Melkkos: Warm Milk, Small Crumbs of Flour, and a Dusting of Cinnamon Sugar
Melkkos depends on a few simple things. Rub the flour and butter into fine crumbs, add them to the milk a little at a time, and simmer gently until the floury taste is gone. Cinnamon sugar is the heart of the flavor, so add as much as you like at the table.
A pot of milk with a single cinnamon stick in it comes up to a foamy boil. The heat goes down, and a bowl of pale, sandy crumbs goes into the milk a pinch at a time while a whisk keeps everything moving. Over the next few minutes the milk turns soft and creamy. Then the pot rests, the cinnamon stick comes out, and each bowl gets a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
That is melkkos. Woolworths TASTE describes it as a traditional South African dish of milk cooked with frummels, small crumbs made by rubbing butter into flour and salt. The Afrikaans word frummel means to rub into crumbs, and frummels are the crumbs themselves. The ingredients are everyday ones: milk, flour, butter, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. What makes the dish is how you treat them, turning the flour into tiny crumbs first and then scattering them into hot milk.
The recipe here follows Hannah Lewry's version for Woolworths TASTE, which serves 4–6 and aims for a smooth texture. It is one way to make melkkos, not the only correct one. Other published recipes use different proportions, keep small lumps on purpose, or serve it as a meal rather than a dessert. For more dishes from the same country, see the South Africa page.
Melkkos and melktert (milk tart) have similar names, but they are different dishes. Melkkos is cooked in a pot: milk and frummels are simmered together and eaten warm from a bowl.
Smooth or Crumbly, Meal or Dessert: A Dish with Household Variations
The texture of melkkos depends mostly on how you add the frummels and what you stir with. TASTE makes its smooth version with a whisk and notes that a wooden spoon lets you keep small pieces of dough in the milk instead. Clover's recipe, which serves six and uses different proportions, also accepts a finish where some lumps remain. A recipe from Rediscover Dairy, the Milk SA consumer education project, published by News24, is written for people who like the crumbs left whole.
Those recipes also differ in what they use. The News24 version calls for far more salt than the pinch in the TASTE recipe, so the proportions are not interchangeable. This article keeps to the TASTE amounts throughout. If you want to try another version, follow that recipe as written rather than mixing its numbers into this one.
The place of melkkos on the table also varies. Clover presents it as a meal or a dessert, and the News24 recipe as a dessert or a light meal. TASTE adds that some recipes include pasta, sago, Maizena or condensed milk, which shows how much the dish differs from one household to the next. The constant across them is warm, softly thickened milk sweetened with cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients for 4–6 Servings
These are the TASTE recipe's amounts, shown in its own units. The source does not say which regional standard its tablespoons and teaspoons follow, so they are left as written rather than converted. The serving count is the source's figure.
The source gives the time as 5 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking.
Equipment
- A wide saucepan that holds 1.5 litres of milk with room to whisk
- A whisk, for the smooth version
- A wooden spoon, if you want the crumbly finish instead
- A mixing bowl for the frummels
- A small bowl for the cinnamon sugar
- Measuring scale and measuring spoons
- A ladle and serving bowls
Choosing the Flour, Butter and Sugar
Flour: The recipe calls for cake flour. If you can't find it, a soft, low-protein flour such as Japanese hakurikiko is a practical substitute, but it is not necessarily the same specification. Flours absorb liquid differently, so the thickness may come out a little different. This recipe doesn't give an amount for adding extra flour, so adjust the texture with how you add the frummels and how long you whisk, as described in the steps.
Butter: The source doesn't say whether to use salted or unsalted butter. Salted butter adds its own saltiness on top of the pinch of salt, so keep that in mind when you choose.
Sugar: Ordinary white sugar works. You don't have to sprinkle all of the remaining cinnamon sugar at the end; use as much as tastes right to you.
This recipe contains milk (milk and butter) and wheat (gluten, from the flour). The recipe itself contains no eggs or nuts, but check the labels of your flour, butter and other products for allergen and shared-facility information.
Method: Making the Frummels and Cooking Them in Milk
This is TASTE's smooth version, made with a whisk. The key moments are adding the frummels gradually and whisking continuously while the pot simmers on low heat.
TASTE describes about 10 minutes of simmering and 5 minutes of resting in its steps. Watch the pot as well as the clock: the milk should have a gentle bubble, never a hard boil.
Lumpy, Scorched, Too Thick: Fixing Problems in the Pot
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Lumps formed | The frummels went in too fast, or the pot wasn't whisked enough | Next time, scatter the crumbs a little at a time and whisk as you go. If you like the lumps, keep them: some cooks leave small pieces on purpose |
| The bottom scorched | The milk heated too long without being watched or stirred | Watch the bottom while heating the milk. Once the frummels are in, keep the heat low and whisk constantly |
| It tastes floury | The simmer was cut short | Keep simmering on low and whisking through the full time in step 5 until the floury taste is gone |
| Too thick | The flour thickened more than expected | TASTE suggests adding more milk; add a little at a time |
| Too sweet | Too much cinnamon sugar at the end | The remaining cinnamon sugar is optional. Sprinkle less, or let each person add their own |
| Saltier than expected | Salted butter on top of the pinch of salt | Next time, consider the butter's saltiness when choosing which butter to use |
Variations: Keeping It Separate from the Base Recipe
These are ways to change the dish. Some of them come from separate recipes with their own proportions, so they are ideas to explore, not extra steps for the recipe above.
- Leave small crumbs: Stir with a wooden spoon instead of a whisk to keep small pieces of dough in the milk (TASTE).
- Make it milkier: TASTE notes that more milk and less flour gives a milkier result. It gives no specific ratio, so change it gradually if you try it.
- Cardamom: Woolworths South Africa publishes a separate melkkos recipe that adds cardamom pods. That recipe uses its own proportions.
- Vanilla: The same Woolworths recipe also adds vanilla.
- Pasta, sago, Maizena or condensed milk: TASTE mentions that some recipes use these. They are a different branch of the dish, and their amounts and methods aren't covered here.
Serving and Leftovers
The recipes referenced here present melkkos as something to eat warm, right after it's made. They don't give storage or reheating guidance, so this article recommends serving it fresh and warm. Bring the cinnamon sugar to the table so everyone can add their own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are melkkos and melktert the same thing?
No. The names are similar, but they are different dishes. Melkkos is milk and frummels cooked together in a pot and served warm in a bowl.
Is melkkos breakfast, a meal or a dessert?
It depends on the household. Clover presents it as a meal or a dessert, and the News24 recipe as a dessert or a light meal. There is no single answer.
Did I fail if it turned out lumpy?
Not necessarily. Some cooks deliberately stir with a wooden spoon to keep small crumbs. If you want it smooth, scatter the frummels in a little at a time and whisk constantly.
Can I use other recipes' amounts with this method?
It's better not to mix them. Recipes from TASTE, Clover and News24 use quite different proportions, especially of salt. Pick one recipe and follow its amounts as written.
Can I make it ahead and store it?
The sources used for this recipe don't give storage or reheating guidance. Melkkos is best eaten freshly made and warm.
Sources
- Woolworths TASTE / Hannah Lewry, "Melkkos." The main recipe: its description as a traditional South African dish, the meaning of frummels, the ingredients and amounts for 4–6 servings, the method, the smooth and crumbly finishes, and the mention of recipes using pasta, sago, Maizena or condensed milk. https://taste.co.za/recipes/melkkos-3/
- Clover, "Melkkos." A separate six-serving recipe that rubs butter into flour and salt and adds it to hot milk, accepts a finish with lumps, and presents melkkos as a meal or a dessert. https://www.clover.co.za/recipe/melkkos/
- News24, "Warm and nostalgic melkkos," recipe from Rediscover Dairy (Milk SA consumer education project). A recipe that keeps the crumbs whole and serves melkkos immediately, as a dessert or a light meal. https://www.news24.com/life/food/recipes/warm-and-nostalgic-melkkos-20250730-0427
- Woolworths South Africa, "This melkkos is so easy and creamy." A separate recipe adding cardamom and vanilla, cited here for the variations only. https://www.woolworths.co.za/content/article/heritage-food/breakfast-in-bed/local-lovelies/this-melkkos-is-so-easy-and-creamy/_/A-cmp212443
