I see there are several posts on melk-kos doing the rounds at the moment – mostly for the butter and flour dough version. Here’s my family’s version, re-posted from July last year, for those who would like to try the other method!
Melk-kos (literally, ‘milk-food’) is as South African as braai-vleis, bobotie and boerewors! To me (and my kids) it’s the ultimate winter comfort food!
It’s warm, sweet, stodgy, cinnamony and just delicious – trust me on this one! A bowl of melk-kos on a cold wintery afternoon, while sitting in front of a fire, is the perfect comfort food, very satisfying. 
This is one of those vintage recipes which my mother taught me to make – her mother used to make it when my mom was a little a girl during the Depression years. My mother grew up on a farm near Potchefstroom; her father grew wheat, and, of course, they had cows for milk. Melk-kos makes use of ingredients that would be on hand on a farm in that area even when times were hard – flour and milk. Melk-kos was one of my father’s favourite foods – he always asked my mom to make it on cold Saturdays on the farm in Rhodesia when I was a child; I learnt to make it as my mom’s assistant.
Making melk-kos looks complicated, but it’s easy enough when you know how, so here’s my family recipe, step by step:
Old Fashioned Melk-kos
1/2 cup of flour
A little salt
Cold water
3 cups of milk
Cinnamon and sugar to serve
- Place the flour in a bowl, mix in the salt and add enough water to make a workable dough.
- Tip the dough out onto a floured surface (I usually work on a bread board) and knead it slightly to combine – no need for more, it’s not a bread dough, you just want to be able to roll it out.
- Cut the dough in half, set one half aside and roll out the other half until it is a paper-thin rectangle (roughly). Use plenty of flour to prevent sticking.
- Cut the rectangle into strips about 5 or 6 cms wide.
- Pile the strips up on top of each other, with plenty of flour between them.
- Now cut across the pile with a very sharp knife to form thin little strips – try to almost ‘shave’ the dough.
- Place them in a bowl and add several more heaped tablespoons of flour. Work the flour through the strips so that they are separated, adding as much flour as you feel it needs.
- Repeat the process with the other piece of dough. You should have a bowlful of floured strips of dough when you are finished.
- Measure 3 cups of milk (and it may as well be full-cream, people, this is NOT a diet recipe
) into a large pot, and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat. - Now sprinkle the strips of dough and the extra flour into the boiling milk, stirring as you do so.
- Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is thick and cooked (do a taste test), stir often to prevent it from sticking and burning.
Dish up into bowls, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (or let each person do their own!); it makes enough for 4 generous bowls. I think this could also be served as a dessert, then it would be enough for 6, but it must be served immediately.
And yes, I have made this when camping!!!!!!
Do let me know if you try it!
Linda Roets
Fired Up Cooking SA 
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Thank-you, this is the way my mom used to make it but I never found the recipe among her stuff. I have tried to find this method before but only found the “other” way. Never thought to look in the camping food sites… I know it is summer but I am making it now!
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Hello Shani – thank you for your comment! I’d never heard of the ‘other way’ to make melk-kos either, as my mom only made it this way, too. So glad I could help – I hope you enjoyed the melk-kos! 🙂
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So interesting. Something to try for a cold winters day in France!!!
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Who knows – it may even be French in origin. Tell you what, I’ll come to France and cook it for you, okay 😉
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Thank you so much for sharing this Zabs, Im definitely going to try it now that I have made the frummeltjie one…..;) Have a great weekend. Hugs xxx
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‘Frummeltjie’ – I love that word!! LOL
Thanks for stopping by, browniegirl – HUGS!!!!!!!
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I just looove melkkos,but I have never tried this method! Will definitely give try it!
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I love melk-kos too, YUM! But I’ve never made it the other way…we’ll have to ‘cross-over’, haha!!!!!
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I still have to try this!
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Don’t know when you’ll find time – you’re such a busy cook!!! Have a great weekend xx
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Had never heard of this but even though we´re sitting here melting from the heat, I´m craving them! As an aside, I worked as a Consultant for one of the major UK dairy companies, and learned a lot about milk and cheese…most of it pretty interesting I have to say! You and Mandy are both right about the small difference in fat between full cream milk and semi skimmed…it´s minimal, and for the amount that most people consume daily, it´s not going to do you any harm (unless you have to be on a seriously low fat diet for health reasons). And yes, it hasd less “done to it”.
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Hope you’ll try making melk-kos, Chica, when it gets cold enough in Spain – you’ll get a taste of traditional South Africa!
Thanks for the info on milk – very interesting, and I love being right 😉 Would love to tap in to what you know about cheese….
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Will have to go and dig out some of my notes!
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That would be cool! I’m looking forward to your post 🙂 I adore cheese, any kind, will often order a cheese platter rather than a meat dish in restaurants.
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I really am going to have a go at this Melk Kos! Sounds interesting. Where does this dish originate from? I understand that it’s a classic but would love to know where it originated, France? Holland? xxx jan
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That’s a good question, Jan. My family is descended from both French and Dutch forbears, so it could be either – I’ll do some research 🙂
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Recipes from our moms and granny’s are the BEST! Never seen melk-kos made this way before – it has been added to the “have to try” recipes.
Oh and I only buy fresh full cream milk – it only contains about 1.5% more fat than low fat and I think less is done to it too. I don’t know, I just like fresh full cream. 😀
Have a happy day.
🙂 Mandy
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I also love vintage recipes, especially one’s that connect me to past generations of family women. I fully agree with you on the milk, I never buy 2% or fat-free, nasty thin stuff. I read somewhere that ‘full-cream’ is actually only 3.5% cream, don’t know how true it is, but real full cream should have cream on top, right? 🙂 Hope you try the recipe!!
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