Turkish · side

Muhlama (Kuymak, Cornmeal and Melting Cheese)

Muhlama (Kuymak, Cornmeal and Melting Cheese) reads richness 5.4, salinity 3.5 and warm spice 2.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Turkish side, about 26 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.6 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 1.2 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 0.0 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.8 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 2.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.4 · Salinity 3.5 · Warm Spice 2.1 · Earthy 1.7 · Nutty 1.2 · Sweetness 1.2 · Umami 1.1 · Bitterness 0.9 · Heat 0.8

What's in it (7)

• unsalted butter — 120 g
• cornmeal — 90 g
• kolot cheese — 350 g
• water — 250 g
• regular milk — 150 g
• salt — 3 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g

Time & effort: about 26 min · effort: medium

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. The cheese decides this dish. Kolot is a young unsalted stretching cheese from Trabzon; the nearest honest substitute is a young unaged Turkish tel peyniri, and neither mozzarella nor cheddar will pull the long threads that give muhlama its name. Buy it from a Turkish grocer and tear it into strips by hand.
2. Melt the butter in a small heavy pan or a copper sahan over low heat, letting it clarify but not brown, about 3 minutes.
3. Whisk in the cornmeal and cook it in the butter over low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells toasted and stops tasting raw. This is the step people rush, and a raw cornmeal muhlama is gritty.
4. Pour in the water and milk in a thin stream, whisking hard so there are no lumps, and cook 5 minutes more until you have a smooth loose porridge. Season with the salt.
5. Drop the cheese in all at once, lower the heat to its faintest setting and stir with a wooden spoon in slow figures of eight for 4 to 5 minutes. The cheese will melt, then gather, then start to rope behind the spoon — stop when you can lift a thread 30 cm out of the pan.
6. Grind over the black pepper and serve straight from the pan, hot, with bread and a spoon, while the threads still pull.
7. Substitutions: Trabzon telli cheese can stand in for the Kolot cheese.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Spätzle — German
• Harisa (Beaten Wheat and Chicken Porridge) — Armenian
• Pinnekjøtt (Steamed Salt-Cured Lamb Ribs) — Norwegian
• Little Fish Of The Garden (Peixinhos Da Horta) - Portuguese — Portuguese
• Spaetzle — German

Keep reading: what richness, salinity, warm spice mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.