I thought I might share a little tidbit every now and then about something I learn regarding Mongolia. I thought it would be exceptionally interesting for me to look back on my blog entries once I get to Mongolia, and have a good laugh at myself once I see the "truth" and compare it to what I think I understand now!
So, we've read a little bit about airag (pronounced "i-rog"--and I'm sure you need to get a little Russian guttural sound going within it). It is a fermented horse milk. Oh, yum! Mongolian yogurt. Another word for it (according to Wikipedia) is "Kumis". The definition there reads as follows:
"Kumis is a fermented dairy product traditionally made from mare's milk. The drink remains important to the people of the Central Asian steppes, including the Turks, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols, Yakuts and Uzbeks.
Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir. Because mare's milk contains more sugars than the cow's or goat's milk fermented into kefir, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content."
Now, back to Pam..."Thank you, Wikipedia. Please pass the airag, and I'll take mine with strawberries!"
3 comments:
you were able to figure out the picture... without me telling you even! im impressed! and if i may say so, your blog is looking quite fabulous! ;)
I just realized that while I was reading this, my mouth and eyes were forming a "yuck" expression. (I've seen it many times on one of my kids.)
But, yeah, I think you can do it! I have a friend who recently acquired a goat. Her 12-year-old is in charge of milking it twice a day, and the whole family drinks the milk (the mom and high school daughter had the toughest time transitioning to it). Another friend regularly makes homemade kefir. Scary looking/smelling stuff, but she swears by it for whatever ails her family of 7.
What a sweet comment from Heffer!!!
Now this will have everyone other than family wondering.... huh?? :)
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