I don’t think it’s a secret that I love yoghurt. I will buy the flavoured stuff as a treat, but am very happy with plain as a savoury topping in lieu of sour cream or mixed with berries or other fruit to turn it into a creamy dessert.

So I was quite excited when I learned that Bulgarian yoghurt is considered among the best in the world. When I went shopping with Max my first day here, I asked about yoghurt and he pointed to this stuff:

In Canada, I buy Dannone Oikos “Greek style” yoghurt with 2% milk fat. It’s the best plain yoghurt I’ve found. I used to make my own, but lost the habit (very sadly). The Dannone stuff is okay, but getting through a tub is work. It’s not very smooth on the tongue and leaves me wishing for sour cream — or whipped cream!

This “kiselo myalko” — literally sour milk is so different from the commercial yoghurt I get back home that it might as well be from another planet. It is tangy, but not sour, very creamy (my homemade stuff was always lumpy), and is delicious right out of the jar. Oh, I’ve been having it the odd time with fruit or even, as a huge treat, a bit of strawberry jam, but it’s not a yoghurt whose flavour needs to be tamed. This is what milk wants to be when it grows up (okay, that or a really strong English cheddar). It’s available with 2% or 4% milk fat and I go with the former.

I brought two large containers back from Sofia since you can only get smaller containers in Yablanitsa. They survived the trip home!

My only complaint about this yoghurt is that it has a non-resealable aluminium foil top, like the single serving containers do, but there are many servings in the container. So I’ve been using a piece of clingfilm to keep it air tight.