Kajmak is the Serbian fresh cream cheese, made by slow-skimming the cream from heated milk and folding the layers into a thick spread. Eaten with bread, cevapi or pljeskavica.
Kajmak is the canonical Balkan dairy product, with documented Ottoman-era production across the wider region from the 16th century onward. Serbian kajmak from Čačak and Kraljevo holds protected designation of origin (PDO) status, recognised by both the Serbian Patent Office and the EU geographical indications register. The production technique is slow: milk is heated to 90 degrees Celsius, cooled overnight, and the cream skin (kajmak) gradually layered into wooden buckets across days. Belgrade kafane (Lorenzo and Kakalamba, Tri Šešira) serve it at the start of every grill platter and as the centerpiece of the meze; every Serbian household keeps a tub.
