What Kajmak means
- In Serbian: Кајмак
- Pronounced: KAI-mak
- Category: Food & drink
Kajmak is made by gently heating milk, letting it cool slowly, and skimming off the thick, fatty layer that rises to the surface — built up over several batches until it forms a soft, spreadable cream. It sits somewhere between clotted cream and a very mild, buttery cheese: rich and faintly sour, but never sharp or salty the way a hard cheese can be.
In Belgrade kitchens and kafanas, kajmak is less a single dish than a condiment that turns up everywhere. It is spooned onto warm bread as a starter alongside ajvar, stuffed inside a karađorđeva šnicla, melted over a stuffed "gurmanska" pljeskavica, or spread inside a lepinja flatbread alongside grilled ćevapi. Ordering it by name with any grilled meat is how locals eat, and most grill counters and kafanas simply expect you to ask for it.
Quality varies noticeably. Mass-produced, shop-bought kajmak is perfectly fine but fairly plain, while homemade or farmhouse kajmak — thicker, more textured, sometimes lightly aged and salted — is what regulars request by name. If you only try one Serbian dairy product on a trip to Belgrade, kajmak is the one worth seeking out, since so much of the rest of the menu is built to go alongside it.
Common questions about Kajmak
What does kajmak taste like?
Kajmak tastes rich, buttery and mildly tangy — closer to a soft clotted cream than to a hard, salty cheese. Homemade or farmhouse versions tend to be thicker and more savoury than the smoother, milder kajmak sold in supermarkets.
How do you eat kajmak?
Most simply, spread on warm bread as a starter next to ajvar. It also appears stuffed inside karađorđeva šnicla, melted over a gurmanska pljeskavica, or spooned into a ćevapi-filled lepinja — it works as a filling as much as a table condiment.
Is kajmak vegetarian?
Yes — it is a dairy product rather than a meat product, so it fits a vegetarian diet. It is not vegan, since it is made purely from milk fat.
