calcium though, especially when it is eaten often and in large quantities. The calcium-phosphorus ratio in cottage cheese also fosters the assimilation of these elements in the gastrointestinal tract.

Speaking about the mineral composition of cottage cheese we shouldn’t forget table salt or sodium chloride. To tell the truth, producers do not add much salt to the product, so the ordinary product contains only 0.8–1% of table salt. Products with additional ingredients can contain somewhat more. A healthy way of flavouring cottage cheese is to replace ordinary table salt with one of those where part of the sodium chloride has been replaced by potassium and magnesium salts.

It’s also good to know that no preservatives are added to natural cottage cheeses. This results in their shorter shelf-life and in a requirement to store them at a cold temperature of 2–6 oC. On the other hand, various additional ingredients in cottage cheese may contain preservatives and additives, so you should always check the product label for additional information.

Additional Ingredients Give an Appearance to Cottage Cheese

Today, product development is booming among cottage cheeses as well, as additional ingredients are the easiest way of attracting the attention of consumers. These products provide several benefits for the eater. Firstly they save time. Cottage cheese is a popular component in salads. So instead of buying all those ingredients separately and combining them at home this work is done by the manufacturer. Secondly, well-chosen and well-combined ingredients diversify the biochemical composition and the nutritional value of cottage cheese. Thirdly, the more products with various ingredients and flavours the larger should be the circle of cottage cheese friends and lovers.

Most of the additional ingredients are vegetarian. This product line includes products with herbs and condiments (garlic, horse-radish, onion, dill, parsley, mustard), tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers and even products with cloudberry jam. The vegetarian component serves several purposes. Cottage cheese softens the bitter taste of herbs but the final product preserves all the useful vegetarian components. It is also important that in combined food products the vegetarian components increase the content of useful micronutrients. Cottage cheeses with vegetarian components contain more potassium compounds, vitamin C, carotenoids, bioflavonoids and phytoncides. If there are plenty of vegetarian ingredients in cottage cheese, its fibre content increases as well. And there is more – the vegetarian component in a white-coloured cottage cheese is also beautiful to the eye.

The second group comprises ingredients of animal origin. There are cottage cheeses flavoured with seafood sticks and tuna on sale in the stores. The fish proteins from these ingredients enrich the biological composition of the proteins and fats of the product and increase its respective nutrient content.

The representatives of the third group belong to the fungus kingdom. For example, cottage cheese enriched with button mushrooms is widely offered for sale. In principle it is possible to manufacture cottage cheese with a mouldripened cheese ingredient as well. Well, in this case, the additional ingredient mostly consists of cheese, not of the mould fungi. The value of the mushroom component is that it increases both the fibre content and the quantity of extractive substances that stimulate digestion.

The fourth group consists of dairy products. Just as many people like to add milk, fresh cream, yogurt or sour cream to cottage cheese, the same ingredients are added to commercially produced cottage cheeses as well to improve and diversify the flavour of the product. On the one hand adding fresh or sour cream to the product increases its general calorific value; adding fat-free milk or natural yogurt, on the other hand, decreases it. In the latter case, the reduction of the overall fat content is the key word.

When you study product labels carefully you can see that the quantity of added ingredients can vary a lot, and that it usually depends on the nature of the flavouring ingredient. It is possible to add spicy herbs in much smaller quantities than seafood sticks, tuna, cheese or jam.

Another group of food products consists of salad-like products where cottage cheese is combined with vegetarian components – the so-called gourmet salads. In this case the product is not cottage cheese any longer but a mixed salad based on cottage cheese. Added value, of course, increases the price of the product but its ease of use and time-saving elements are something worth paying for.

Cottage cheese with probiotic bacteria is an entirely different product. This is the so-called functional cottage cheese that has all the advantages of an ordinary cottage cheese and in addition the new and healthy added value. Namely, when you eat these bacteria they enrich the microbiological habitat of the intestines, they produce some vitamins, and have other beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract that are good for the health of the human body.

Applications of Cottage Cheese

Years ago, natural cottage cheese was eaten as a dish on its own or in mixed salads with herbs. Today, the picture has changed a lot. Cottage cheese is consumed more and more both in savoury dishes and desserts, both in cold and warm food.

Cottage cheese is successfully used in salads, baked dishes, on sandwiches, in pastry fillings and omelettes, in salad dressings and pastry. Cottage cheese can be successfully combined with fish, meat, eggs, prawns, pasta, cheese, vegetables and mushrooms.

Amongst others, cheese cakes, tarts, pancakes and other desserts with cottage cheese are very popular today.

Curd – Always Good

Curd has been part of the everyday diet of Estonians ever since the times when butter was made of cream skimmed from sour milk and the rest of the milk was scalded to produce curd.

Treasury of Nutrients in Curd

Curd is more of a solid than a liquid product. An essential part of the dry matter of curd is comprised of proteins, but it also contains carbohydrates, fats and minerals. There is a significant amount of water (78-82%) in curd, bound with proteins. Curd contains free water as well - the liquid that has dripped between the twofold package of curd shows it. Technologically, it would be possible to produce curd with a low water content as well, however, it would taste dry and dull.

Many of us realise that curd is good for one’s health. What exactly makes classical curd a product that has a favourable effect on human health?

The main ingredient in curd is casein, the reserve protein of milk which gives the product its white main colour. The primary biological value of the curd is in its high protein content (usually 10-12%) which varies a little by curd variety. All milk proteins contain amino acids essential for the correct functioning of the human body (including the irreplaceable ones), and what is especially important, in the appropriate proportions. We should particularly highlight the high methionine content of the curd proteins; it is an irreplaceable amino acid which, among other things, protects the liver against becoming fat.

When classical curd is modified, curd with its highly valued proteins still remains as the main ingredient, so it is reasonable to add healthy ingredients, and they create added value; however, curd remains as the source of proteins with high biological value for the human body.

Natural curd cannot boast of a high carbohydrate content. Carbohydrates, mostly milk sugar or lactose, make up 2-3% of natural curd. Compared with milk, the lactose content of curd is lower for two reasons. Firstly, some of the lactose remains in the whey, and secondly, if curd is produced from milk fermented with starter bacteria, a part of the milk sugar is used for producing organic acids as well as for the functioning of the lactic acid bacteria. However, the picture changes entirely in the case of sweetened curd creams. Both sugar and other sugar-rich ingredients have been added to curd creams and their carbohydrate content is quite high.

A separate group consists of so-called diet curd creams which are made from fat-free curd paste sweetened with jams flavoured with artificial sweeteners that give no energy to the human body. This alternative is not very reasonable since artificial sweeteners can cause problems for the human body if a lot is consumed continuously.

The fat content of curd can be significantly changed. Depending on the technology, it is possible to produce practically fat-free curd (less than 0.2% of fat), curd with a medium fat content (4-5%) and fatty curd (9% of fat). Curd fats provide fatty acids to the human body. The fats of the classical curd contain 20-25% of mono-unsaturated fatty acids which do not oxidise and are healthy.

People are often mislead by the idea that curd with a lower fat content doesn’t taste good. Contemporary production technology makes the curd particles so small that when you eat it, you feel their softness in your mouth, like the softness you feel when eating products with a higher fat content. However, you should bear in mind that the human body cannot fully assimilate all the nutrients such as certain fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins from fat-free curd too quickly. Curd contains very few water-soluble vitamins since some of them are destroyed during heating in the manufacturing process, and some remain in the content of the whey.

Curd is quite rich in calcium and phosphorus, but it cannot compete with liquid milk products when it comes to supplying the human body with these essential mineral compounds.

Curd owes its sour taste to organic acids, particularly lactic acid. The organic acids in the product stimulate the functioning of the digestive glands as well as the absorption of nutrients (such as various microminerals).

Consequently, curd is a valuable food product and nowadays it should definitely be included in everybody’s diet, especially that of children and the elderly.

Curd with Additional Ingredients

Additional ingredients serve two purposes. Firstly, to supplement the main food product with other nutrients, both in terms of quantity and product characteristics, and secondly, to diversify the product mix both in terms of flavour and appearance. Usually, various fruits and berries, such as raisins, apricots, bananas, strawberries, as well as cocoa are added to the product.

With additional ingredients, the proportions of the main nutrients that provide energy are changed in the product, and then they rank as follows: carbohydrates come first, proteins second, and fats occupy third place.

The use of vegetarian ingredients (fruits and berries) adds value to curd in several ways. For example, the product is enriched with fibres (prebiotics) which belong to the family of carbohydrates. The spectrum of fibres is also extended by the pectin that is added to some products in the technological process. All vegetarian ingredients increase the content of useful potassium compounds in the final product.

Berries and fruit enrich the product with vitamins and various anti-oxidant compounds. The appearance of the product is also changed, both thanks to the vegetarian components and the natural colorants (beta-carotene, beetroot red). All the additives also contribute to the new flavours of the product, which, in turn, increase the number of the consumers of this protein-rich product.

It is common that various additional ingredients account for 2-6% of the final product composition. However, there is the opposite possibility too – curd itself can be an additional ingredient in bread, pies, cheese cakes, pancakes, tarts, etc.

Curd Creams – Ready-Made Desserts

Dairy industries have expanded their product ranges, so there are various ready-made curd creams and desserts on the market.

Desserts made from curd cream consist of various components and sometimes have two phases (curd cream and liquid). In order to maintain their texture during the shelf-life, various additives, mostly stabilisers and thickening agents, are needed, such as starches, pectin and gelatine. In general, preservatives are not added to curd. Potassium sorbate (E202) is the exception – it is added to a few products. Every consumer, however, can find a suitable preservative-free product from the wide range of products. You should take into account though, that a moderate quantity of preservatives can be found in any jams that have been used as flavouring. Additives are also contained in diet curd mixes flavoured with artificial sweeteners. However, most of the curd desserts are sweetened with sugar. Citric acid (E330), citric acid salts, occasionally even lemon juice are added to these products in order to balance the sweet taste.

Despite the absence of preservatives in most of the products, curd desserts keep well. A long shelf-life is ensured by the use of high quality raw materials and the closed production cycle implemented in dairy industries where curd paste is not exposed to human contact until the product has already been packaged. Since curd is a bit acidic, this specific feature also hinders its microbiological deterioration. Nevertheless, curd creams should always be stored at a cold temperature of 2–6 oC and consumed before the end of their shelf-life.

If you remove the foil from the cream cup and you notice a layer of water on the curd paste, you needn’t be afraid that the product is spoilt. Curd cream settles when it’s allowed to stand, and a thin layer of water may form on it. Curd creams are sold in packages of various sizes – so each consumer can choose the one that suits them best and if needed this also helps them to count their calories.

Puddings – Popular Milk Desserts

Puddings are commercially produced milk-based desserts with various flavours that can be enjoyed alone or mixed with different ingredients. Since milk is an essential and primary component in the production of puddings, they contain all the macronutrients of milk (water, carbohydrates, fats and proteins).

Diverse Composition

Puddings have the creamy texture and soft silky flavour very important for this type of food thanks to their milk fats. Puddings made from Estonian milk contain only 2.2-2.3 grams of fat. This is the right choice since puddings are not meant to be fatty energy bombs. However, this amount of fats is still enough to be a significant source of essential fatty acids, and to effectively contribute to the absorption of fat-soluble micronutrients, such as fat-soluble vitamins. The cocoa powder that is added for flavour also contains fats and may increase the fat content of puddings a little.

Pudding contains a wide spectrum of carbohydrates. As to sugars, pudding contains milk sugar lactose. Indeed, the original milk used for producing puddings contains a relatively small amount of lactose and this compound is not very sweet either. When you look at the nutrition values on the pudding cup, you can see that the content of carbohydrates in this dessert is among the highest, compared with other nutrients, ranging from 15 to 17 grams. However, this hides an interesting fact: namely, that in addition to sugars, puddings also contain other carbohydrates which stabilise this dessert but are not sugars. These compounds are modified starches, guar gum and carrageen. While digestive enzymes cleave modified starch, they do not have a decomposing effect on guar gum and carrageen. The micro-organisms in the gastrointestinal tract use part of the modified starch for producing organic acids essential to the human body.

Milk proteins make pudding a source of valuable proteins. Although their protein content is not very high, puddings still contain a significant quantity of proteins (2.5-2.8 grams), compared with several other desserts. Skimmed milk powder is sometimes added to puddings to increase their protein content.

Most of the proteins in puddings come from milk, so their amino-acidic composition is favourable both for those with a sweet tooth or not. Added cocoa also contributes a little to the increase of the protein content.

When we speak about milk-based products, we cannot forget calcium. Although many other dairy products are significantly better sources of calcium than puddings, the human body obtains this biological element crucial for the organism from these desserts as well. Milk-based puddings are also essential sources of vitamins D and B₂.

Three Pillars of Flavour

Our dairy industry traditionally produces puddings with three types of flavours: vanilla, caramel and cocoa. Synthetically produced vanillin, which shouldn’t be confused with natural vanilla, is added to vanilla-flavoured puddings. The main difference is that while the taste and aroma of the natural vanilla pods are generated by the interaction of at least 50 different compounds, only a single compound is responsible for the flavour of synthesized vanillin. Since vanillin has a very intense flavour and aroma, a relatively small amount of it is added to puddings.

Cocoa powder is added to cocoa-flavoured desserts. Although cocoa is added in a very small amount, only 1.9%, its impact on the appearance, flavour and nutritional values of the product is very noticeable. In addition, the carbohydrates, proteins and fats in cocoa powder contribute to the main nutritional content of the pudding. Cocoa has another benefit – namely, anti-oxidant polyphenolic compounds have been found in it.

The third main pudding flavour is caramel. This flavour is achieved by adding caramelised sugar and flavouring agents to the dessert. In order to bring out different flavours better, a small amount of table salt is added to all these products. The low salt content is also confirmed by the fact that salt is always last in the ingredient list of puddings.

The proportion of the main nutrients in the dessert creates its calorific value. Puddings have no reason to be shy about this. A 100-gram portion contains 90-100 calories. Naturally, the actual amount of food energy depends on the size of the serving and the additional flavouring ingredients. Puddings with cocoa have the highest calorie content, although the difference is small compared with other puddings.

Texture of Puddings

In addition to its pleasant taste, characteristic aroma and colourful appearance, puddings should have a silky and smooth structure which is neither too liquid nor contains solid particles. The correct texture of puddings is achieved by adding modified starch, which has been derived from ordinary starch by processing it in a certain way, and the guar cum and carrageen that have a thickening effect. Despite their foreign names and inclusion in the list of E-additives, both are carbohydrates of natural origin produced from plants. Guar gum is derived from guar seeds, and has two functions in the pudding: it serves both as a thickener and a stabiliser. Carrageen is produced from various species of red algae and it has three functions in the pudding: a thickener, a gelling agent and a stabiliser.

Storing Puddings

Puddings do not contain preservatives, so there are strict requirements for distribution and storing them at home.

Puddings should be stored at a temperature of 2-6 °C for their texture to be sufficiently thick for eating. If they are stored at room temperature, the desserts tend to liquefy quickly. Pudding is a mixture that has been stabilised in various ways, therefore it doesn’t readily tolerate freezing and the subsequent defrosting which spoils the dense and smooth texture for good.

The best before dates have to be very carefully observed with these desserts – puddings are highly perishable food products.

A pudding cup that has already been opened is not meant for long-term storage. It should be eaten immediately after being opened since it tends to dry on the surface and may perish microbiologically in unfavourable storage conditions. As the product packages are rather small (puddings are sold in 125-gram and 250-gram cups in Estonia), every pudding lover can do it.

Puddings are praiseworthy products that can be enjoyed as a cold creamy complement to cakes or used for making various desserts in combination with jam, fruits, berries, chocolate chips and other additional ingredients.

RECIPES

Summer Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

2 baby carrots

3 new potatoes

a handful of peas

0.5l milk

20g butter

salt

fresh dill

Wash and scrub the vegetables; chop them into suitable pieces. Sauté the vegetables in butter in a pot for a few minutes, season with salt and add enough water to cover. Boil the vegetables to taste. Add the milk and bring to the boil, add chopped dill and serve.

Snowball Soup

Serves 3

0.5l whole milk (3.5%)

3 eggs

7 tbsp sugar

a pinch of salt

1 tsp potato starch

1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tbsp vanilla sugar

Separate eggs, add salt to the whites and whisk until frothy. Add 3 tbsp sugar a little at a time, and whisk until glossy.

Bring milk to the boil. Put spoonfuls of egg white froth on the milk surface, turning them on all sides for a few minutes, remove and store in a cool place until served.

Whisk the yolks with 4 tbsp sugar and the vanilla sugar until frothy, add the starch and mix well. Blend into the hot milk and heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Chill and serve with egg white balls.

Add sharp-tasting puréed berries if desired.

Quick Chicken Liver Pâté

Serves 8

250g butter

500g chicken liver

2 onions

1 tbsp fresh thyme

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp brandy

0.25 tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

Heat 1 tbsp butter in a frying pan. Add half the chicken liver, fry for 4 to 5 minutes until lightly browned and remove from the frying pan. Do the same with the other half. Purée the liver and the cooking juice in a food processor or with a hand blender.

Melt another tbsp of butter in a frying pan. Sauté chopped onion, thyme and crushed garlic and cook over a moderate heat until onion is tender. Add brandy, salt and pepper and blend. Pour the mixture into the puréed liver, add soft butter and whisk until smooth.

Salmon with Herb Butter

Serves 4

For the herb butter:

100g butter

1dl chopped basil

0.5 tsp salt

2 tbsp lemon juice

0.25 tsp black pepper

1–2 cloves garlic

For the salmon:

2dl white wine

4 salmon steaks or fillet slices or butterflies

1 tbsp tarragon

For the herb butter, beat chopped basil, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice into the softened butter. Put the butter onto cling-film, form into a sausage shape of 3–4 cm diameter, roll up and chill in the fridge until needed.

Heat the wine in a frying pan, add salmon steaks and chopped tarragon and cook for 4 to 6 minutes. Put salmon on the plates. Slice the herb butter and place on the hot fish.

Apple Tarte Tatin – Upside Down Apple Pie

8–10 servings

For the pastry:

3dl flour

0.25 tsp salt

15g butter

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

milk for brushing

flour for rolling

butter to grease the baking dish

For the filling:

50g butter

750g apples

1 tsp cinnamon

Juice of 1 lemon

1–2 tbsp honey

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Cut butter and rub it into the flour. Add sugar and the egg and blend until smooth. Put it in the fridge while preparing the filling. To prepare the filling, peel and slice the apples. Melt butter and cook apples in melted butter for 3 to 4 minutes. Add cinnamon, lemon juice and honey and heat for another few minutes. Place the apples in a 22 to 23cm diameter baking dish greased with butter.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and place it on the apples in the dish. Brush the pastry with milk and prick holes with a fork. Bake the pie at 200 ºC for 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken Curry

Serves 4

4 chicken legs

For the marinade:

2 tbsp curry powder

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp ground spice cumin

2 garlic cloves

Juice of 1 lemon

4dl kefir

Put the chicken legs in a big plastic bag. Blend the marinade ingredients and pour the mix into the plastic bag. Shake well and store for at least 2 hours. Put the legs in the oven dish and cook them at 180 ºC for 35–40 minutes. Serve with boiled rice.

Panna Cotta

Serves 4

2dl kefir

2dl whipping cream (35%)

1.25dl sugar

A vanilla pod

2 gelatine sheets

For serving:

1 kiwi or berries

Honey

Fresh peppermint leaves

Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water. Bring whipping cream, sugar and the vanilla pod to the boil. Squeeze the gelatine sheets dry. Remove the vanilla pod from the pot and dissolve the gelatine in the hot cream. Let the cream mixture cool to blood heat and blend in room temperature kefir. Pour the mixture into glasses and let it chill until firm: about 4 hours to overnight.

Serve with puréed berries, honey and peppermint leaves.

Cabbage Pie with Kefir and Yeast Dough

30–35 servings

For the dough:

2.5dl kefir

1 pack of dried baker’s yeast (12 g)

2 eggs

0.5 tsp salt

1dl sugar

1dl cooking oil

11–12dl flour

For the filling:

1.5–2kg cabbage

2 big onions

100g butter

0.5dl light-coloured sugar syrup

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp marjoram

2 tbsp vinegar (10%)

An egg for brushing

Pour the room temperature kefir into a bowl. Add yeast, lightly beaten eggs, sugar, salt and oil. Mix thoroughly and knead in flour. Cover with a towel and let it leaven in a warm place for about 2 hours.

For the filling, shred the cabbage and onions finely. Melt butter in a pot and add cabbage and onions to sauté for 45 minutes. Season with salt, syrup, pepper and marjoram. Add vinegar and allow to cool. Divide the dough into two halves and roll both parts into rectangles. Place one rectangle on a baking tray, cover with the filling and top with the other rectangle. Press the sides well together. Prick the dough with a fork and brush with egg. Bake at 225 ºC in the lower part of the oven for 20–30 minutes.

Chicken and Smoked Cheese Soup

Serves 4

3–4 chicken thighs

2l water

1–2 carrots

2 onions

1 tbsp butter

4 tsp flour

2dl single or whipping cream

200g smoked cheese

salt

black pepper

chopped parsley

Place the chicken thighs in cold water and bring to the boil, remove the froth and leave to simmer on a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Remove the thighs from the broth.

Peel the carrots and grate coarsely. Peel and slice the onions finely. Melt butter in a frying pan to sauté the carrots and onions, then add flour and allow to heat through. Pour into a pot and cook for about 10 minutes at a moderate temperature.

Add cream and chopped chicken, bring to the boil. Add diced smoked cheese, season with salt and pepper. Mix well until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Aubergine and Cheese Rolls

Serves 4

2 medium aubergines

3 tbsp butter

1.5 tsp salt

black pepper

2 tsp dried oregano

300g strongly flavoured cheese

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

herbs

Cut the aubergines lengthwise into 0.5cm slices. Fry them on both sides in butter and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and marjoram. Slice the cheese thinly and put on the aubergine. Roll up and place on a baking dish greased with butter. Mix the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and sprinkle on the rolls. Bake at 250 ºC in the upper part of the oven for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped herbs.

Yogurt and Berry Cake

12 servings

1.5dl cherry or other berry or fruit yogurt

400g frozen cherries

3dl flour

1 tsp baking powder

1dl oil

3 eggs

0.5dl sugar

0.5dl brown sugar

icing sugar for sprinkling

Mix yogurt, melted and drained cherries, flour, baking powder, oil, eggs and sugars. Pour into a 24cm cake tin. Bake at 175 ºC for 25–35 minutes.

Once the cake has cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Mango Smoothie

Serves 4

400g tinned mango

2dl vanilla yogurt

2dl pineapple juice

honey to taste

Purée mango slices with a hand blender. Blend in yogurt and juice, season with honey. Serve cold.

Herring Sandwich Cake

10 servings

For the base:

150g rye bread

50g butter

For the filling:

4 gelatine sheets

600g herring

1 small onion

0.5dl chopped dill

50g pickled gherkins

200g cottage cheese

3dl sour cream

0.25 tsp black pepper

To decorate:

3 hard-boiled eggs

herring rolls

chives

Cut the crust off the bread, crumb the soft bread and mix with melted butter. Cover the base of a 22cm spring-form baking tin with greaseproof paper, press the breadcrumbs onto the base and put the tin in the fridge.

Soak gelatine sheets in cold water.

Chop the onions, dill, herring and pickled gherkins finely. Add cottage cheese and sour cream. Season with pepper. Squeeze the gelatine sheets very dry. Heat 2 tbsp cold water, melt the gelatine sheets in it and dribble it into the herring mixture, stirring constantly. Put the filling in the tin and leave it in the fridge to set overnight or at least four hours. Decorate with quartered eggs, chives and herring rolls.

Potato and Broccoli Cream Soup

Serves 4

500g potatoes

400g broccoli

50g butter

50g high quality smoked bacon

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

2dl sour cream (10%)

marjoram

a bay leaf

parsley

vinegar

salt

pepper

sweet pepper

1 tbsp flour

1l water

Peel and dice the potatoes. Chop broccoli into florets. Heat the butter in a pot. Add sliced bacon, chopped onion, garlic and parsley and heat for 2–3 minutes. Add potatoes, broccoli and herbs. Sprinkle in flour, mix thoroughly and heat for a few minutes. Add water, bring it to the boil and boil for 25–30 minutes until the potatoes and broccoli are very tender. Purée and blend in sour cream and some vinegar. Season with salt if necessary. Bring to the boil and serve.

Lemon Squares

24 servings

For the shortcrust pastry:

2dl flour

100g butter

0.5dl icing sugar

For the filling:

2 eggs

1dl sugar

1dl sour cream

2 tbsp flour

0.5 tsp baking powder

0.25 tsp salt

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

For the glaze:

1dl sour cream

0.5dl sugar

Grease the baking dish with butter. Sift flour into a bowl. Add cold butter and sugar, and using a knife, cut it into an even dough. Press the pastry on the bottom of the dish and bake at 180 ºC for 15–17 minutes.

To prepare the filling, whip the eggs with sugar and add the rest of the ingredients to the mixture. Pour the filling onto the pre-baked base and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Mix sour cream and sugar and spread on the cake. Bake for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool well, cut into squares and serve.

Karask – traditional Estonian barley bread
that has been around for centuries

Serves 4

0.5l buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking soda

6dl barley flour

2 tbsp oil

Beat the eggs with salt and sugar and add buttermilk. Sift in barley flour mixed with baking soda, blend into an even dough. Pour into a baking dish greased with butter and bake at 200 ºC for 25–30 minutes until the barley bread is golden brown. Serve warm with butter or egg and butter spread and plenty of chives.

Vegetable Porridge with Cold Herb and Buttermilk Sauce

Serves 4

500g potatoes

2 carrots

1dl pearl barley or spelt

100g high quality smoked bacon

1 large onion

For the sauce:

2dl buttermilk

0.5dl various chopped herbs (dill, spring onions, some peppermint leaves)

Rinse pearl barley with cold water until water is clear. Cut the carrots into 1 cm thick slices, halve the potatoes and place them in a pot together with barley. Pour in just enough water to cover vegetables and barley. Season with some salt.

Dice the bacon and chop the onion finely. Fry together until the fat separates from the bacon and the onion is tender.

Once the vegetables and barley are tender, mash them into the broth. Add the bacon and onion mixture and leave to cool.

Chop the herbs finely and season with a pinch of salt. Wait for 5 minutes for the salt to draw some juice from the onion then add buttermilk. Allow the sauce to season in the fridge and serve with lukewarm porridge.

Sour Milk Pancakes with Oatmeal

Serves 4

For the batter:

2 eggs

0.5 tsp salt

0.5dl sugar

1 tsp vanilla sugar

2dl sour milk

3dl oatmeal

Rapeseed oil for frying (oil and butter mix is also suitable)

Divide the yolks and the whites into separate bowls.

Add salt, sugar and vanilla sugar to the yolks. In turn, blend in sour milk and flour to get a smooth batter.

Whip the whites in the other bowl and mix them carefully and delicately in the batter.

Heat a pan and add some fat. Spoon the batter into the frying pan and fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown. Keep warm under an upturned plate or bowl until needed.

Kama – A Drink with Sour Milk and Berries

Serves 2

5dl sour milk

2–3 tbsp kama (a traditional Estonian meal containing

milled rye, wheat, barley and peas)

2–3 tbsp sugar

2dl strawberries

Mix the berries in a serving glass with sugar. Blend kama-meal and the cold sour milk, add sugar to taste. Pour on the berries and serve.

Cottage Cheese and Vegetable Steaks

8 steaks

2 medium carrots

100g celeriac

10cm piece of leek

2 eggs

1dl milk

200g cottage cheese

2 crushed garlic cloves

0.5 tsp salt

black pepper

chopped parsley

1dl darker wheat flour

butter for frying

Grate the carrots and celeriac finely. Chop the leek. Lightly beat the eggs and blend into milk and cottage cheese. Add grated vegetables and seasoning to the mix. Add flour and mix well. Let the mixture settle for 30 minutes and then form into thin steaks. Fry in butter on a low heat.

Aubergine Casserole

Serves 4

2 aubergines (approximately 750g)

250g minced beef

250g cottage cheese

2 eggs

chopped oregano

1 tsp salt

0.5 tsp black pepper

For the tomato sauce:

2 tins of (à 400 g) chopped tomatoes

1 big onion

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

0.5dl chopped fresh basil

To prepare the sauce, heat the chopped onion and crushed garlic cloves in oil for 3–4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and seasonings, bring to the boil and simmer on a medium heat for 10–15 minutes.

Cut the aubergines lengthwise into 1cm thick slices, place them on a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper and cook in the oven at 200 ºC for 20 minutes.

Fry the minced meat on a frying pan in oil and allow to cool a bit. Add cottage cheese, eggs and seasoning to the mixture. Place filling on each aubergine slice and roll. Cover the bottom of the baking tray with half of the tomato sauce, put in the aubergine rolls and cover with the rest of the tomato sauce. Bake in the oven at 200 ºC for 20 minutes.

Cottage Cheese and Pineapple Pies

20 servings

For the dough:

6–7dl flour

2 tsp cardamom

1dl oil

2dl milk

1dl sugar

1 tsp salt

1 pack of dried yeast (12g)

For the filling:

227g tinned pineapple slices

250g cottage cheese

1dl sour cream

0.5dl sugar

2 tbsp vanilla sugar

egg for brushing

Mix cardamom and flour in a bowl. Add oil so that the dough turns into a crumbly mix. Blend milk, sugar and salt and heat to hand warm. Add yeast, pour into the flour mixture and knead into a smooth dough. Shape the dough into a bar, divide into twenty pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls on a baking tray, cover with a towel and allow to leaven for about an hour.

Drain the pineapple slices and dry with paper towel. Mix the rest of the filling ingredients. Dip the bottom of a glass in flour and press hollows in the centre of the leavened balls, prick them with a fork and brush the sides with lightly beaten eggs. Place 1–1.5 tbsp of filling on each pie. Cut the pineapple slices into smaller pieces and put a pineapple piece on each pie. Bake in the oven at 225 ºC for 10–12 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Curds Cake with Toffee and Bilberries

Serves 7

For the dough:

2dl milk or single cream (10%)

13g cake yeast

3 tbsp sugar

½ tsp salt

30g butter (82% fat)

1 egg

0.5 tsp ground cardamom

About 2.5dl wheat flour

For the filling:

400g traditional cooking curds

4 eggs

1dl sugar

150g sour cream

90g Cow Candy or soft toffee

2dl bilberries

Warm the milk to blood heat, dissolve the yeast, sugar and salt in it. Melt the butter, add cardamom and let stand. Whisk the eggs into the milk and yeast mixture, add enough flour to get a nice soft pastry.

Continue blending intensively while adding melted butter and cardamom. Let the dough leaven in a warm place up to +35 °C for 30 minutes, then stir it through and pour it on a backing tray in a 1cm thick layer. Let it leaven in a warm place for another 15 minutes.

Separate eggs. Blend yolks, the curds, sour cream and half of the sugar into an even mixture. Whisk the whites into a tender froth, add the rest of the sugar and continue whisking.

Mix the froth carefully into the curds mixture, pour it over the leavened dough, sprinkle bilberries and chopped toffee on top.

Bake at 190 °C for about 20 minutes.

Curd Dumplings and Summer Berry Kissel –

a dessert made from fruit juice or purée boiled with sugar and water, thickened with potato starch
Serves 7

For the dumplings:

300g vanilla curd cream

2 eggs

0.5 tsp baking powder

2.5dl wheat flour

15g melted butter

For the kissel:

10dl summer berries

8dl water

About 1.5dl sugar

1.5 tbsp potato starch

Mix the dumpling ingredients into an even dough. Put teaspoonful-sized dumplings in water seasoned with a pinch of salt and boil until they float on the surface. Keep warm until served.

For the kissel, boil the berries in water until tender. Sieve the skins out and sweeten the remaining juice with sugar to taste. Blend the starch in a few spoonfuls of cold water and pour the mixture in the hot berry juice. Bring to the boil, constantly stirring, until the juice thickens a bit.

Serve lukewarm with curd dumplings.

Bread Pudding

Serves 4

250g vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla sugar

1dl single cream (10%)

0.5dl sugar

8–10 pieces of white bread

butter

1dl summer berries

About 0.5dl Demerara sugar

Grease the bottom and sides of a baking dish with soft butter. Beat the eggs with sugar and vanilla sugar, add pudding and cream. Dice the bread and stir berries into the pudding mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish, cover with small pieces of butter and sprinkle with Demerara sugar. Bake in the oven at

200 ºC until golden brown on top. Serve cool with cold milk.

Pudding and Strawberry and Meringue Dessert

Serves 2

50g meringues

150g strawberries

1dl vanilla or caramel pudding

1dl whipping cream (35%)

Whip the cream and mix with the pudding. Add the meringues to the mixture. Chop the strawberries and place them on the bottom of a serving bowl. Pour the cream on top and serve immediately.

General Terms Characterising the Manufacturing of Dairy Products

Thermisation

Thermisation is the heat-treatment of raw milk at a temperature of 57–68 ºC for at least 15 seconds. This technology is used in manufacturing French mould-ripened soft cheeses.

Standardisation

On average, raw milk contains 4% of fat. Standardisation is the adjustment of the composition of raw milk to give the final product the desired mass fraction of fat, protein or any other component. During centrifuging milk in a separator, i.e separation, milk is separated into cream and skimmed milk, then cream is added to skimmed milk (standardisation) to produce dairy products with different fat contents.

Homogenisation

Homogenisation is breaking up the fat globules in milk under high pressure. This avoids the cream layer forming on top. As a result of homogenisation, the colour of milk products becomes whiter, the texture and flavour of fermented milk products improves and the components of milk products can be assimilated better.

Pasteurization

Pasteurization is the heat-treatment of milk at a temperature below 100 °C. First and foremost, the aim of pasteurization is to deactivate pathogenic microflora and ensure the food safety of milk. The efficiency of deactivation of micro-organisms must be >99%, and in the case of pathogenic micro-organisms 100%. Pasteurization increases the shelf-life of dairy products.

Milk products are manufactured from pasteurized milk; the pasteurization time and temperature of which can vary.

The following types of pasteurization are more common:

1) pasteurization at a temperature of 72–75 °C for 15–20 seconds;

2) high-temperature pasteurization at a temperature of 80-85 °C for 1-5 seconds;

The pasteurization time of fermented milk products is extended to improve the properties of the final products.

Ultra-High Temperature Processing (UHT)

Ultra-high temperature processing is heating at a temperature over 100 °C. The aim of ultra-high temperature processing is to deactivate all microflora. UHT products are usually packaged aseptically so that their shelf-life can extend for months. UHT products can be stored at room temperature. Typically, UHT processing takes place at a temperature of 137–140 °C for 2–10 seconds.

Starter Culture

Starter culture, a combination of one or more species or strains of microorganisms, is used for manufacturing fermented milk products. Mostly starters combining lactic acid bacteria are used for producing dairy products.

Mesophilic Starter Culture

Mesophilic starter is a combination of lactic acid bacteria, the optimal growth of which takes place at 25–30 °C. Mesophilic starter culture is used in manufacturing sour milk, sour cream, kefir, curd and certain types of cheeses. This group comprises Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris.

Thermophilic Starter Culture

Thermophilic starter is a combination of lactic acid bacteria the optimal growth of which takes place at 40 °C. Thermophilic starter is used for manufacturing yogurt and certain types of cheeses. This group comprises Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus.

Probiotics

Probiotics are biologically active living micro-organisms of human origin that have a healing effect on the functions and health of the human body.

The effect of probiotics must be clinically proven.

The probiotics most often used in milk products are Bifidobacterium lactis, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus fermentum, Lactobacillus plantarum.

Prebiotics

Prebioticsarenon-digestiblefoodcomponentsthatfosterthegrowthand/oractivity of the useful bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and are therefore useful for people.

Most of the prebiotics are water-soluble fibres. The most common prebiotics used in milk products are polydextrose, inulin and oligosaccharides.