Tastes of Mavi Boncuk | Kashk, Kurut-Keş

The ancient form of the dish was a porridge of grains fermented with whey 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.

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). A 10th century Arabic cookbook describes two types of kashk, one made of wheat and leaven and another of sour milk. Kashk is the origin of tarhana found in the moderns cuisines of Turkey and Greece, where it is called trachanas (τραχανάς).

It is called kashk or kishkh, (Persian: کشک‎, Arabic: كشك‎, Kurdish: keşk‎, Turkish: keş peyniri), qurut. (Kazakh: құрт, Turkmen: gurt, Uzbek: qurt, Azerbaijani: qurut, Kyrgyz: курут, Pashto: قروت‎, Turkish: kurut, sürk, taş yoğurt, kurutulmuş yoğurt, Shor: қурут). There are many varied names for this class of dishes including jameed (Arabic: جميد‎), chortan (Armenian: չորթան) and aaruul, khuruud (Mongolian: ааруул, хурууд).

Matzoon in Armenia and mats'oni in Georgia, is a commonly used ingredient in Caucasian cuisine. One of the ways matzoon is used is for the production of butter. When matsun is churned it separates from the buttermilk. By boiling and churning the buttermilk one obtains ricotta 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) is made from fresh milk and strained to make suzma 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.

Mavi Boncuk | 

WORD ORIGIN:

KEŞ: i. (frpm Persian keşk’ten) Yağsız peynir: Yıkıldı hamam, üşüdüm üşüdüm, üş oldum, bir torbacık keş oldum, keşimi elimden aldılar (Eflâtun C. Güney).

KEŞ:(from Armenian. gēş) argo.
1. Sigara, uyuşturucu vb.ne müptelâ olan kimse.
2. Ahmak, sersem: Keş senin babandır, keş oğlu keş (Karagöz’den).

–KEŞ: (ﻛﺶ) sıf. (Fars. keşіden “çekmek”ten keş) Sonuna geldiği kelimelere “çeken, çekici” anlamı katarak Farsça usûlüyle birleşik sıfatlar yapar: Afyon-keş: Bk. AFYONKEŞ. Bâr-keş: Yük çeken. Cefâ-keş: Bk. CEFÂKEŞ. Dil-keş: Gönül çeken. Mey-keş: Şarap çeken, şarap içen. Ser-keş: Bk. SERKEŞ. Sim-keş: Bk. SİMKEŞ. Simşir-keş: Kılıç çeken.

–Keşan (ﻛﺸﺎﻥ) sıf. (Fars. çoğul eki -ān ile) Çekenler: “Afyon-keşan: Afyon çekenler.” “Mihnet-keşan: Mihnet çekenler.”

Yoğurt Kurusu-Kurut-Keş Peyniri

Kes cheese, a traditional Turkish dairy product, is commonly made in a lot of region Anatolia. It is consumed in the various parts of Turkey, especially in the western and southeastern parts. Kes cheese is commonly produced in family businesses for their needs and also by dairy processing plants for commercial purposes. Therefore, traditional producing method is not standardized. In recent years, 20-30% White cheese curd has been added to the curd of Kes cheese in order to make the product more attractive, resulting a mosaic-like structure in the final product. Traditional Kes cheese has a range of 21.60-39.31% moisture, 4.5-23.5% fat, 31.22-50.68% protein and 2.84-13.19% salt. The aim of this review is to outline manufacture and chemical, biochemical, mineral, microbial and sensorial properties of Kes cheese. 

In Turkey, butter is either produced from cream or yoghurt; the last one is used as a raw material for butter manufacture in home production. Yayık butter is produced after the milk is processed to yoghurt. Butter granules are removed by a wooden remainder and washed by good quality cold water once or twice to remove residual Ayran among fat globules. Ayran is consumed as a drink with meals or after being converted to ‘Cokelek’ which is consumed at breakfast (3). The Cokelek is shaped round or oval with 30-40 g weight and dried in the sun for 10-15 days. At the end of this period, the product named ‘Kurut’ can be stored at ambient temperature for more than 6 months. The name ‘Kurut’ means ‘dry’ and is produced by means of salting at a level of 2-3% (w/w) and kneading of Cokelek after removing some parts of whey of the Cokelek by clot bag method. It is used as an ingredient in soup production in winter and as a beverage by mixing with warm water or as a starter culture for yoghurt manufacture (4). Kurut is made in the villages of Eastern parts of Turkey and it is a nutritious product in terms of protein and mineral contents and its protein and mineral contents are very high; however, fat content is low ( i.e. 5-10% (w/w) in comparison with cheese. 

In some regions, Kurut is known as Kes cheese. Since it has a low fat content it keeps well. Some of the best known regional varieties are the Kurut of Kars and Bitlis, the Surk (dried Cokelek) of Hatay, the Kes of Mengen, Giresun, Ordu and the dried Cokelek of Aydin (6). Cokelek cheese is called as Eksimik in Thrace, Kes in Mediterranean, and Akcakatik, Kesmik or Urda in several regions of Anatolia. These regions some wild plants are added into Cokelek in order to give a flavor; ‘boyotu’ (Trigonella foenum) is used in the west and garlic mustard in the east. Kes cheese is produced by drying of kneaded Cokelek with several aromatic plants and therefore has a special odor and aroma. It can be classified as hard cheese and its taste is little sour like a puckery taste. It is generally eaten with thin dough bread (7). The aim of this review is to examine the production methods and physico-chemical, microbiological, biochemical and sensorial properties of Kes cheese.  SOURCE

In Turkey, kashk has the form of a dried yogurt. In different parts of Turkey, you can see this product referred to as kurut, tas yogurt, kes peyniri, katik kesi, or kuru yogurt. In the northern and western parts of Turkey, the product looks similar to white cheese. In the eastern part of Turkey, the product is known as kurut and is very similar to Central Asian qurut. In Turkey, all versions of kashk are salty.

Kashk is most commonly found in the cuisines of Iran, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. This makes kashk one of the rare dishes that spread across such a large geographic area that contains many different language groups. That’s why in some countries, you’ll hear the name kashk (Persian), kishk (Arabic), kesk (Turkish, Kurdish), qurut (Kazakh, Turkmen, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Kyrgyz, and Pashto), chortan (Armenian), and khuruud (Mongolian).

The first written mention of the kashk recipe (at least one that’s still available) can be found in a 10th-century Arabic cookbook. According to the cookbook, by the 10th century, there were two common types of kashk, one made of wheat and leaven and another made of sour milk.

According to the Persian Shahnameh (10th-century book of Kings), the word kashk was used to describe a mixture of barley flour and cracked wheat. Based on this, it’s likely that the first versions of kashk contained a mix of leaven and either water or fermented milk/yogurt. This theory also aligns well with another theory that assumes that the dairy kashk was first made by medieval Iranian-speaking pastoralists. The fact that they used dried sour milk as a staple and had limited access to barley just further confirms this theory.

Iranian Kashk

In Iran, kashk is typically a thick liquid with a texture similar to sour cream or whey but it’s also available in a liquid or dried form. The dried form needs to be soaked to soften before using it for cooking. Traditionally, in Iran, the creamy delicacy is prepared by subtracting butter from milk (doogh) and using the mixture as a base for preparing kashk.

Turkish Keş 

In Turkey, kashk is a dried yogurt product also known as keş peyniri, kurut, taş yoğurt, kuru yoğurt, or katık keşi. In Turkey, kashk has the form of a dried yogurt. In different parts of Turkey, you can see this product referred to as kurut, tas yogurt, kes peyniri, katik kesi, or kuru yogurt. In the northern and western parts of Turkey, the product looks similar to white cheese. In the eastern part of Turkey, the product is known as kurut and is very similar to Central Asian qurut. In Turkey, all versions of kashk are salty.

Caucasian Matzoon (Mats’oni)

Versions of kashk are also available in Armenia (matzoon) and Georgia (mats’oni). In both countries, it’s used for the production of butter because when churned, it separates from the buttermilk. After this, you can also boil the buttermilk and obtain tasty ricotta cheese.

Arabic Variations

In the Arabian Peninsula, Lebanon, and Palestine, kishk is a powdery cereal made of cracked with and fermented milk and/or yogurt, usually from goat milk. Kishk is traditionally prepared during autumn and is stored and consumed throughout the winter. The preparation starts with mixing, milk, laban (yogurt), and burghul and letting the mixture ferment for 9-10 days. Every morning, the mixture should be kneaded, and on the final day, it’s spread on a clean cloth and left to dry before being rubbed until the mixture reduces to powder.  

SOURCE

Farm production

Raw milk & Clarification & Heat process (15- 20 minutes at 90-100 °C) & Cool (to 45-50 °C) & Addition of starter culture (2-3% thermophilic culture) & Incubation (2.5-3.0 h) and Yogurt & Yogurt Churning & Ayran (the churned butter is separated from this chart) & Heating (Ayran curd) & Draining (30-40 min, pressing in cheese cloth) & Salting (curd were dry salted 20-30 g NaCl/L) at room temperature for 12-15 h) & Pressing and curd (drain water off until the desired solids level) & The bags are homogeneous dryness (hung from a platform in a warm room for 2-3 days) & Storage (at 7-8 °C)

Kashk Recipe

• 42-ounces plain, sour yogurt
• 5 cups cold water
• 3 and 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  Instructions

• 1. Combine the yogurt (you can use European-style plain yogurt), water, and salt and blend the mixture until it becomes smooth and the salt dissolves. This shouldn’t take more than 60-90 seconds.

  2. Add the mixture to a pot and set it over high heat.

  3. Once it starts boiling, start stirring constantly so that the mixture doesn’t overflow.

  4. After that, reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for approximately 2 hours. Don’t forget to stir occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

  5. After 2-2 and a half hours, the yogurt will start separating and develop a distinct smell and curdled pieces of yogurt will start rising to the top.

  6. Keep the pot on medium-low heat until most of the water evaporates. This should leave a thick batch of curd in the pot.

  7. When this happens, remove the pot from heat and let it cool down for a few minutes.

  8. Take a large bowl and place a fine-mesh strainer over it. Use several layers of tightly woven cheesecloth (or a nut milk bag) to drain the mixture from the pot. Once you pour everything, let it strain for one minute. What remains in the cloth is the kashk but save the liquid part just in case it’s necessary to thin out the kashk.  

  9. Once this is done, add the kashk back to the blender and blend it until it becomes smooth.

  10.  You might need to drizzle in the saved liquid a few drops at a time if you’re struggling to reach the desired consistency.

  11.  Taste and add more salt if necessary.

  12.  The final kashk should have the consistency of strained yogurt.

  13.  Store the kashk in a small container, cover it, and keep it in the fridge before
  serving.
  
  FOR THE CURIOUS:
  
  Milk: Beyond the Dairy : Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and edited by Harlan Walker

•