Varenets (), sometimes anglicised as stewler or simmeler, is a fermented milk product that is popular in Russia. Similar to ryazhenka, it is made by adding sour cream (smetana) to baked milk.
Production Varenets is a fermented dairy drink with a caramel taste and creamy color. Varenets was traditionally produced by baking milk in a Russian oven and fermenting it with sour cream.
Commercially available cultured varenets is milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized (with 0.5% to 8.9% fat), and then inoculated with a culture of Streptococcus thermophilus to simulate the naturally occurring bacteria in the old-fashioned product.ГОСТ Р 53508-2009. Варенец. Технические условия (International State Standard GOST 53508-2009. Varenets. Specifications; in Russian)ГОСТ 31455-2012. Ряженка. Технические условия (International State Standard GOST 31455-2012. Ryazhenka. Specifications; in Russian)
Similar dairy products Ryazhenka is the Russian word for a very similar fermented dairy product. While some dictionaries treat these two words as synonyms, [] the industry standard GOST distinguishes between the two products, specifying somewhat different production processes.
Also similar are qatiq and kaymak, commonly found in Turkic countries. [] Reprinted in The milk should be heated to a high temperature before fermentation. This is the main similarity of , , , and that distinguishes it from other yogurt-based products, although kaymak and qatiq are thicker in consistency.
See also List of dairy products List of Russian dishes List of yogurt-based dishes and beverages
References