Matzoon

Matzoon ( hy, մածուն, ''matsun'') or matsoni ( ka, მაწონი, ''mats'oni'') is a fermented milk product of Armenian origin, distributed in Armenia and Georgia. The so-called ''Caspian Sea yogurt'' circulated and commercialized in Japan is sometimes said to be the same type of yogurt as matzoon, but a comparison of microbiota and viscosity found that the two are entirely different.

Etymology

The name of the product originates from Armenian ''matz'' (sour, glue). The etymology is provided by Grigor Magistros, in his ''Definition of grammar'' (11th century).Nicholas Adontz, «Дионисий Фракийский и армянские толкователи.», Saint Petersburg, 1915, p. 228. "Մածուն քանզի մածեալ է, սոյնպէս և անուանի." Approximate translation: "Matzoon, since it's gluey, hence it is called so."

History

The first written accounts of matzoon are attested in medieval Armenian manuscripts by Grigor Magistros (11th century), Hovhannes Erznkatsi (13th century), Grigor Tatevatsi (14th century) and others. Matsoni is mentioned in the 15th century Georgian medical book ''Karabadini'' by Zaza Panaskerteli-Tsitsishvili.

Armenian immigrants Sarkis and Rose Colombosian, who started "Colombo and Sons Creamery" in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1929, introduced matsoon around New England in a horse-drawn wagon inscribed with the Armenian word "madzoon," which was later changed to "yogurt", the Turkish language name of the product, as Turkish was the lingua franca between immigrants of the various Near Eastern ethnicities who were the main consumers at that time.

Preparation

Matzoon is made from cow's milk (mostly), goat's milk, sheep's milk, buffalo milk, or a mix of them and a culture from previous productions. Similar to yogurt it is usually made with the following lactic acid bacteria; '' Lactobacillus acidophilus'' (original only), ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subsp. ''bulgaricus'' and ''Streptococcus thermophilus''. ''Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris'' was found to be a dominant bacterial strain producing polysaccharides that impart the characteristic high viscosity of matzoon.

Preservation

In Armenian cuisine, matzoon can be strained to obtain ''kamats matzoon''. Traditionally, it was produced for long-term preservation by draining matzoon in cloth sacks. Afterwards it was stored in leather sacks or clay pots for a month or more depending on the degree of salting.

Matzoon is used for the production of butter. When it is churned it separates from the buttermilk ( hy, թան, tan). The ''tan'' can be further dried and the resulting product is known as chortan.

Matzoon can be mixed with eggs and equal amounts of wheat flour and starch to produce tarhana. Small pieces of dough are dried and then kept in glass containers. They are used mostly in soups, dissolving in hot liquids.

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{{Yogurts

Armenian cuisine
Cuisine of Georgia (country)
Soviet cuisine
Fermented drinks
Fermented dairy products