airag - food and beverage

5/19/2018 Airag - Food and Beverage

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Pedro Gonzalez Agung Raka WijayaXII IPA 5 / 21Final Speaking Test of SMAKKosayu 2013-2014

Airag -

Fermented Mare's Milk

(often known by its Russian name "Kumys")

Airag is the traditional national beverage of Mongolia. The most important animal of the

Mongols is the horse. Horses don't only serve as riding animals, the mare's milk also has a

special status.

Preparation

The milk is filtered through a cloth, and poured into a large open leather sack (Khukhuur),

which is usually suspended next to the entrance of the yurt. Alternatively, a vat from larch

wood (Gan), or in modern times plastic, can be used. Within this container, the milk gets

stirred with a wooden masher (buluur).

The stirring needs to be repeated regularly over one or two days. Traditionally, anyone

entering or leaving the yurt would do a few strokes. The fermentation process is caused by a

combination of lactic acid bacteria and yeast, similar to Kefir. The stirring makes sure that all

parts of the milk are fermented equally.

Use

Airag refreshens and sparkles softly on the tongue. It contains a small amount of carbon

dioxide, and up to 2% of alcohol. The taste is slightly sour, but quite agreeable after getting

used to it. The exact taste depends both of the characteristics of the pastures and the exact

method of production. The beverage is a rich source of vitamins and minerals for the nomads.

Hospitality mandates to present a bowl of airag to each visitor. A Mongolian will normally

empty it, but it is also acceptable to just take a sip and return the bowl. To reject the offer

right away would be gravely impolite.

Similar toIsgelen Tarag (Kefir), it is possible, but not as common, to distill Airag into

Mongol Arkhi (milk liquor).

Health Questions

Mare's milk is usually not consumed raw, because it tends to have a strong laxative effect

(that effect can also be applied for medical treatment). Instead, it almost always gets

fermented into Airag.

Fermentation destroys the lactose in milk, converting it into lactic acid, ethanol, and carbon

dioxide. This makes Airag acceptable for lactose intolerant people, which includes many
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Mongolians. Without fermentation, mare's milk contains significantly more lactose than milk

from cows or yaks.

To this day, the culture and lifestyle of the Mongols have been largely influenced by their

long-running nomadic traditions. One of the areas where this is particularly apparent is

Mongolian cuisine, which remains heavily reliant on the kind of foods that are suitable to a

nomadic lifestyle. Most dishes are based on meat and fat from camels, mutton, cattle and yak,

as well as a variety of dairy products.

One of the most popular dairy products used by the Mongols is airag, a kind of fermented

mare's milk. Airag is a multi-purpose drink, fit for just about any usage. The drink - the

vitamin, protein and carbohydrate content of which depends on the type and quality of grass

the mares have been grazing on - is considered to have significant health benefits. The

Mongols themselves believe it to have a detoxifying effect on the body, and it's also used to

treat lung and respiratory diseases, tuberculosis, and to stimulate digestion and improve a

person's overall energy levels. In spite of all these beneficial qualities, however, airag's

biggest distinction has to be the fact that it contains alcohol and is an integral part of any

Mongolian celebration or feast.

Although airag's medicinal effects have never been conclusively proven, it gained a

reputation towards the end of 19th century as a cure for most every ailment, and Southern

Russia even boasted a number of clinics where patients could check in and get treatment in

the form of relaxation and drinking kumis, as the drink is called there. Some of the most

notable people to have gone on the "kumis regime" include Russian authors Leo Tolstoyand

Anton Chekhov. Chekhov drank four bottles of airag a day for two weeks in a bid to cure his

tuberculosis, but only succeeded in gaining 6 kilos, while Tolstoy turned to kumis to ease the

symptoms of a troubled existence.

A tough job

Not all Mongolian families can produce airag, as it takes a considerable amount of time,

effort and mares to produce enough milk for making the delicacy. When milked six times per

day, one mare will produce roughly 1.5-2 liters of milk, which means that in order to produce

enough airag for a whole family, it is necessary to keep at least a dozen mares. Also, in order

to produce good quality airag, the milk must be stirred 1,000 times a day. This is typically

done by children who often make the tedious chore a part of their play. The airag is

fermented in a specially-made animal hide bags and stirred with a special wooden stick.


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Mongolian airag.

Middle Gobi Province, often referred to as the Land of Airag and Long Songs, is said to

produce the best airag because of the unique blend of desert grasses found there. The

beautiful Northern Mountain region is also famous for producing fine airag. At any rate, it's

important for the mares to graze in a cool place near rivers and lakes in order for the milk to

have the right qualities to make good airag.

As the Mongols are highly superstitious people, even after this arduous production process

the very finest airag is likely to be offered to Mother Nature or sprinkled over the head and

hindquarters of a horse that's won a race. Only after these rituals will the Mongols themselves

drink the milk, typically from huge bowls. Whether enjoyed as a social drink with guests,

marking a festive occasion or simply trying to keep thirst at bay, airag remains a staple of the

Mongolian diet and a treasured part of Mongolian cuisine and culture.

Kumis

Kumis, also spelled kumissor koumissin English (or kumys, see othertransliterations and

cognate wordsbelow underterminology and etymology)is afermented dairy product

traditionally made frommare's milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the

Central Asiansteppes,of Huno-Bulgar,Turkic and Mongol origin:Bashkirs,Kalmyks,

Kazakhs,Kyrgyz,Mongols,Uyghurs,andYakuts.

Kumisis adairy product similar tokefir,but is produced from a liquidstarter culture,in

contrast to the solid kefir"grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars thancow's or

goat's milk, when fermented, kumishas a higher, though still mild,alcohol content compared

to kefir.

Even in the areas of the world where kumisis popular today, mare's milk remains a very

limited commodity. Industrial-scale production, therefore, generally uses cow's milk, which

is richer infat andprotein,but lower inlactose than the milk from ahorse.Before

fermentation,the cow's milk is fortified in one of several ways.Sucrose may be added to

allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modifiedwhey to better

approximate the composition of mare's milk.

Terminology and etymology
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Kumisis alsotransliterated kumiss, kumiz, koumiss, kymys, kymyz, kumisz, kymyz, or qymyz

(Kazakh:,];Turkish:kmz;Tatar:;Kyrgyz:, ];

Bashkir:qm];Yakut:; kymys;Tuvan:;Uzbek:qimiz,

]). The Russian word (Russian:,ks]), comes from theTurkic word qmz.

The word kumisderives from the Syro-Aramaic khamets("sour, fermented"), which is the

same word as the Hebrew khametz("leavened"), evidently spread to Central Asia during

the period of strongNestorian-Aramaic cultural influence in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Kurmann derives the word from the name of theKumyks,one of manyTurkic peoples,

although this appears to be a purely speculative claim.

InMongolia,the drink is called airag(Mongolian:])or, in some areas, tsegee.

William of Rubruck in his travels calls the drink cosmosand describes its preparation among

theTatars.

Production of mare's milk

A 1982 source reported 230,000 horses were kept in theSoviet Union specifically for

producing milk to make into kumis. Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying,

says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker

kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One

arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow

and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire

process.

A mare being milked inSuusamyr valley,Kyrgyzstan

InMongolia,the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early

October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of

which about half is left to the foals.

Nutritional properties of mare's milk

During fermentation, the lactose in mare's milk is converted intolactic acid,ethanol and

carbon dioxide,and the milk becomes an accessible source of nutrition for people who are

lactose intolerant.
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Before fermentation, mare's milk has almost 40% more lactose than cow's milk. According to

one modern source, "unfermented mare's milk is generally not drunk", because it is a strong

laxative.Varro's On Agriculture, from the 1st century BC, also mentions this: "as a laxative

the best is mare's milk, then donkey's milk, cow's milk, and finally goat's milk..."; drinking

six ounces (190 ml) a day would be enough to give a lactose-intolerant person severe

intestinal symptoms.

Production of kumis

Kumisis made by fermenting raw unpasteurizedmare's milk over the course of hours or days,

often while stirring or churning. (The physical agitation has similarities tomaking butter).

During the fermentation,lactobacillibacteriaacidify the milk, andyeasts turn it into a

carbonated and mildlyalcoholic drink.

Traditionally, this fermentation took place in horse-hide containers, which might be left on

the top of ayurtand turned over on occasion, or strapped to a saddle and joggled around over

the course of a day's riding. Today, a wooden vat or plastic barrel may be used in place of the

leather container.

Other accounts from some cities in northern or western China have it that the skin, partially

filled with mares' milk, is hung at the door of each home during the season for making such

beverages, and passersby, who are familiar with the practice, give each such skin a good

punch as they walk by, agitating the contents so they would turn into kumisrather than

coagulate and spoil.

In modern controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours at a

temperature of around 27 C (81 F); this may be followed by a cooler aging period. The

finished product contains between 0.7 and 2.5% alcohol.

Kumisitself has a very low level of alcohol, comparable tosmall beer,the common drink of

medieval Europe that also avoided the consumption ofpotentially contaminated water.Kumis

can, however, be strengthened throughfreeze distillation,a technique Central Asian nomads

are reported to have employed. It can also bedistilled into thespirit known as arakaor arkhi.

History

Archaeological investigations of theBotai culture of ancientKazakstan have revealed traces

of milk in bowls from the site ofBotai,suggesting the domestication of the animal. No

specific evidence for its fermentation has yet been found, but considering the location of the

Botai culture and thenutritional properties of mare's milk,the possibility is high.

Kumisis an ancient beverage.Herodotus,in his 5th-century BCHistories,describes the

Scythiansprocessing of mare's milk:
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The milk thus obtained is poured into deep wooden casks, about which the blind slaves are

placed, and then the milk is stirred round. That which rises to the top is drawn off, and

considered the best part; the under portion is of less account.

This is widely believed to be a description of ancient kumis-making, and it matches up well

enough with later accounts, such as this one given by 13th-century travellerWilliam of

Rubruck:

This cosmos, which is mare's milk, is made in this wise. [...] When they have got together a

great quantity of milk, which is as sweet as cow's as long as it is fresh, they pour it into a big

skin or bottle, and they set to churning it with a stick [...] and when they have beaten it

sharply it begins to boil up like new wine and to sour or ferment, and they continue to churn

it until they have extracted the butter. Then they taste it, and when it is mildly pungent, they

drink it. It is pungent on the tongue like rap wine when drunk, and when a man has finished

drinking, it leaves a taste ofmilk of almonds on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most

joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.

Health

In the West, kumishas been touted for its health benefits, as in this 1877 book also naming it

"MilkChampagne".

Toward the end of the 19th century, kumishad a strong enough reputation as acure-all to

support a small industry of "kumis cure" resorts, mostly in south-eastern Russia, where

patients were "furnished with suitable light and varied amusement" during their treatment,

which consisted of drinking large quantities of kumis. W. Gilman Thompson's 1906Practical

Diateticsreported kumishas been cited as beneficial for a range ofchronic diseases,

includingtuberculosis,bronchitis,catarrh,andanaemia.Gilman also said a large part of the

credit for the successes of the "kumis cure" is due not to the beverage, but to favourable

summer climates at the resorts. Among notables to try the cure were writers Leo Tolstoy and
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Anton Chekhov.Chekhov, long-suffering from tuberculosis, checked into a "kumis cure"

resort in 1901. Drinking four bottles a day for two weeks, he gained 12 pounds, but no cure.

Consumption

Strictly speaking, kumisis in its own category ofalcoholic drinksbecause it is made neither

fromfruit nor fromgrain.Technically, it is closer towine than tobeerbecause the

fermentation occurs directly from sugars, as in wine (usually from fruit), as opposed to from

starches (usually from grain) converted to sugars bymashing,as in beer. But in terms of

experience and traditional manner of consumption, it is much more comparable to beer. It is

even milder in alcoholic content than beer and is usually consumed cold. It is arguably the

egons bee euvlent.

Kumisis very light in body compared to most dairy drinks. It has a unique, slightly sour

flavor with a bite from the mild alcoholic content. The exact flavour is greatly variable

between different producers.

As indicated above, kumisis usually served cold or chilled. Traditionally it is sipped out of

small, handle-less, bowl-shaped cups or saucers, calledpiyala.The serving of it is an

essential part of Kyrgyz hospitality on theyaylakor high pasture, where they keep their herds

of animals (horse,cattle,andsheep)during the summer phase oftranshumance.

One custom that may be disturbing to the visitor's notions ofhygiene is that of pouring the

dregs of each cup back into the kumisstorage container. That way, none is wasted, and the

hostess assures herself there will be enough for future visitors.

Cultural role

The capital ofKyrgyzstan,Bishkek,is named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting

milk, showing the importance of the drink in the national culture.

The famous Russian writerLeo Tolstoy inA Confessionspoke of running away from his

troubled life by drinking kumis.

The popular Japanese soft drinkCalpis models its flavour after the taste of kumis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_drinkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaylakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaylakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaylakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheephttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygienehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkekhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calpishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calpishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confessionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishkekhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyzstanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygienehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumancehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheephttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattlehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaylakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piyalahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_drinkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov

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