If you look through the old cookbooks, then in the list of ingredients in the recipes you can find such names of oil as Provencal, Russian, Chukhon, Paris. What kind of fats are these? With Provence oil is still more or less clear. The olive product was delivered to Russia from this region of France. Maybe Chukhon oil also has a vegetable, rather than animal origin? In this article we will tell all the details about this food. In the meantime, define the terms.
In ancient times, in Russia they called Chukhons primarily Estonians, and with them all the inhabitants of the Baltic states. Consequently, the product was introduced to Western neighbors in the Petrine era. But is it similar, for example, to Vologda butter - that is, plain butter, only with high fat content? Let's take a brief look at the manufacturing process for this food product.
How do butter now
The churning of milk is a know-how that a person has mastered since the Neolithic revolution. In short, the technology for producing butter looks like this. Fresh whole milk is left for a couple of hours. During this time, it exfoliates. Greasy cream will accumulate on top of the krink. And expressed milk will remain below. The cream is collected and whipped. After some time, the fat dissolved in the liquid begins to appear - first with rare grains, then lumps. Buttermilk stands out as well - a fermented milk product similar to whey.
If you whip the cream for a little time, then the liquid remains inside the oil, and then it is called "Sandwich" or "Tea." The fat content of such products is 62 and 50 percent. But if you try and buttermilk for a long time and hard, then you get the "Vologda" oil. The longer the process, the less finished product (and more buttermilk). Next, the oil is washed in several waters. And finally, carefully wring out. What does Chukhon oil have to do with this process? To do this, imagine the life of people 200 years ago, when there were no agricultural holdings or refrigerators.
How did butter get in the days of Kievan Rus
Our ancestors made this product completely different than modern plants. But the thing is that at room temperature the milk buttermilk, which, whisking it up, still remains in the oil, disappears very quickly and starts to get bitter. Therefore Rusichi acted with cream in a completely different way. They put krinka with cream in a traditional oven and held there until all the liquid had evaporated. The resulting very oily (almost 100%) mass was cooled and then beaten with spatulas.
Such ghee was called “Russian” until the end of the 19th century. This product did not cause delight among European gourmets and cooks. Although it was less, it also soured, besides it was too greasy, had an unpleasant smell (which the Russian housewives tried to mask in every possible way with onions, horseradish and garlic). In the frying pan, such fat was terribly chado, splashed and left a black precipitate. Chukhon butter, which has become known in Russia since the conquest of the Baltic States by Peter the Great, was a real breakthrough in cooking. But is it really an invention of the Estonians? Let's study this question.
Chukhon oil - what is it?
Imagine an old farm compound. Cows produce approximately 10 liters of milk per day. Cream from this amount comes out 2 liters. The churning process is very laborious, and about 30 grams of oil comes out! There are two ways out of this difficult situation. First: buy fresh cream from neighbors and buttermilk a large number of them. So it turns out modern butter, which in the 19th century was called "Parisian".
The second way is to collect different milk yields. After a few days, you can pick up a large amount of cream. Of course, by this time they will turn sour, and get sour cream. But who said she can't be buttermilk? In fact, the technology was not invented by Estonians. The practice of whipping fermented cream was born in the bowels of Western Europe in ancient times. And the name of the oil “Chukhonskoye” is just the result of the fact that Russian people first spied the technology on the Baltic.
Does fermented cream affect the taste of the product
Fresh milk and sour milk are very different. A ghee (Russian) oil from Chukhonsky and even more so. The latter has normal fat content (about 72 percent). It is light yellow, almost white. In addition, this oil has a pronounced sour taste. It is good to smear it on sandwiches for fish or caviar. It should be noted that the Chukhons (as well as Swedes, Belarusians, Poles and Germans) complied with sanitary requirements in the preparation of butter.
The cream was collected carefully, fermented clean. Churns and other equipment were washed diligently. And the product itself went through a special selection. Sour cream whipped until a piece of butter became dense. And then he washed himself in five waters and did push-ups. As a result of such actions, no buttermilk remained inside the oil. And the one that was still held inside was fermented in advance. The sour-milk bacteria in it have already been fermented and finished their work.
What are the specifics of sour cream oil
As you can see, this method of production extended the shelf life of the product. But there is nothing eternal in the world. Milk and its derivatives deteriorate quickly. The Russian people have developed their own know-how - how to give rancid oil a “second life”. They reheated it again, which made it possible to remove unpleasant taste and smell for a while. But the frugal Baltic, Swedes and Germans took a different path.
Since the Middle Ages, people have salted meat and fish in order to extend their shelf life. Why not do the same with sour cream? Sour and salty tastes are pleasantly combined. Various methods of such oil treatment have arisen. You can add large crystals of sea salt to a piece at the very end of the process. Or, wash the oil not in plain water, but in brine. You can also withstand a piece in it for several hours.
Can I buy butter from sour cream now
In Europe, they hold sacred traditions when it comes to cooking. The technology of sour cream has not been forgotten. Of course, on the shelves you can not find a product called "Chukhonskoe." But this butter is sold as Yogurt, Sour Cream or Sour-milk. Of course, changes were made to the medieval recipe that were not entirely beneficial to the health of the customers.
To extend the shelf life of the oil, stabilizers and preservatives are added to it. Unlike sweet cream butter, Chukhonskoe has a light, almost white color. It is often tinted with carrot juice to give yellowness. But now it’s not at all necessary to make such an oil salty. After all, now there is a refrigerator in every house. Therefore, the shelf life of the product with proper storage is longer.
Is it possible to make oil at home
Our ancestors churned cream for a long time in a special bucket tapering upwards with a long stick, on which a circle with small holes was planted. This churn can be called a prototype of the mixer. But even with the help of an electric device, you have to work hard. A low-power mixer can burn out altogether. Butter - Chukhon or sweet cream - can be made in two ways: whipping or skating.
In Russia, by the way, they used the second method. Cream was poured into the barrel, corked, and rolled on the ground for a long time. But the principle of cooking oil at home does not depend on the method. By whisking or skating, we beat the dairy product, forcing it to exfoliate into fat and buttermilk. In the first method, pour 2 liters of sour cream into a container and turn on the mixer. We work until, first, small grains of fat appear, which then stick together into lumps. According to the second method, we fill with sour cream two-thirds of the jar, close tightly and begin to shake the container.
Complete Chukhon Oil Recipe
When you notice that the sour cream has started to exfoliate (the watery part will remain below, and the fat mass will rise up), we will turn off the mixer from time to time / open the jar and drain the buttermilk. Do not throw this product away! It is very useful and it makes delicious pancakes. When you see that the oil began to gather in large lumps, pull it out, gather it with a spatula and start kneading like dough.
Wash your hands and dip into ice water from time to time. Throw a piece into a bowl, press to the bottom, roll - buttermilk should be removed as carefully as possible. Next, you need to withstand the oil in ice water. When it warms up to room temperature, drain, repeat this procedure two more times at least. The unwashed oil will go rancid in a couple of days. But if you want to use it right away, you can skip this stage of the process.
Tips
Chukhon oil can be salted. But this is optional. You can give the product an extra flavor by adding chopped herbs, garlic, grated cheese, dried tomatoes, chocolate, honey and more. But the oil should be well washed. After mixing the main product with a flavoring additive, form a sausage, wrap it in cling film and put in the freezer for several hours.