Kastinys – Samogitian sour cream and butter spread

Take the sour cream and butter out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before mixing. The butter should soften and spread easily with a spoon, and the sour cream should lose its refrigerator chill. Prepare a larger vessel of warm water and use it to warm the outside of the base of a smaller heatproof bowl. Remove the bowl from the water bath before you start working the mixture. The water is only for warming the bowl and does not go into the spread.

In the warmed bowl, work all the butter with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add one spoonful from the measured sour cream and gently work it in with circular movements in one direction until the ingredients are fully combined. The mixture should be creamy, without a separate layer of liquid fat.

Add the remaining sour cream one spoonful at a time, gently working each addition until smooth before adding the next. Do not whip vigorously. If lumps of overly cold butter appear, briefly warm the base of the bowl in the prepared warm water while stirring continuously, then remove it when the mixture is smooth again. The spread should stay thick and only slightly lukewarm. If it becomes thin and oily, stop warming it, briefly cool the base of the bowl in cool water and return to gently working the mixture.

Lightly crush the caraway and mix it into the spread with all the salt. Transfer the entire mixture to a small bowl or four small dishes, cover and refrigerate for about an hour until noticeably thicker. Serve four small portions of chilled kastinys with hot potatoes prepared separately.