Dairy products
One of the most important elements of the Mongolian culinary tradition is the processing of dairy products, known as cagaan idee or "white foods"; these include clotted cream, dairy fat, various forms of dried and wet milk curds, yoghurt, fermented dairy beverages, cheese, and even distilled alcoholic spirits. The Mongols rarely consume milk as a drink on its own, but use it in the preparation of milk tea, xyaram, ciidem and other beverages, or ferment it to produce airag (koumiss) or tarag (thin yoghurt). Occasionally small quantities of milk - no more than a bowlful - may be boiled and drunk in the morning or evening.
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Colostrum
The colostrum of all livestock other than the horse is used for human consumption. Products made from colostrum are not consumed regularly, but only in the brief period from the first birthing in spring until the milk of the herds has become abundant.
Bösgöösön uurag
The colostrum secreted for a few days after parturition. This milk has a high protein content and produces a thick, cheese-like substance when heated, which can be sliced and eaten. The colostrum is collected in a special container, which is then suspended in a pot of water that is heated to a boil, taking care that the boiling water does not spill into the container of milk. The milk can also be heated by steaming. The resulting product has a sweet flavour.
Xelgii uurag
The milk given by cows, sheep and goats two or three days after parturition, which becomes thinner and ceases to clot when heated. This milk is placed in a pot directly over a low fire, and is ladled up and poured back repeatedly into the pot as it comes to a boil.
Xöörüülsen uurag ("boiled colostrum")
Primarily consumed in the Gobi, this beverage is produced by collecting the colostrum of camels and allowing it to ferment slightly, then heating it over a low fire while ladling it up and pouring it back into the pot continuously.
Xuursan uurag ("cooked colostrum")
The colostrum is placed in a pot directly over a low fire, then boiled and condensed. The resulting product is somewhat harder than bösgöösön uurag. This technique is delicate as the milk can burn easily if the fire is not set correctly.
Uurgiin eezgii
Eezgii made from the colostrum of cows, sheep or goats. The colostrum is boiled and caused to separate, then continued to be heated until the whey has been boiled off.
Uurgiin aaruul
Dried curds made from colostrum of sheep and goats. The colostrum is collected and set aside; when a sufficient quantity has been obtained it is mixed with cow's milk and brought to a boil, causing the milk to separate, resulting in a product known as cöröm. The curds may then be separated from the whey, cut into pieces and set out to dry, producing cörömiin aaruul. In autumn, when the milk of the sheep and goats begins to dry up, it thickens and becomes similar to colostrum; this milk can also be collected and used in making cöröm.
Uurgiin byaslag
Cheese made by mixing gal uurag (the first and thickest colostrum) and xelgii uurag, causing the curds to separate and then compressing the latter.
Cream and dairy fat
Zööxii
Cream obtained by boiling a quantity of milk then allowing the cream to settle naturally on the top. Cream is collected in the summer, when the supply of milk it at its most abundant, and can be eaten on its own or mixed with ground eezgii, cooked rice, Cynomorium songaricum, or barley flour.
Öröm (clotted cream)
Clotted cream is widely produced throughout Mongolia. It is produced by bringing cow, sheep or goat milk to a boil, while continuously ladling up the liquid and pouring it back into the pot, causing the cream separate from the milk and develop into a froth. The pot is then set aside in a cool place until this foam solidifies, whereupon the pot is again heated slightly over a low fire; the clotted cream is then scraped away from the edges of the pot, folded and removed. It can either be eaten fresh or placed on a board and dried or frozen; the cream may also be gathered and stored in a special container. Clotted cream is consumed with wild tubers, rice, barley flour, Polygonum alopecuroides, biscuits, or other dairy products such as yoghurt, xoormog, aaruul, xuruud or eezgii.
Cöcgii
This is the form of cream obtained without heating the milk, but simply placing it in a cool location and allowing the cream to settle naturally on the top, then ladling the cream off.
Xutguud
A mixture of fresh, moist clotted cream and powdered eezgii, also known as xutgamsh in some regions.
Xailmag
Öröm which has been stored is melted and mixed with powdered eezgii or aaruul and flour. Sugar or raisins may also be added.
Cagaan tos
("white fat").Towards the end of autumn, clotted cream gathered over the summer is melted and the clarified oil (shar tos) is removed; the remaining solids are then mixed with eezgii and poured into a sheep's stomach, where they coagulate and may be stored over the winter. This butter-like substance is known variously as "white fat", "melted fat" or "mixed fat". Sugar or different herbs such as Polygonum alopecuroides, Sphallerocarpus gracilis or Padus asiatica can be mixed in with the butter to add flavour and increase its nutritional value. In the cooler regions of Mongolia it is less common for clotted cream to go off, and therefore this cream is often placed directly in an animal's stomach for storage over the winter, without being melted or mixed with any other substance; in these regions the resulting product is also known as "cagaan tos".
Shar tos
("yellow fat").There are two basic methods of producing this type of clarified butter. The first of these methods involves melting clotted cream, which causes the oil to separate; the latter can then be removed with a spoon and gathered in a special container or animal intestine. The second method involves gathering the cream that separates as a froth at the top of airag which has been churned for a long time, then melting this and collecting the clarified oil. This oil is used in frying pastries (xuimag, bin, dalan davxar, sharvin), added to milk tea, used as an ingredient in biscuits, or eaten mixed with various types of flour. It is also used for medicinal purposes and as a fuel for ritual candles (zul).
Xusam
This is the slightly burnt substance that sticks to the bottom of the pot when milk is boiled. The blackest part of the xusam is discarded, but the brownish layer above this may be scraped away and consumed.
Fermented dairy products
Tarag
Thin yoghurt. Boiled milk is heated until warm, then mixed with a starter and stirred well, after which it is poured into a container and left to ferment in a warm location. If the surrounding air is cool, the container of fermenting yoghurt is left covered. The starter generally consists of filtered yoghurt, but in some locations, and particularly when making the first yoghurt of the season, various other substances can be used - including powdered aaruul, milk curds, or fermented plants such as rhubarb. Yoghurt is made from the milk of cows, sheep or goats. It formed an important part of the summer diet, being consumed primarily in the evening. If kept for a long time under hot conditions, the yoghurt continues to ferment and can become quite strong.
Xoormog
This fermented dairy beverage is produced by placing yoghurt in a wooden pail and diluting it with milk. In some areas the milk of cows, camels, sheep or goats is also fermented directly to produce airag, also known as xoormog in some places.
Cagaa
This product consists of boiled airag or yoghurt made from the milk of sheep, goats, cows or camels, or goat cöröm. Cagaa is produced not only through the intentional boiling of airag, but also as a by-product of the distillation of airag or yoghurt to produce alcoholic spirits. The beverage can be consumed directly or filtered to separate the milk curds (aarc), which can then be used in the preparation of aaruul and xuruud.
Eerem
This is the white substance that accumulates on both the interior and exterior of the lower part of the still and on the dripper when distilling airag to produce milk spirits. It can be eaten on its own or mixed with the froth of boiled milk or airag (cagaa) in order to produce aaruul.
Aarc
Curds obtained by pouring boiled yoghurt or cagaa into a cloth sack and leaving this until the whey has dripped away. Aarc are the basic ingredient of aaruul and xuruud, but can also be boiled in water to produce a hot beverage, or used as a flavouring in various foods.
Aaruul, xuruud
Produced by cutting drained aarc with a string, then setting them to dry in the sun. In order to increase the flavour, texture and fat content of the aaruul, extra milk can be added to the cagaa before it is boiled and filtered. The aaruul can also be sweetened with sugar. So-called xorxoi ("worm") aaruul is produced by pressing the milk curds through the holes of a wide-eyed sieve; bazmal ("grabbed") aaruul is moulded in the palm of the hand.
Byaslag
This type of mild, unripened cheese is produced on the basis of raw milk. The milk is heated over a gentle fire, then a curdling agent such as whey or yoghurt is added gradually to the milk, causing it to separate. During this process it is important to regulate the temperature of the milk and the quantity of curdling agent, as too much of the latter can produce a bitter-tasting cheese, while too little can result in the incomplete separation of the curd. Once the curd has properly formed it is drained and wrapped tightly in a cloth or put into a cotton sack, then placed between two flat boards with a heavy weight over the top, and left until the remaining whey has been squeezed out. The resulting cheese is typically eaten with cream, but is not generally consumed as part of the daily diet so much as when travelling, or as a food to be offered to visitors or set on the table during weddings and festivities.
Eedem
Produced similarly to byaslag, by adding a small amount of yoghurt to heated milk in order to cause the curds to separate from the whey; but the curds are eaten as-is, i.e., without being further compressed. Eedem is generally eaten in combination with milk, cream or clotted cream.
Boz
A beverage produced in the Gobi, by adding a small amount of cagaa or airag to camel milk, then heating this to a boil while ladling up and pouring back the liquid continuously. Also known as bucalgaa or zuurmag.
Eezgii
A type of hardened milk curds produced in a manner similar to byaslag cheese, except that instead of being drained and compressed, the curds are cooked in their whey until the latter has boiled away. The curds are then set out to dry and are consumed over the winter, often mixed with cagaan tos, clotted cream or tea.
 | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. |   |