From the cow
67 products of the world's cattle, each drawn as a ring of its inputs and made step by step: milk, boil, churn, ferment, serve.
Butter and ghee
Ghee, makkhan, smen, cultured butter and the butters of the world: cream churned and clarified.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Butter and gheeGheeButter simmered until the water cooks away and the milk solids brown, leaving a clear golden fat that keeps for months.🇮🇳 🇵🇰 Butter and gheeMakkhan (white butter)Soft unsalted butter churned from curd by hand, eaten fresh on flatbreads and loved in the stories of the young Krishna.🇲🇦 🇩🇿 🇹🇳 Butter and gheeSmenSalted butter packed into jars and left to ripen into a pungent cooking fat, spooned into couscous and tagines.🇪🇹 🇪🇷 Butter and gheeNiter kibbehEthiopian butter clarified with onion, garlic, ginger and spices: the fat behind doro wat and kitfo.🇫🇷 Butter and gheeIsigny butter (Normandy cultured butter)Golden butter churned from ripened cream on the wet pastures around the Veys bay in Normandy, under a protected name.🇺🇸 🇨🇳 Butter and gheeButter sculptureLife-size cows and other figures carved from butter in a chilled room, the star of American state fairs.
Milk and cream
Clotted cream, kaymak, malai and the fresh milk of a breed known for it.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇧🇩 Milk and creamMalaiThe thick skin of cream that forms on boiled milk as it cools, skimmed off daily and saved for butter, ghee and sweets.🇹🇷 🇷🇸 🇧🇦 Milk and creamKaymakThick clotted cream skimmed from slowly simmered milk, eaten at breakfast with honey on fresh bread.🇬🇧 Milk and creamClotted creamThick yellow cream formed by gently heating milk and cooling it slowly, the crown of a Devon or Cornish cream tea.🇫🇷 Milk and creamCrème fraîcheThick, lightly sour cultured cream that holds up in a hot sauce without curdling.🇷🇺 🇺🇦 🇧🇾 Milk and creamSmetanaEastern European soured cream, spooned into borscht and onto blini, pelmeni and pancakes.🇬🇧 Milk and creamSyllabubCream whipped with sweet wine, sugar and lemon into a soft froth, a dessert of Tudor to Georgian England.
Curd and fermented milk
Dahi, lassi, kefir, skyr, amasi and the soured milks of herding peoples.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Curd and fermented milkDahi (curd)Milk set overnight with a spoon of yesterday's curd: the everyday soured milk of South Asian homes.🇮🇳 🇧🇩 Curd and fermented milkMishti doiBengal's sweet curd: reduced milk, caramelised sugar or jaggery, set firm in unglazed clay pots.🇳🇵 🇧🇹 🇮🇳 Curd and fermented milkChhurpiCurd from churned yak, dzomo or cow buttermilk, eaten soft or pressed and dried into one of the hardest foods of the Himalaya.🇰🇿 🇰🇬 🇺🇿 Curd and fermented milkQurut and aaruul (dried curd)Strained, salted sour curd rolled into balls or pressed into shapes and dried hard in the sun for the year ahead.🇷🇺 🇬🇪 🇦🇿 Curd and fermented milkKefirMilk fermented with gelatinous kefir grains into a sour, lightly fizzy drink from the North Caucasus.🇲🇦 🇩🇿 🇹🇳 Curd and fermented milkLbenThe soured buttermilk of the Maghreb, left after butter is churned in a skin, drunk cold with dates or couscous.🇰🇪 Curd and fermented milkMursikKalenjin fermented milk soured in a gourd lined with charcoal, served to guests, at ceremonies and to returning athletes.🇿🇦 🇿🇼 🇱🇸 Curd and fermented milkAmasiThick sour milk of southern Africa, set in a calabash and eaten with maize porridge.🇮🇪 🇬🇧 🇳🇱 Curd and fermented milkButtermilkThe thin, sour liquid left after butter is churned from ripened cream, drunk on farms and used in soda bread and biscuits.🇮🇸 Curd and fermented milkSkyrIceland's thick strained cultured milk, made from skimmed milk since the time of the sagas.🇸🇪 🇳🇴 🇫🇮 Curd and fermented milkFilmjölkSwedish soured milk, mild and spoonable, eaten from a bowl with cereal or muesli at breakfast.🇫🇮 Curd and fermented milkViiliFinnish ropy soured milk with a velvet skin of mould, set at room temperature and eaten with a spoon.🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇵🇱 Curd and fermented milkQuarkSoft fresh curd of German and Central European kitchens, used in cheesecake, dumplings and with potatoes and linseed oil.🇺🇦 🇷🇺 🇧🇾 Curd and fermented milkRyazhenkaMilk baked slowly until caramel brown, then fermented into a mild, creamy drink of Ukraine and Russia.
Milk sweets
Khoa, rabri, kulfi, dulce de leche, doce de leite and the sweets cooked down from milk.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Milk sweetsKhoaMilk cooked down in an iron pan to a crumbly or soft paste: the base of barfi, peda and gulab jamun.🇮🇳 Milk sweetsRabriMilk simmered slowly while its skins are lifted to the side, then sweetened into a thick dessert of creamy layers.🇮🇳 Milk sweetsBasundiMilk reduced to a sweet, pourable cream with cardamom and nuts, a festival dessert of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka.🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇧🇩 Milk sweetsKulfiReduced, sweetened milk frozen in conical moulds: a dense ice that melts slowly and is cut into thick slices.🇮🇳 Milk sweetsMysore pakGram flour cooked in a great deal of ghee and sugar syrup until it sets into porous, melting squares.🇮🇳 🇧🇩 Milk sweetsRasgullaSoft balls of fresh chhena cheese cooked in light sugar syrup: the spongy white sweet of Odisha and Bengal.🇮🇳 Milk sweetsMathura pedaKhoa roasted to a brown, grainy fudge with sugar and cardamom, the sweet of Krishna's birthplace.🇿🇦 Milk sweetsMelktert (milk tart)A shallow pastry case filled with a light milk custard and dusted with cinnamon, made for every South African occasion.🇮🇹 Milk sweetsPanna cottaSweetened cream set softly with gelatine, a pudding of Piedmont served with caramel, fruit or berry sauce.🇬🇧 Milk sweetsJunketWarm sweetened milk set softly with rennet, an old English pudding once eaten with clotted cream and nutmeg.🇺🇸 🇨🇭 Milk sweetsCondensed milkMilk with much of its water removed and sugar added, sealed in tins in the 1850s and now a pantry staple worldwide.🇦🇷 🇺🇾 🇧🇷 Milk sweetsDulce de lecheMilk and sugar cooked slowly until thick and brown, spread on bread and filled into alfajores across South America.🇧🇷 Milk sweetsBrigadeiroCondensed milk cooked with cocoa and butter, rolled into small balls and coated in chocolate sprinkles at every Brazilian party.🇲🇽 🇳🇮 🇨🇷 Milk sweetsTres leches cakeSponge cake soaked in three milks, evaporated, condensed and cream, then topped with whipped cream or meringue.🇳🇿 🇦🇺 Milk sweetsPavlovaCrisp meringue with a soft centre, crowned with whipped cream and fresh fruit for summer Christmas.🇳🇿 Milk sweetsHokey pokey ice creamVanilla ice cream studded with crunchy lumps of honeycomb toffee, New Zealand's favourite flavour.
Milk drinks
Butter tea, masala chai, ayran and the milk drinks of the world.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 Milk drinksLassiCurd churned with water and sugar or salt into a thick, frothy drink, served in tall glasses or clay cups across the Punjab.🇮🇳 Milk drinksChaas (spiced buttermilk)Thin buttermilk seasoned with salt, cumin, ginger and herbs, drunk with lunch across western and southern India.🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Milk drinksMasala chaiBlack tea boiled with milk, sugar and spices, poured from a pan into small glasses or clay cups at every street corner.🇨🇳 🇧🇹 🇳🇵 Milk drinksButter teaBrick tea boiled long and churned with yak butter and salt, drunk many times a day on the Tibetan plateau.🇲🇳 🇨🇳 Milk drinksSuutei tsaiMongolian salty milk tea, boiled in a pan and ladled high to mix, the first thing offered in every ger.🇭🇰 🇲🇴 Milk drinksHong Kong milk teaStrong black tea pulled through a cloth bag and mixed with evaporated milk, served in the city's tea cafés.🇲🇾 🇸🇬 🇧🇳 Milk drinksTeh tarikStrong tea with condensed milk, pulled from cup to cup at arm's length until it wears a cap of froth.🇹🇷 🇦🇿 🇧🇬 Milk drinksAyranYoghurt whisked with cold water and salt into a frothy drink, served with kebabs, pide and summer lunches.🇳🇬 🇳🇪 🇬🇭 Milk drinksFura da nonoSpiced millet balls crushed into nono, the fermented milk sold by Fulani women across the Sahel.🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Milk drinksEggnogMilk, cream, eggs and sugar, often spiked with rum or brandy and dusted with nutmeg: the Christmas drink of North America.🇲🇽 🇬🇹 🇭🇳 Milk drinksRompopeMexican eggnog of milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla and rum, first made in the convents of Puebla.🇦🇺 🇳🇿 Milk drinksFlat whiteEspresso topped with a thin layer of velvety steamed milk, the everyday coffee of Australia and New Zealand.
Festival dishes
Pongal, kheer and the dishes cooked from milk and ghee for the cattle festivals.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Festival dishesKheer and payasamRice slowly cooked in sweetened milk with cardamom: the pudding of offerings, birthdays and festival meals.🇮🇳 🇱🇰 Festival dishesSakkarai pongalRice and lentils boiled over in a new pot with milk, jaggery and ghee at the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal.🇮🇳 🇳🇵 Festival dishesPanchamritaThe five nectars, milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar, poured over the image of a deity and shared as blessed food.🇵🇰 🇮🇳 🇧🇩 Festival dishesSheer khurmaFine vermicelli cooked in milk with dates, nuts and ghee: the morning dish of Eid al-Fitr.🇩🇰 🇸🇪 🇫🇮 Festival dishesRice puddingRice cooked slowly in milk, eaten as Christmas porridge in the Nordic countries and baked or chilled across Europe.
Dung, hide and horn
Dung fuel and plaster, horn craft, hide and leather: the uses of a cow beyond food.
🇮🇳 🇵🇰 🇳🇵 Dung, hide and hornDung cakes (upla and gobar fuel)Cattle dung mixed with straw, patted into rounds by hand and sun-dried as fuel for the village hearth.🇮🇳 🇳🇵 🇧🇩 Dung, hide and hornCow-dung floor plaster (lipai)Fresh dung mixed with clay and water and spread over mud floors and courtyards for a smooth, renewed surface.🇮🇳 Dung, hide and hornKolhapuri chappalFlat, open leather sandals cut, stitched and braided by hand in southern Maharashtra and northern Karnataka.🇬🇧 Dung, hide and hornBone chinaWhite, translucent porcelain made with ash of cattle bone, developed in Staffordshire around 1800.🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇫🇷 Dung, hide and hornVellumFine calfskin limed, scraped and dried under tension, the writing surface of medieval manuscripts.🇳🇴 🇸🇪 🇩🇰 Dung, hide and hornDrinking hornA horn hollowed, cleaned and polished into a cup, used at feasts from the ancient world to the Georgian supra.🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇨🇦 Dung, hide and hornCowboy bootTall leather riding boot with a raised heel and pointed toe, made from cowhide since the cattle drives of the 1800s.🇲🇽 🇦🇷 🇺🇾 Dung, hide and hornRawhideUntanned cattle hide scraped and dried hard, cut into strips and braided into lariats, reins and whips.