The market · Dairy and eggs

Whole milk

In a kitchen, a liquid; at the bar, a clarifier — its proteins curdle when a punch's acid meets them, and the curds trap haze and tannin as they form.

sweet · creamy · curdles with acid

What to do with it

Classics built on it
CantoneseDouble-skin milkA smooth, lightly sweet milk pudding, set with egg white and steamed, with a skin that forms on top twice.No one here has made it yetCantonesePineapple bunA soft, sweet bread roll under a crackled, sugary crust — named for how the top looks, with no pineapple in it.No one here has made it yetPunjabiGajar ka halwaGrated red carrots cooked slowly in milk until it's gone, then fried in ghee with sugar, cardamom and nuts.No one here has made it yetBengaliMishti doiMilk reduced and sweetened with caramelised sugar or date-palm jaggery, then set as yoghurt in clay pots — thick, fawn-coloured and sweet.No one here has made it yetBengaliRosogollaSoft, spongy balls of fresh chhena cheese, cooked in light sugar syrup until they swell — the sweet Bengal is proudest of.No one here has made it yetKashmiriTabak maazLamb ribs simmered in milk with whole spice until tender, then fried in ghee until crisp and glossy.No one here has made it yetKashmiriModur pulavRice cooked in ghee and milk with saffron, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom, studded with dried fruit and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGhevarA lacy, honeycombed disc of batter fried in ghee, soaked in syrup and often topped with rabri and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniMohan maasMutton cooked slowly in milk and cream with cardamom and ground cashews — the mild, rich dish of Rajasthan's royal kitchens.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianHyderabadi biryaniMarinated goat or chicken layered raw under half-cooked basmati, with saffron, fried onion and mint, then sealed and cooked slowly on dum.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianPayasamRice, lentils or vermicelli cooked slowly in milk or coconut milk with sugar or jaggery, scented with cardamom and scattered with cashews fried in ghee.No one here has made it yetBasqueGâteau basqueA short, buttery almond pastry baked around a filling of pastry cream or black cherry jam, the top glazed and scored.No one here has made it yetBasqueGoxuaA dessert in a small glass: whipped cream, then sponge soaked in syrup, then custard, with the top burnt to caramel.No one here has made it yetCatalanCrema catalanaA custard flavoured with lemon peel and cinnamon, set in a shallow dish, its sugar top burnt to a thin glassy crust.No one here has made it yetCastilian and MadridChurros con chocolateRidged strips of fried dough, crisp outside and soft within, dipped into thick hot chocolate.No one here has made it yetAsturianArroz con lecheShort-grain rice cooked slowly in plenty of milk with lemon peel and cinnamon until creamy, then topped with sugar burnt to a crust.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisQuenelles de brochetLight dumplings of pike and a flour-and-egg panade, poached and then baked until they puff, usually in a crayfish sauce Nantua.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisGratin dauphinoisThinly sliced potatoes baked slowly in milk and cream with garlic, until soft underneath and golden on top.No one here has made it yetLyonnaisBugnesStrips of enriched dough fried until puffed and crisp, dusted heavily with icing sugar, made for Carnival.No one here has made it yetAlsatianKougelhopfA tall, fluted ring of buttery yeasted dough with raisins soaked in kirsch, an almond set in each fold, dusted with icing sugar.No one here has made it yetNormanTeurgouleRice baked for hours in milk with sugar and cinnamon, in a wide earthenware bowl, until creamy underneath and dark brown on top.No one here has made it yetItalianRagù alla bologneseA slow sauce of minced beef and pork with soffritto, a little tomato, wine and milk — served with tagliatelle.No one here has made it yetPolishPączkiRich, yeasted doughnuts filled with rose-petal jam or plum, glazed or sugared — the food of Fat Thursday.No one here has made it yetPolishRogal świętomarcińskiA large crescent of flaky yeast pastry filled with white poppy seed, almonds, nuts and dried fruit, glazed and scattered with nuts.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKarjalanpiirakkaSmall open pies of thin, crimped rye crust filled with rice porridge, baked hot and eaten warm with egg butter.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKanelbullarSoft, cardamom-scented yeasted buns rolled around butter, sugar and cinnamon, and topped with pearl sugar.No one here has made it yetNordic and Baltic ryeKöttbullarSmall meatballs of beef and pork with onion and milk-soaked breadcrumbs, browned in butter and served with cream sauce, lingonberries and potatoes.No one here has made it yetJamaicanFestivalA sweet, fried cornmeal dumpling, crisp outside and soft inside, served beside jerk and fried fish.No one here has made it yetBrazilianPão de queijoSmall round cheese breads made with cassava starch — crisp outside, chewy and hollow within.No one here has made it yetThe cocktail barClarified milk punchA punch poured into milk, left to curdle and strained clear: silky, glass-bright, and stable for weeks.2 versions here

Goes with

rumcognaclemon juiceblack tea

Cooked with, here

lime juicemezcalpineapple juicesimple syrupgreen teahojicha

How much, here

20–20% of the dish by weight — a place to start.

Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineapple190ml whole milkRosa Ibarra · 20% of the dishMilk punch, with hojicha190ml whole milkKenji Hara · 20% of the dish

What cooks here have learned

“Punch into the milk, slowly”Rosa Ibarra · Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineapple v3“Milk into the punch”Rosa Ibarra · Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineapple v2“Cloudy and grainy. Punch into milk next time.”Rosa Ibarra · Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineapple v2

Knowing it

Where to buy
Full-fat, fresh. Skimmed milk curdles too thinly to filter well.
Worth knowing
Pour the punch into the milk, slowly — not the milk into the punch — at about four parts punch to one of milk, and let it sit before straining.

Kitchens that keep it in

Asturias — the green mountains and coast of northern Spain, on the Bay of BiscayAsturianA kitchen of rain and mountains: big white beans stewed with smoked sausage, milk and blue cheese, fish from the Cantabrian Sea, and cider poured from a height.7 classics

More dairy and eggs

Dairy and eggsAged goudabutterscotch, nutty, crystallinesavouryNot cooked here yetDairy and eggsBurratamilky, creamy, freshNot cooked here yetDairy and eggsButtercreamy, nutty when brownedrichIn Pierogi ruskie, Comté French Toast Bites and 1 more · 79 classicsDairy and eggsComténutty, brothy, fruitysavouryrich2 classics