Laima Balionienė, head of the “Rivonos” Alytus dairy, emphasizes the Lithuanian origin of the products, their naturalness, and good taste. You can find “Piemenėlis” milk, yogurt, cheese, curd, and butter in “Norfa” stores – quality dairy products closer to your home and family. From one product – different dishes. What to make from them so the whole family will eat?
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Milk – from a healthy drink to cupcakes for children
Milk is especially necessary for children – it is recommended to drink 2 glasses a day to supply the growing body with calcium. Adults and older people also enjoy a cup of milk or add a splash to coffee, make cocoa, or whip up a healthy milkshake with berries and fruits.
When choosing milk or its products, it is worth paying attention to their composition. According to L. Balionienė, the dairy adheres to the highest quality standards ensured by modern equipment and traditional recipes. “It is especially important that we use only fresh Lithuanian milk purchased from farmers in production. About 100-150 tons of raw milk are processed daily at ‘Rivona’, from which curd, cheeses, kefir, and yogurts are made,” says the dairy manager.
Milk is valued for its calcium content, beneficial for bones and teeth, proteins, and vitamin D. If the body does not tolerate milk sugar, “Rivona” offers lactose-free milk and its products.
There should always be milk in the fridge from which you can make all the main dishes: milky noodle soup or milky vegetable soup with peas, carrots, and potatoes, porridges with milk: buckwheat, pearl barley, oat. With milk, you can prepare pancake batter, bake a weekend cake or a few small cupcakes for a snack box. Puddings and dessert creams are mixed with milk, and refreshing milky jelly is made.
Yogurt for breakfast with flakes and banana slices
If there is at least one container of yogurt in the fridge – good breakfast is guaranteed. Flavor yogurt with oat flakes, nuts, fresh berries, chia seeds, banana slices. Yogurt is a great snack for mid-morning or afternoon when you want something light and tasty.
According to L. Balionienė, yogurts are liked and consumed all year round, and seasonality does not greatly affect their consumption: “In summer, nature provides the toppings itself – there are plenty of fresh fruits and berries, so in the warm season it is especially suitable to choose natural, Greek-style, or lactose-free yogurt and flavor it with what the garden and orchard offer at that time. Fresh berries, fruits, or vegetables become natural and tasty additions, so you can enjoy the natural taste of yogurt.”
In winter, buyers choose fattier yogurts, “Pieno rojus” creamy yogurts with dried fruits and bran, with mango, orange, and avocado, “Piemenėlis” yogurts with bananas, wild strawberries, or cherries.
Children and adults cannot resist “Gar2” yogurts flavored with peaches, strawberries, forest berries, peaches – convenient to buy, packed in pouches or bottles.
Three dishes from yogurt: pancakes, dessert, and a dip for crackers
From batter with yogurt, bake delicious pancakes: you will need 200 g of “Pieno rojus” Greek-style yogurt, 2 eggs, 140 g of flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp sugar, a pinch of salt, fresh or frozen berries, honey or maple syrup. Children and parents will like it; eat it for late weekend breakfast or bake it for dinner.
For a treat, make a great yogurt dessert with chia seeds: mix the seeds with “Piemenėlis” natural yogurt and put it in the fridge to let the seeds swell. Before eating, put berries on top of the dessert.
For snacks with yogurt, prepare a savory dip for crackers or roasted vegetables: 3 tbsp of “Pieno rojus” Greek-style yogurt, 1 avocado, salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1-2 tsp mustard, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix everything and blend until smooth with a blender.
Cheeses on black bread and in soup
For everyday pasta dishes, grilled sandwiches, homemade pizzas, salads, it is essential to have fermented cheese in the fridge. “Piemenėlis TILSIT” and “Piemenėlis GOUDA” have excellent taste and texture as they are aged for about 2 months.
According to Balionienė, final adjustments to the fermented cheese slicing equipment are currently underway: “The new equipment will allow much faster slicing of fermented cheese into pieces of 200, 240, 350 g. Productivity compared to the old line will increase several times. We will also start slicing cheese into slices.”
Lithuanian “Piemenėlis” curd cheeses are also very popular: 22%, 13%, and 0.5% fat curd cheeses and curd cheese with caraway seeds. Many start their morning with a black bread sandwich with curd cheese. And curd cheese with caraway seeds is simply a great snack for a lunch box – to nibble on when hungry and to share with a colleague.
Curd cheeses can also be a great dessert. “We make sweet curd cheese, sweet curd cheese with cranberries, and we have also added cheese with blueberries to the assortment. We also make ‘Festive’ curd cheese weighing about 1 kg,” says L. Balionienė.
Alytus dairy also produces spreadable cheeses. According to the workshop manager, currently three types are supplied to stores: processed cheese with porcini mushrooms, with herbs, and without additives. “We are also testing new cheese recipes, which may appear on store shelves very soon,” says L. Balionienė.
Spread the cheeses on black or sandwich bread, flavor soups, sauces, stews.
Homemade curd cheeses coated with chocolate
Curd is one of the most versatile dairy products: it can be eaten as a separate dish, flavored with berries, honey, or cinnamon, or used to make various dishes: fried or boiled curd patties, crepe pancakes with curd filling, placed on a slice of black bread with a piece of herring and spring onions, whipped into a smooth cream flavored with berries. And there is also fluffy curd casserole with raisins like a festive cake?
Choose “Piemenėlis” curd according to taste: lean (0.5%), medium fat (9%), or fatty (15% curd).
If you like chocolate-coated curd cheeses, make them at home – the taste is simply wonderful.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of “Piemenėlis” 9% curd
- 100 g butter,
- 80 g powdered sugar,
- 2-3 tbsp jam (optional)
For the glaze:
300 g dark chocolate,
2 tbsp coconut oil
Preparation:
Put curd, powdered sugar, and butter into a blender and whip until smooth.
Put the curd mixture into freezing containers halfway. Add jam and fill the molds to the top.
Put into the freezer for several hours.
Melt chocolate mixed with oil in a double boiler.
Take the cheeses out of the freezer and briefly dip each one into the chocolate. Place the cheeses in the fridge to thaw slowly.
A piece of butter every day
Another hero of the fridge is butter. We hardly notice its use, but every day we pinch off at least a small piece. Butter is needed everywhere – to spread on bread for a breakfast sandwich, to fry eggs, and to add to cake batter.
Especially in autumn, it is important to eat butter because it contains omega-3 fatty acids necessary for the body, which stimulate the immune system. Butter helps the body absorb vitamins A, D, E, K, which dissolve well in fats. However, butter is a fatty dairy product, so it should be consumed in moderation.
“Piemenėlis” butter is made only from sweet cream, without vegetable fats, salt, or other additives – healthy, natural, and tasty.
With a piece of butter and a splash of milk, make béchamel sauce, which you can use to flavor lasagna, pour over baked or steamed vegetables, chicken casserole, crepe pancakes with cabbage, and more.
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Classic béchamel sauce
Ingredients:
- 40 g “Piemenėlis” butter,
- 500 ml “Piemenėlis” milk,
- 40 g flour,
- a pinch of salt,
- grated nutmeg
Preparation:
Melt the butter in a cup, toast the flour.
Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly.
Heat while stirring until the sauce thickens.
Season with salt and nutmeg.
Enjoy your meal!
