Kashk

Kashk(Persian:کشکKašk,Turkish:keş), (Sorani Kurdish:کەشک)qurut(TuvanandKyrgyz:курут,Kazakh:құрт,Turkmen:gurt,Uzbek:qurut,Azerbaijani:qurut,Tajik:қурут,Pashto:قروت,Turkish:kurut),chortan(Armenian:չորթանchort’an), oraaruulandkhuruud(Mongolian:ааруулorхурууд) is a range of dairy products popular inIranian cuisine,Caucasian cuisine, andCentral Asian cuisine. Kashk is made fromstrained yogurt, drainedbuttermilk(in particular, drainedqatiq) or drainedsour milkby 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 curdledmilkproducts likeyogurtorcheese; foods based onbarleybroth, bread, or flour; and foods based oncerealscombined with curdled milk.
FromMiddle Persian(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 includingArabic,Syriac,Turkish,Azerbaijaniand many others.
InArmenian– chortan (chormeans "dry", andtanmeans "diluted yoghurt")
InTurkic languages, qurut derives from the verbquru-t('to make dry').
The ancient form ofkashkis aporridgeofgrainsfermented withwheyand dried in the sun.The long shelf-life and nutritional value ofkashkmade it a useful item for peasants during the winter months, as well as soldiers and travelers.Kashkis the origin oftarhanafound in the moderns cuisines ofTurkeyandGreece, where it is calledtrachanas(τραχανάς).
Modernkashkis usually a dish of driedbuttermilkthat 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 stapleIranianeggplant dish known askashk-e bademjan.
Kashkdairy products can be found in the cuisines ofIran,Tajikistan,Iraq,Syria,Egypt, theCaucasus, andTurkey.In some languages it is called kashk or kishkh, (Persian:کشک,Tajik:қурут,Arabic:كشك,Kurdish:keşk,Turkish:keş peyniri),qurutin others (Tajik:қурут,Kazakh:құрт,Turkmen:gurt,Uzbek:qurt,Azerbaijani:qurut,Kyrgyz:курут,Pashto:قروت,Turkish:kurut, sürk, taş yoğurt, kurutulmuş yoğurt,Shor:қурут,Khakas:хурут). There are many varied names for this class of dishes includingjameed(Arabic:جميد),chortan(Armenian:չորթան) andaaruul, khuruud(Mongolian:ааруул, хурууд).Chortanis mentioned in the 19th century Armenian epic poemDaredevils of Sassoun, said to be based on an 8th-century oral tradition.
According to Francoise Aubaile-Sallenave, the first known literary use of the termcomes from the Armenian historianYeghishe.The word Kashk is also mentioned in theMiddle PersiantextXusraw ud rēdagin adjectival form:ārd ī kaškēn.the 10th-century PersianShahnameh("Book of Kings") byFirdausithe term is used in the sense of "barley flour", but it is also used for a mixture of cracked wheat and cracked barley.Aubaile-Sallenave argues that the original Persiankashkknown from earlyPersian literaturewas made withbarleythat 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 wordkashkby analogy to dry sour milk".Charles Perryoffers an alternate explanation based on the 13th century Arabic cookbookWasf al-Atimah al-Mutadahwhich says dried yogurt was aTurkomen-style "kashk".
A 10th-century Arabic cookbook describes two types ofkashk, 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 (kashakor kashba).
To make the dried yogurtquruta 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 thekashk. The drained liquid can be used to makeqaraqurut("dried black whey").
For traditionally preparedqurutwater 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 obtaincurdwhich is dried in the sun over a period of weeks to makequrut.While traveling in theBaluchistanEnglish explorerErnest Ayscoghe Floyerencountered this form ofkashk:
Whenkashkis made with grain in theArmenian,ArabandTurkish cuisinesstrained 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.
MatzooninArmeniaandmats'oniinGeorgia, is a commonly used ingredient inCaucasian cuisine. One of the waysmatzoonis used is for the production ofbutter. Whenmatsunischurnedit separates from the buttermilk. By boiling and churning the buttermilk one obtainsricottacheese. The product obtained by drying the ricotta clots is calledchortan;chormeans "dry" andtanmeans "buttermilk" in the Armenian language.
In Azerbaijan,qurutis made in a similar way from strained yogurt. Yogurt (qatiq) is made from freshmilkandstrainedto makesuzmaqatiq. 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 aqurutwhite sauce and chicken to makeAzerbaijanixəngəl.
Qurut dissolved in water is a primary ingredient ofqurutob, which is thought of by some as the national dish ofTajikistan.One of the main dishes in Afghanistan iskichree qurut, made withmung beans,riceand qurut dissolved in water. It is sometimessalted, and inMongolia, aaruul can be flavoured as well as having many different shapes, sizes and textures (soft to rock-hard).
Kashk has been a staple in the Iranian diet for thousands of years.In modern Iran, kashk is a thick whitish liquid similar towheyorsour cream, used in traditionalPersianandKurdish cuisine, likeash reshteh,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 isdooghwhich 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.
InTurkey, kashk is a dried yogurt product also known askeş peyniri,kurut,taş yoğurt,kuru yoğurt, orkatık keşi.Its contents and production vary by region. In western and northern Turkey, especially inBolu, the product is categorized as a cheese owing to its shape and white color. In eastern Turkey, especiallyErzincan,Erzurum, andKars, kurut is produced from skimmed yogurt made from the whey left over from production of butter by theyayıkmethod,and then crushed or rolled. In parts of southeastern Turkey with a significant Kurdish population, it is calledkeşk. All versions of this dairy product are salty. It is used as an ingredient in soups,keşkek,erişte, etc.
There is also a closely related dried food product calledtarhanawhich is based on a fermented mixture of grain and yogurt or fermented milk. It is very similar tokishkof the Levantine cuisine described below.
InLebanon,Jordan, Arabian Peninsula, andSyria,kishkis a powdery cereal ofburghul(cracked wheat) fermented with milk andlaban(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,kishkis commonly used to this day, mixed with tomato paste, as a topping formanakish, 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 akibbehstuffing, or in a soup, possibly with lamb meat fried in its own fat (awarma).
InJordana dried yogurt similar to kashk calledjameedis commonly used. Elsewhere in the Levant, similar products are referred to as drainedlabneh(labneh malboudeh).
A 10th-century recipe forkishkrecorded in theKitab al-Tabikhwas made by par-boiling dehulled wheat, milling it, and blending it withchickpeaflour. Yeast, salt and water were added to make a dough from the flour, which was left in the sun for around two weeks, and re-moistened with sour yogurt (or sourgrape juice) as needed. After 15 days the dough would be seasoned with mint,purslane, cilantro,rue, parsley, garlic and the leafy tops ofleeks, shaped into disks, and allowed to dry in the sun.
It can be generally categorized into sweetened or unsweetened aaruul. It can also be categorized by its shape and size, by its hardness and its origin.