Russian traditional blini with smetana and "red caviar" roe
Smetana is used in Central, Southeastern, and Eastern European cuisines in appetizers, main courses, soups and desserts. For example, it may be blended with soups, vegetable salads, cole slaw,[3] and meat dishes. It is served with dumplings (pelmeni, pierogi, varenyky), or with pancakes (bliny, palacsinta, naleśniki, oladyi, syrniki). It is also used as a filling in savoury pancakes. Smetana can be blended to a Liptauer-like cheese spread with quark or cottage cheese, onions, paprika and other spices, and eaten with bread. Smetana is often used in cooking, as it is high enough in fat not to curdle at higher temperatures. It is used in the preparation of meat stews, such as beef Stroganoff, vegetable stews, casseroles, or other dishes that require a long cooking time in the oven. Smetana does not melt in the oven. Hungarian cooks use it as an ingredient in sauces such as paprikas, and in recipes such as palacsinta (crepes) filled with ham or minced meat (hortobágyi palacsinta) (a similar use is common in Eastern European Jewish cuisines, except that smetana is not used with meat dishes due to the Jewish dietary prohibition of mixing dairy products with meat).
The current trend toward reduced fat content is believed to have resulted in an inferior product.[4] To imitate Hungarian-style cooking and the use of smetana (called tejföl in Hungarian), Hungarian cookbooks recommend using Western sour cream mixed with heavy whipping cream (38–40% milkfat).[5] Unlike sour cream mixed with whipping cream, smetana is not homogenized.
Pelmeni served with smetanaDumplings with plums and a side of sour cream
In Central European countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, smetana may refer to sweet cream or soured cream. It should contain at least 10% fat. Smetana that has at least 30% fat is called smetana ke šlehání (whipping cream) and is used for the production of šlehačka (whipped cream).
Schmand mit Glumse (whipped cream with quark) is used in Prussian and other Germanic cuisines in savory dishes and also for cakes called Schmandkuchen and desserts.[6][circular reference] A German medical book[7] published in 1677 recommended Schmant or Milchraam as the best part of the milk. Schmand is the cream of the milk, or the foam that rises up like the foam on beer.[8] Schmand or Schmant also describes other fatty foamy material and is known as a byproduct of mining (Grubenschmant), for example in vitriol development. The Balkan name for fattier varieties of smetana, mileram, is probably a variation of the earlier Bavarian name for the product, Millirahm, meaning "milk cream".
When comparing brands or suppliers of smetana, the Polish and Russian practice is to compare the fat content of the varieties. Fat content can range from 10% (runny) to 70% (thick). The most common supermarket smetana is 10% to 40% fat (milk fat only for an authentic product). Thickeners such as gelatine or starch may be added, although this is often considered to be adulteration and may make such smetana unsuitable for many culinary uses.[citation needed]
Etymology
The word "smetana" comes from the common Slavic "sъmętana", in turn from the verb "sъmětati" – to remove, to dump. Under this name, this product has spread in most languages: in Russia (смета́на, "smetana"), Ukraine (смета́на, "smetana"), Belarus (смята́на, "smyatana / śmiatana"), Finland ("smetana" and "crème fraîche"),[9] German ("saure sahne" and "schmand"), Slovenian ("kisla smetana"), Polish ("śmietana"), Bulgarian (заквасена сметана, "zakvasena smetana"), Slovak ("smotana"), Czech ("zakysaná smetana"), and Romanian ("smântână").
In Finland, the name "smetana" is used only for a product with a high fat content (30% or more), while ordinary smetana is called "hapankerma" ("sour cream").
Smântână[10] is a Romanian dairy product that is produced by separating the milk fat through decantation and retaining the cream. It will not curdle when cooked or if added to hot dishes. Smântână's taste is tangy and sweet; soured smântână is considered spoiled.[citation needed]
The word is a cognate with Slavic smetana (Czech: "cream", Russian: "sour cream").
Smântână is widely used in Romanian cuisine, particularly in appetizers, main courses, soups and desserts. It is often added to ciorbă and other soups, and is used as a condiment for mămăligă and dishes like sarmale.
