Kashk
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Kashk ( fa, کشک ''Kašk'', ku, keşk), qurut ( Tuvan and ky, курут, kk, құрт, tk, gurt, uz, qurt, az, qurut, ps, قروت, hy, չորթան-''chortan'', Turkish: ''kurut'') or aaruul and khuruud ( Mongolian: ''ааруул'' or ''хурууд'') is a range of dairy products used in cuisines of
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
,
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
, Turkish,
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
, Mongolian,
Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...
,
Transcaucasian The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
and the
Levantine Levantine may refer to: * Anything pertaining to the Levant, the region centered around modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan, including any person from the Levant ** Syria (region), corresponding to the modern countries of the Lev ...
people. Kashk is made from drained yogurt (in particular, drained
qatiq Qatiq is a fermented milk product from the Turkic countries. It is considered a more solid form of yogurt than '' ayran''.''Food on the Move'' (ed. by Harlan Walker). Oxford Symposium, 1997. . Page 245. In order to make qatiq, boiled milk is ...
) or drained
sour milk Soured milk denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk. Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through bacterial fermentation or through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vineg ...
by shaping it and letting it dry. It can be made in a variety of forms, like rolled into balls, sliced into strips, and formed into chunks. There are three main kinds of food products with this name: foods based on curdled
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
products like
yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...
or
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
; foods based on
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
broth, bread, or flour; and foods based on
cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
s combined with curdled milk.


Etymology

from
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
(kšk' / kašk), thought to have came from (hwš- / hōš-, "dry.") in reference to the fermentation process which involves drying under the sun. The term was loaned to numerous languages including
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
,
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
, Turkish, Azerbaijani and many others.


Background

The ancient form of ''kashk'' is a
porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
of
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s fermented with
whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...
and dried in the sun. The long shelf-life and nutritional value of ''kashk'' made it a useful item for peasants during the winter months, as well as soldiers and travelers. ''Kashk'' is the origin of ''
tarhana Tarhana is a dried food ingredient, based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, found in the cuisines of Central Asia, Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Dry tarhana has a texture of coarse, uneven crumbs, and it i ...
'' found in the moderns cuisines of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, where it is called ''trachanas'' (). Modern ''kashk'' is usually a dish of dried
buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most mod ...
that can be crumbled and turned into a paste with water. This coarse powder can be used to thicken soups and stews and improve their flavor, or as an ingredient in various meat, rice or vegetable dishes. Drying allows a longer shelf life for the product. Kashk is also central to the staple
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
eggplant dish known as kashk-e bademjan.


Kashk in different languages and cultures

''Kashk'' dairy products are traditionary
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
and can be found found in the cuisines of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. In some languages it is called kashk or kishkh, ( fa, کشک, ar, كشك, ku, keşk, tr, keş peyniri), ''qurut'' in others ( kz, құрт, tk, gurt, uz, qurt, az, qurut, ky, курут, ps, قروت, tr, kurut, sürk, taş yoğurt, kurutulmuş yoğurt, cjs, қурут, kjh, хурут). There are many varied names for this class of dishes including ''jameed'' ( ar, جميد), ''chortan'' ( hy, չորթան) and ''aaruul, khuruud'' ( mn, ааруул, хурууд). ''Chortan'' is mentioned in the 19th century Armenian epic poem ''
Daredevils of Sassoun ''Daredevils of Sassoun'' ( hy, Սասնա ծռեր ''Sasna cṙer'', also spelled Daredevils of Sasun) is an Armenian heroic epic poem in four cycles (parts), with its main hero and story better known as ''David of Sassoun'', which is the story ...
'', said to be based on an 8th-century oral tradition. According to Francoise Aubaile-Sallenave, the first known literary use of the term comes from the Armenian historian
Yeghishe Yeghishe (, , AD 410 – 475; also spelled Eghishe or Ełišē, Latinisation of names, latinized Eliseus) was an Armenians, Armenian historian from the time of late antiquity, best known as the author of ''History of Vardan and the Armenian W ...
. The word Kashk is also mentioned in the
Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...
text ''Xusraw ud rēdag'' in adjectival form: ''ārd ī kaškēn.'' the 10th-century Persian ''
Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...
'' ("Book of Kings") by
Firdausi Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persian poet and the author of '' Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...
the term is used in the sense of "barley flour", but it's also used for a mixture of cracked wheat and cracked barley. Aubaile-Sallenave argues that the original Persian ''kashk'' known from early
Persian literature Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
was made with
barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
that contained either a mix of leaven with water or some fermented milk. To answer questions about the modern meaning in Iran for a dried dairy dish, she argued, "Iranian speaking pastorialists, for whom dried sour milk was a staple, and who had no easy access to barley, applied the word ''kashk'' by analogy to dry sour milk". Charles Perry offers an alternate explanation based on the 13th century Arabic cookbook ''Wasf al-Atimah al-Mutadah'' which says dried yogurt was a Turkomen-style "kashk". A 10th century Arabic cookbook describes two types of ''kashk'', one made of wheat and leaven and another of sour milk. By the Middle Ages the word had two meanings, one referring to barley flour or a mix of barley and cracked wheat, and another to mean a meat or fowl dish cooked overnight (''kashak'' or kashba).


Preparation

To make the dried yogurt ''qurut'' a traditional or modern method can be used. For the modern method, sour yogurt is blended until smooth, then boiled and strained. It is left to ferment in a warm oven for several days, then the moisture is strained and blended with salt to make the ''kashk''. The drained liquid can be used to make '' qaraqurut'' ("dried black whey"). For traditionally prepared ''qurut'' water is added to full fat yogurt and poured into a goatskin "churn" - a sack hung from a tripod that is swung back and forth until the milk separates into a type of butter and buttermilk. The buttermilk is boiled and drained to obtain
curd Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as l ...
which is dried in the sun over a period of weeks to make ''qurut''. While traveling in the
Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
English explorer
Ernest Ayscoghe Floyer Ernest Ayscoghe Floyer (1852–1903) was an English colonial official, and explorer in Baluchistan and the Sudan. He explored the economically useful plants and materials of interest along his travels. He was put in charge of extracting nitrate o ...
encountered this form of ''kashk'':
...from the butter manufacture is left the buttermilk called " dōgh." This is boiled, and the remainder is "luch"; this is pressed and dried, and becomes "shilanch", or in Persian, "kashk," a hard, white biscuit of very sour cheese. This is powdered, and, boiled with savory herbs, is very palatable.
When ''kashk'' is made with grain in the
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...
s strained yogurt is added to grain and stored until it begins to ferment. After being left to dry in the sun for over a week it is turned into a coarse powder by rubbing and sifting.


Regional cuisines


Caucasus

''
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 ...
'' in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
and ''mats'oni'' in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, is a commonly used ingredient in
Caucasian cuisine The cuisine of the Caucasus refers to the cuisine of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and North Caucasus. Traditional dishes Plates Some popular cheeses from the Caucasus include: * Ashvlagwan ''(Ашвлагуан)'' — Abkhaz smoked cheese, si ...
. One of the ways ''matzoon'' is used is for the production of
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
. When ''matsun'' is churned it separates from the buttermilk. By boiling and churning the buttermilk one obtains
ricotta Ricotta ( in Italian) is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after th ...
cheese. The product obtained by drying the ricotta clots is called ''chortan''; ''chor'' means "dry" and ''tan'' means "buttermilk" in the Armenian language. In Azerbaijan, ''qurut'' is made in a similar way from strained yogurt. Yogurt (''
qatiq Qatiq is a fermented milk product from the Turkic countries. It is considered a more solid form of yogurt than '' ayran''.''Food on the Move'' (ed. by Harlan Walker). Oxford Symposium, 1997. . Page 245. In order to make qatiq, boiled milk is ...
'') is made from fresh
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
and strained to make ''
suzma Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive s ...
qatiq''. When the buttermilk "whey" has been separated from the butter using traditional methods the buttermilk curds are formed into small balls and dried in the sun. In western parts of Azerbaijan boiled flat dough is layered with a ''qurut'' white sauce and chicken to make Azerbaijani ''xəngəl''.


Central Asia

Qurut dissolved in water is a primary ingredient of '' qurutob'', which is thought of by some as the national dish of
Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
. One of the main dishes in Afghanistan is ''kichree qurut'', made with
mung beans The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...
,
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
and qurut dissolved in water. It is sometimes
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
ed, and in
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, aaruul can be flavoured as well as having many different shapes, sizes and textures (soft to rock-hard).


Iran

Kashk has been a staple in the Iranian diet for thousands of years. In modern Iran, kashk is a thick whitish liquid similar to
whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...
or
sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, wh ...
, used in traditional
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Kurdish cuisine Kurdish cuisine ( ku, or ''Xwarina Kurdî'') consists of a wide variety of foods prepared by the Kurdish people. There are cultural similarities of Kurds and their immediate neighbours in Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Armenia. Kurdish food ...
, like
ash reshteh ''Aush reshteh'' or a''ush-e-reshteh'' ( fa, آش رشته) is a type of '' aush'' (Iranian thick soup) featuring reshteh (thin noodles) and kashk (a dairy product, made from cooked or dried yogurt), commonly made in Iran. About There are more ...
, kashk e badamjan, ''kale joush''. It is available as a liquid or in a dried form, which needs to be soaked and softened before it can be used in cooking. Kashk was traditionally produced from the leftovers of cheese-making (more specifically, the milk used to make it). The procedure is, subtracting butter from milk, the remainder is
doogh Ayran, doogh, dhallë, daw, xynogala or tan is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeastern Europe, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. ...
which can be used as the base for kashk. The water is subtracted from this whitish beverage and what remains is kashk which can be dried. Iranian kashk has made an appearance in US markets in the past half-century by several Iranian grocers starting with Kashk Hendessi.


Turkey

In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, kashk is a dried yogurt product also known as ''keş peyniri'', ''kurut'', ''taş yoğurt'', ''kuru yoğurt'', or ''katık keşi''. Its contents and production vary by region. In western and northern Turkey, especially in
Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis ...
, the product is categorized as a cheese owing to its shape and white color. In eastern Turkey, especially
Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...
,
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
, and
Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...
, kurut is produced from skimmed yogurt made from the whey left over from production of butter by the ''yayık'' method, and then crushed or rolled. In parts of southeastern Turkey with a significant Kurdish population, it is called ''keşk''. All versions of this dairy product are salty. It is used as an ingredient in soups,
keşkek Keşkek, also known as kashkak, kashkek, keške and helîse is a ceremonial meat or chicken and wheat or barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, Greek and Balkan cuisines. In 2011, keşkek was confirmed to be an Intangible Cultural Heritage ...
, erişte, etc. There is also a closely related dried food product called
tarhana Tarhana is a dried food ingredient, based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, found in the cuisines of Central Asia, Southeast Europe and the Middle East. Dry tarhana has a texture of coarse, uneven crumbs, and it i ...
which is based on a fermented mixture of grain and yogurt or fermented milk. It is very similar to ''kishk'' of the Levantine cuisine described below.


Levant and Arabian Peninsula

In
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Arabian Peninsula, and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, ''kishk'' is a powdery cereal of
burghul Bulgur (from tr, bulgur, itself from fa, بلغور, bolġur (bolghur)/balġur (balghur), groats ), also riffoth (from biblical he, ריפות, riffoth) and burghul (from ar, برغل, burġul ), is a cracked wheat dish found ...
(cracked wheat) fermented with milk and
laban Laban is a French language, French surname. It may refer to: Places * Laban-e Olya, a village in Iran * Laban-e Sofla, a village in Iran * Laban, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * 8539 Laban, main-belt asteroid People ...
(yogurt), usually from goat milk. It is easily stored and is valuable to the winter diet of isolated villagers or country people. Kishk is prepared in early autumn following the preparation of burghul. Milk, laban, and burghul are mixed well together and allowed to ferment for nine days. In Lebanon, the mix is salted and traditionally set to ferment in large clay jars for up to three weeks, during which it is regularly kneaded. Each morning the mixture is thoroughly kneaded with the hands. When fermentation is complete the kishk is spread on a clean cloth to dry, notably on the rooftops of rural dwellings. Finally it is rubbed well between the hands until it is reduced to a powder, sieved, and then stored in a dry place. In Lebanese cuisine, ''kishk'' is commonly used to this day, mixed with tomato paste, as a topping for ''
manakish Manakish ( ar, مناقيش, translit=manāqīsh), or in singular form man'ousheh, or other spellings, sometimes called ar, فَطَايِر, translit=faṭāyir, is a popular Levantine food consisting of dough topped with thyme, cheese, or gr ...
'', a sort of flatbread cooked in an open oven and eaten for breakfast or a lunch. Traditionally, it would also be served with eggs, as a ''
kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is usually made by pounding ...
'' stuffing, or in a soup, possibly with lamb meat fried in its own fat ('' awarma''). In
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
a dried yogurt similar to kashk called
jameed Jameed (Arabic: جميد, literally "hardened") is a Beduin- Jordanian food (mainly the Levant, Iraq, Arabia, Balochistan and Afghanistan) consisting of hard dry laban made from ewe or goat's milk. Milk is kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to ma ...
is commonly used. Elsewhere in the Levant, similar products are referred to as drained
labneh Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...
(''labneh malboudeh''). A 10th-century recipe for ''kishk'' recorded in the '' Kitab al-Tabikh'' was made by par-boiling dehulled wheat, milling it, and blending it with
chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...
flour. Yeast, salt and water were added to make a dough from the flour, which was left in the sun for around 2 weeks, and re-moistened with sour yogurt (or sour
grape juice Grape juice is obtained from crushing and blending grapes into a liquid. In the wine industry, grape juice that contains 7–23 percent of pulp, skins, stems and seeds is often referred to as ''must''. The sugars in grape juice allow it to be u ...
) as needed. After 15 days the dough would be seasoned with mint,
purslane Purslane is a common name for several mostly unrelated plants with edible leaves and may refer to: * Portulacaceae, a family of succulent flowering plants, and especially: ** ''Portulaca oleracea'', a species of ''Portulaca'' eaten as a leaf vegeta ...
, cilantro,
rue ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluis ...
, parsley, garlic and the leafy tops of
leeks The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...
, shaped into disks, and allowed to dry in the sun.


See also

*
Iranian cuisine Iranian cuisine () refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 ( ...
*
Frumenty Frumenty (sometimes ''frumentee'', ''furmity'', ''fromity'', or ''fermenty'') was a popular dish in Western European medieval cuisine. It is a porridge, a thick boiled grain dish—hence its name, which derives from the Latin word ''frumentum'', ...
*
Gachas Gachas is an ancestral basic dish from central and southern Spain. Its main ingredients are flour, water, olive oil, garlic, paprika and salt. Origin Gachas are based on a very ancient Iberian flour-based staple food preparation. Gachas may hav ...
, a
Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 spec ...
gruel consumed since ancient times in parts of the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
*
Jameed Jameed (Arabic: جميد, literally "hardened") is a Beduin- Jordanian food (mainly the Levant, Iraq, Arabia, Balochistan and Afghanistan) consisting of hard dry laban made from ewe or goat's milk. Milk is kept in a fine woven cheesecloth to ma ...
*
Kasha In English, kasha usually refers to pseudocereal buckwheat or its culinary preparations. In various East-Central and Eastern European countries, ''kasha'' can apply to any kind of cooked grain. It can be baked but most often is boiled, either in ...
*
Keşkek Keşkek, also known as kashkak, kashkek, keške and helîse is a ceremonial meat or chicken and wheat or barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, Greek and Balkan cuisines. In 2011, keşkek was confirmed to be an Intangible Cultural Heritage ...
, a related meat-and-grain stew in Iranian, Turkish and Greek cuisines *
List of yogurt-based dishes and beverages This is a list of yogurt-based dishes and beverages. Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as "yogurt cultures". Fermentation of lactose by these bacteria produces lactic acid, w ...


References


Bibliography

* Karabulut I., Hayaloğlu A. A., Yıldırım H. ''Thinlayer drying characteristics of kurut, a Turkish dried dairy by-product.'' Int J Food Sci Technol, 42 (2007), 1080–1086. * Françoise Aubaile-Sallenave, ''Al-Kishk: the past and present of a complex culinary practice'', in Sami Zubaida and Richard Tapper, ''A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East'', London and New York, 1994 and 2000, . *Liu W J, Sun Z H, Zhang Y B, Zhang C L, Menghebilige, Yang M, Sun T S, Bao Q H, Chen W, Zhang H P. ''A survey of the bacterial composition of kurut from Tibet using a culture-independent approach.'' J Dairy Sci. 2012 Mar, 95(3), 1064–72. . {{Yogurts Fermented dairy products Types of cheese Armenian cuisine Afghan cuisine Azerbaijani cuisine Bashkir cuisine Iranian cuisine Kazakhstani cuisine Kurdish cuisine Kyrgyz cuisine Lebanese cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine Mongolian cuisine Palestinian cuisine Syrian cuisine Tajik cuisine Tatar cuisine Turkmenistan cuisine Uzbekistani cuisine Yogurt-based dishes