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Dairy products. The white food of the Mongols.

INFORMATION FOR TRAVELERS

THE TRADITIONAL CUISINE MONGOLIA

THE WHITE FOOD OF THE MONGOL

The milk is the main ingredient for food and over 2000 kinds of meals and dishes can be made of milk. As Mongolians have diary diet for the half of the year, Mongolians have developed own very unique tradition, methodology, technology and experience in processing milk. The white food can he classified into three main categories including protein-rich, sour and oily diray products.

FERMENTED WHITE FOOD AND DRINKS

Tarag or yogurt, airag (fermented mare's milk) and khoormog (fermented camel's milk) are fermented drinks and are consumed as soon as it's prepared.

TARAG-YOGHURT

Tarag is considered as the essence of food, but not a drink for its highly nutritious quality, hence Mongolians say 'eat Tarag' but not drink. Tarag is made of sheep, goat, cow or yak milk. Tarag of sheep milk becomes very thick like liver so it's mainly named as 'elgen' or 'liver tarag' and is very delicious.

STORING THE FERMENT

In late autumn, when the fermented drinks get their absolute tastiness and are made for the last time, the essence of ferment is taken into the disinfected khadak or gauze cotton. Then it's freezed at night, dried in the wind during the day and kept in leather bag for later use in next spring. The ferment ofairag is taken into cleaned leather bag, frozen and dried for storage. In late spring, when the milking season starts, the family who kept the best essence of ferments discloses the storage and delivers to local families.

DELIVERING THE FERMENT

As tarag, airag and khoormog are 'alive' food, the ferment of these drinks are kept and stored at a special family which has the responsibility to keep the best taste and quality of drinks in the local area. The family discloses the ferment in late spring and the local people would go to the family to get the ferment for their home production. When making the first tarag, one says: "You become 'elgen' I'll be also 'elgen'", a blessing to live peacefully and to have abundant white food to the summer. 'Elgen' means liver in Mongolian so it symbolizes the best quality of tarag and also symbolizes the peace because 'liver' is an organ for Mongolians that symbolizes the love and soul.

The fermented drinks are not only nutritious but also high curing and medical significance. Tarag of sheep milk is so thick that one can cut a cubic shape of tarag and serve it on a dish. Its taste is sweet, similar to sugary cream and it intensifies the food digestion and helps to sleep well. Tarag of goat's milk cures chronic diseases of internal organs such as stomach and liver and reduces swelling. Tarag of cow's milk cures scurvy and any allergies.

KHOORMOG - FERMENTED CAMEL'S MILK

The khoormog or fermented camel's milk is thicker than airag, doesn't produce any casein, quite aerated and has sweet and sour taste. It activates food digestion and coronary activities, recuperates weakness and cures chronic diseases of internal organs such as stomach, liver and kidney and reduces swelling.

AIRAG - FERMENTED MARE'S MILK

Mare's milk is used in treating chronic diseases of internal organs such as stomach and liver. There are many recordings in ancient sutras and books on curing quality of mare's milk. Mark O' Polo, Italian traveler to Mongol Empire in 13th century wrote 'They (Mongols) have herds of pure white horses, among them only mares are some ten thousand and they prepare the drinks of high kings with their milk...'. In the surra of traditional medicine, it was written that '...If catching ten white mares in the valley and making airag of their milk in the shadow, it'll make you ten years younger, recovering all the diseases and restoring the strength'. There's a legend that the airag prepared of white mares' milk is so tasty that if one drinks, has no wish to drink anything other, so it was prepared only for the kings, finding a name of 'King drink'. Airag strongly intensifies the food digestion, thus it is the only drink that one can drink as much as one want, even up to 20 liters a day. It has high curing quality as well as supporting coronary activity, reducing high blood pressure and serves as antidote to any of poisoning even of radioactive substance.

When drinking airag:

Let the airag be nutritious and tasty

When offering airag:

Let the vessel be full and generous

When churning the airag:

Let there be more butter from airag

When making a vessel or leather skin bag:

Let the vessel be bigger.

When making a chruning stick:

Let the piston be
Made of birch
And be pure and strong
When distilling vodka from airag:
Let the vodka be strong
And your wife be beautiful or
Let the vodka be strong
Airag be tasty
Aarts be sour.

As milk is the extract or essence of mother animal to feed its offspring, it is the most nutritious food. Hence, Mongolians value milk as the best of food and symbolize through milk all the best and holy. When Mongolians go for a distant trip, the stirrups are blessed with milk and milk sprinkling ritual is done to wish the trip be without trouble and hindrance. Mongolians say

"The essence of food is the milk

The essence of belief is the soul"

and offer milk sprinkling ritual to offer the best to the nature and to express their gratefulness to the lords and spirits of the nature. Mongolians have their White Month, lunar calendar New year at the end of winter to bless the new year and to wish the new year be flourishing. The dishes for this celebration consist of mainly white food to bless they coming year all the holy and the best.

When greeting during the lunar New Year:

Let your white airag

Fill undulating its vessel

Let you white sheep

Fill its camp

Let your cows to milk

Stand in row.

In autumn when the families collect abundant milk and diary products to overcome winter and spring until they start milking animals again, they have feast to celebrate the hard work of summer and autumn, to thank to the nature and livestock for their blessing and generosity.

When a family moving to other pasture passes by, one goes to the caravan and offers drinks and diary products to welcome them on the way.
It's a taboo to put water into milk, but adding milk to water is doable.
Each person has their own cup and one should lick the cup if eats meal or yogurt in it, but one shall not lick if drink tea or airag.
One shall not offer milk to fire because it's believed to blind the eyes of fire. One shall only offer butter, oil and meat.

The prayer of offering to the lords of nature is:
The Lord of Good destiny
The Fate of Bright fortune
Please open the gate of virtue
And close the gate of loss!

If one pours or spills milk or diary products to the ground or floor, one shall put one's right index finger into the spilled and applies to the forehead to show the respect and blessing to the nature and to prevent the anger of nature.
Tea, airag or drinks shall be poured into the cup in clockwise circulation.
If there's no left-over of airag in the cup, one shall pour airag again into the cup.
As the guests shall taste the urum or clotted cream first, the urum should be on top of the diary product dish. It's interesting that one takes a small chip from urum, but eats like chewing a big piece.
Eezgii and byaslag, the two kinds of dried cheese are made by boiling down, thus it's forbidden to offer only eezgii or cheese to elder and respected people.
The eldest person shall taste the offered diary product first and if not, no one shall taste nor touch the offered dish.

PROTEIN-RICH DIARY PRODUCTS

These are diary products such as aarts - sour yogurt, aaruul - dried curd, byaslag and eezgii that are possible to store for long period of time.

AARTS - SOUR CURD

It's one of the most produced and widely consumed traditional foods and is main ingredient to many dishes. It also becomes the basic raw material to make other kinds of diary products. It can be made of yogurt or airag. The curd of tarag is made of yogurt by boiling and filtering sour water. Curd of airag is made of airag of sheep, goat or cow's milk, after churning the butter from airag, distilling vodka and then boiling and filtering sour water. Also it can be made of camel's milk or mare's milk after fermeting, churning, boiling and filtering. The curd of airag called 'boz' has very sour taste, thus it can be boiled in fresh milk of sheep or cow so that it becomes sweet and thick.

AARUUL - DRIED CURDS

Aaruul is made of curds by mixing it with sugar and wild berries and cutting the curd into different shapes and patterns. The milk aaruul is made of curds after it's boiled in fresh milk and then sliced and dried. It's mostly sliced in length and is possible to keep for a long time. Worm curds are small chunks of curds squeezed into dipper and used for decorating white food dish on a feast or for giving out to little kids. It's made of curd with sugar, sweets and roasted flour mixed with cream. Aaruul made of airag curd has a very unique and strong taste of airag. Western Mongolian aaruul is soft and oily because they make airag from unboiled milk. The aaruul of Ajiin bor is very popular for its milky taste and quality not to dry up. The aaruul of camel's milk is nutritious and has unique sweet taste.

BYASLAG - CHEESE

Mongolian cheese is very nutritious and is considered to be the food of respect. Cheese is the dish for the trip or feast and is made of only sheep or cow's milk. It can be made of boiled or fresh milk and it's sliced and dried into thin pieces for storing for long time. It can be eaten soaked in tea or milk, and it also can be used as flavor to soup.

EEZGII - HARDENED MILK

This is the very distinct food that is made only among the Mongol race. To make the eezgii, one boils the milk until it evaporates all water and liquid so that the thick chunks of curds are roasted, inclusive of all nutritious ingredients and proteins of milk. In some areas, they make eezgii by cutting it into big cubic pieces before evaporating all water. This kind of eezgii is called as 'hugshin' or 'old' because it easily soaked. Eezgii helps curing chronic diseases of internal organs such as liver and bile.

MILK AND DIARY PRODUCTS
IN MONGOLIAN TRADITIONAL CUISINE

Milk and diary products can be used as the main ingredients for many kinds of meals. The diary meal can be used as food and medical treatment. Milk with curds. It's one of the favorite dishes of Mongolians. Each cup is filled with boiled milk and then yogurt or airag is added so that the milk turns into thick curd and liquid. One drinks the liquid or adds fresh boiled milk onto the curds and is served. This food is very digestive, suitable for elders and children. It's also served as breakfast and dinner as medical treatment for people who have diseases of stomach and liver.

In the regions of Gobi and steppe, sheep and I goats are milked two times a day. After boiling the fresh milk, each children has a cup of milk for making curdled milk. There's a saying that 'If you are hungry and greedy, eat now. if think of your food for winter, dry and keep'. So kids would drink the liquid and dried the curds making different shapes they want. Adults don't eat their dried curds, so that children will have one or two pieces each day in winter. It's easily soaked, but adults prefer children to eat when it's hard so that children's teeth get healthier and stronger.

Milk with rice. It's nutritious and rich in protein and oil. After cooking any rice, barley or millet, boiled milk is added.

Milk with noodle. This food is very digestive, rich in protein.

Milk with eezgii. It's a special food of medical treatment and is given to children, elders and weak patients. Dried eezgii is pounded and soaked in fresh milk for 2-3 hours. Then it's boiled and flavored with wild onion. This milk soup is very tasty and nutritious and suitable for patients with liver or bile diseases.

Liver boiled in milk. It's a very special meal that is cooked for medical purpose to treat illnesses of scurvy, hepatisis or patients who are sick for over long period of time. The liver pieces in long thin slices are dipped into boiling hot salty water for 2-3 minutes until its color rums to brown and then cooked in milk. The goat liver of spring is highly prepferred for making this food for its high curing quality.

Protein-rich white food can be cooked with other ingredients of green (vegetable) or red food (meat). Especially curdled sour milk is used in cooking hot dishes and salads. Oily white food is mostly used in increasing the nutrition or for roasting, frying and grilling.

Curd soup. Dissolving frozen or fresh curd milk in cold water and cooking with barley or roasted flour, this drink is made. It's flavored with salt, sugar and butter and also spicy seasons can be used. It's suitable to drink it after heavy meal in winter and spring for improving digestion, preventing from scurvy and restoring strength.

Curd soup with rice. Similar to the hot curd soup, but added rice or millet and flavored with sugar, salt and butter, this soup is very suitable during cool weathers of autumn, winter and spring.
Curd soup with barley. It's one if the most nutritious food which is widely consumed during the coldest period of winter. First barley is undercooked in meat soup, then added to the curd soup and flavored with butter and spicy seasons.

Soup with dried meat and sour milk. During cool summer days of rain and storm, this soup is cooked especially to nurse elders, children and pregnant women. The dried meat is soaked in milk for 4-6 hours, then added to water with fresh milk and sour curd.

Steamed or deep fried mutton with sour milk. This dish has many other varieties and ingredients. The dough is prepared with fresh milk and roasted barley or flour. The frozen or fresh sour curd is mixed with cooked rice or millet flavored with salt and spice then pinched into the dough and steamed or deep fried.

Milk soup with cheese. This food is suitable for people who have food digestion problems. Fresh cheese is cut into cubes or dried cheese is pounded and soaked in milk. Then it's boiled in milk and flavored with salt and sugar. Soup with dried curds. Eezgii and aaruul are pounded and soaked in fresh milk for 2-4 hours and then cooked in meat soup. It's very digestive and cooked for children, elders and patients for medical treatment.

THE RITUAL OF SAAKH OR MILKING

As soon as the milking season starts, people have the ritual of Milking. During this ritual, diary products are offered to everyone and special diary products are given to children. Milk in a sil;ver cup with Khadak and meat of sheep neck are offered to the person who's to herd the livestock on the pasture on that day. The neighbor families often exchange their lambs so that they would not suckle before the sheep are milked until late autumn.

THE RITUAL OF MARE AND FOAL

It's an ancient ritual to celebrate the feast of horse herd and to greet the season of airag drinks. Mongolians mostly have this ritual on the first summer day of Tiger and have the Ritual of releasing the mare and foal on last autumn day of Dog. However in Kalmuk, they catch their foal and mare and have the ritual in late May or early June.

Before catching the young foals, the herders drive in 2 big wooden stakes into the ground and tie the long leather tether. The first bom oldest foal is caught at first with the lasso pole with khadak and then the other folas are caught and tied to the tether. Local people bring their home-made diary products and airag to take part in the ritual. Next to the tether, on the white felt carpet, women offer dishes of diary products and put the vessel with mare's milk and the ceremony starts.

Nine riders mount on their horses and go in a clockwise direction around the tether and the ger camp and come to the ger door, where women are waiting with the milk in a silver cup. Then the nine horseriders hold the vessel with milk hanging it from the lasso pole and go around the tether three times in a clockwise direction. During that, all the people sing 'Tseen tsod' and women acts the ritual of sprinkling from the vessel and the prayer says the ode to sprinkling. After that, the men will tie khadak (sacrad blue scarf) to the stallion and the oldest foal and come back to the ger. The dishes of diary products shall be brought to the ger by resting three times on the way to the ger. Then the feast starts when the oldest or the most respected person in the local area will greet everyone, share the ceremonial dish of meat to the guests and the prayer says the Praise to Mare and Foal.

In late autumn day, on a day of good fortune, all the horses are gathered back at the camp and as the mares are milked for the last time, the foals are released from their hangers.

The tether and the wooden stakes are seized and stored until next autumn and the feast starts to celebrate this summer's rich gifts from the nature. Into the holes of wooden stakes, one shall put some milk and barley symbolizing to have abundant milk and the horses grow in plenty next year.