'Qurut', the dry yogurt ball, rich in calcium and protein, which has been chewed since the time of Genghis Khan

Darwin would have tried it.

They say that, on his journey aboard the 'Beagle', Charles Darwin threw every exotic animal he found into the pot.

Óscar López-Fonseca invites us to explore the kitchens of the world with culinary experiences that, surely, the father of the theory of evolution would have ventured to try on that trip.

***

Visiting the markets of any country is always a box of surprises… and learning.

Fruits and vegetables with peculiar appearance and colors, cuts of meat unthinkable in these latitudes or, simply, products whose existence was unknown.

In many of the Asian countries, where the mythical Silk Road once passed, among the latter, some balls that are usually white in color and receive different names depending on the country stand out.

They are called

qurut

or

qurt

in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan;

chortan

in Armenia;

kurut

in Kygyzstan;

aaruul

in Mongolia or

kashk

in Iran.

In reality, many of these terms mean the same thing: “dry” or “dried.”

A concept that perfectly summarizes what we are faced with: fermented milk or sour yogurt dried to facilitate its conservation.

Its uncertain origin seems to be located precisely in the steppes of Asia and dates back centuries, when there were no refrigerators nor were they expected.

So, it was the ideal solution for the milk of sheep, goats, camels and mares to be kept ready for consumption and to form part of the provisions for the movements of nomadic peoples.

To achieve this, fermented milk was boiled and, once converted into a paste to which salt was sometimes added, it was molded into different shapes and left to dry outdoors in the arid climate of these regions.

Once this was the case, it served as food for shepherds during their long absences with their livestock in search of pasture as well as for members of commercial caravans or armies.

Historians point out that the hosts of the famous Mongol emperor Genghis Khan carried this food - in addition to being light, it was rich in calcium and protein - in his victorious military campaigns in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Qurut seller in the market of Tashkent, the capital of UzbekistanÓscar López-Fonseca

Today it would no longer be necessary to dry milk or yogurt to enjoy dairy products on a trip, but qurut

has

remained an important part of the gastronomic culture of many of the countries of Central Asia.

In addition to being an appetizer to, for example, accompany a beer, it is also dissolved in water to turn it into a drink or incorporated into soups, stews and salads.

In Tajikistan, for example, it is a fundamental ingredient in

qurutob

, considered one of its national dishes and in which this dairy product is combined with fresh tomato, fried onion and flaky bread.

They even claim that at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (located in present-day Kazakhstan) it was part of the diet of Soviet astronauts.

They claim that its consumption promotes longevity, improves digestion (I attest that it serves as an antacid), prevents osteoporosis and is highly recommended for infants, young children and pregnant women.

More information

Seven essential artisanal yogurts and some sold in supermarkets

Although the

qurut

is traditionally presented as a ball, the variety of shapes it takes is very varied, starting with the size.

There are small ones like a marble and big ones almost like a billiard ball.

It is also found with conical, square, elongated shapes or simply without a defined shape.

And the white color is sometimes replaced by grayish, reddish and even violet tones, depending on what is added.

They are usually bought in city markets, where home-made manufacturers who sell them in bulk group themselves in a specific area that is easily identifiable by smell, since the air is filled with precisely the sour smell that it gives off.

Inside bags, basins or even sacks, they are offered to the customer by weight or by units.

However, it can also be found in stores and even at roadside gas stations, whose shelves display packages containing

industrially manufactured, vacuum-packed

qurut .

A 'qurut' ball stall in the Samarkand market (Uzbekistan).Óscar López-Fonseca

If its shape is not uniform, neither is its flavor.

The more recently it has been made, the milder its peculiar taste, which some compare to Greek feta cheese.

With the passage of time, its maturation intensifies it until, in some cases, it leaves a taste on the palate that resembles that of a blue cheese.

In addition, the additives that change its traditional white color also give it different touches that range from smoky to certain herbal notes.

That is, if taken as is.

If it is added to dishes, they gain flavor.

This was already recorded in the second half of the 19th century by Ernest Ayscoghe Floyer, a British explorer who traveled through what was then known as Balochistan (a large region that included part of the territories of present-day Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan).

He described qurut

in his texts

as “a hard white cookie of very acidic cheese” that, once grated and boiled with herbs, became a “very appetizing” dish.

The culinary versatility of this product is reflected in the recent cookbook by the Iranian writer and food researcher Simi Rezai-Ghassemi titled precisely

Qurut.

Cooking with Dried Yoghurt

(

Qurut, cooking with dried yogurt

, from the British publisher Prospect Books).

In it, Rezai-Ghassemi investigates the history of this food and, above all, gives recipes in which it is used as an ingredient.

Genghis Khan would have licked his fingers.

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