National cuisine

The basis of the Mongolian national cuisine is formed from products of cattle-breeding: meat and dairy products. Mongols divided cattle into two groups: “cattle with hot breath” – sheep and horses, and “cattle with cold breath” – camels, goats, cows, (yaks), etc. Meat of animals from the first group, as more prestigious, was used to cook festal dishes, while meat of animals form the second group was used in everyday cooking.

Preference has always been given to lamb, rather than horse-flesh. The meat of тарбаган-marmots, which are hunted, is considered very healthy. Cattle are slaughtered in such a way that all nutritious elements are preserved. Meat is usually boiled, but not long enough, which is done to preserve all vitamins. It is eaten with strong meat broth with salt, wild leek and garlic. Meat is preserved by drying in the sun or above a hearth in a yurt. A nomadic old specialty is боодог – an animal’s meat baked in its skin.

Animal blood has also been an independent product since ancient times. In the autumn, when cattle are slaughtered, people eat fresh meat and preserve meat for the winter: dry, smoke, corn and freeze it.

In the course of many centuries the Mongols have developed technologies for producing, preserving and storing dairy products. They used milk of any domestic animals, but yaks’ milk was considered the fattest and the best. Fresh milk was frozen in the winter and turned into ice and in the summer it was dried and turned into powder. They made cream, skin, cheese, cottage cheese, melted butter, milk vodka and other products. The Mongols eat dried cottage cheese aruul like the Russians eat bread or the Chinese eat rice. Koumiss – a weak alcoholic drink from fermented mare’s milk became world famous. The Mongols used to add wild herbs, onion, garlic, berries and roots to this ration. Herbs were milled by grates, and then the flour was fried and added to tea with milk – the most popular drink with nomad

Kumiss shop. Mongolia, Ulan-Bator. Mongols. P. Rykin. 2005		Wooden tea vessel. Mongolia. Mongols. Late 19th cent.		Metalic tea vessel. Mongolia. Mongols. Late 19th cent.