It all begins with a drink—a creamy beverage that most of us have in our refrigerators. But milk is just the beginning of a whole host of dairy products that have been fermented into staples in our diets. They can come from cows, sheep, goats or even camels, and we've gotten pretty creative with what we can culture from it.
Here's how various countries consume cultured dairy.
TURKEY
Product: Ayran
Also known as doogh or tan, ayran is a salted cold yogurt beverage mixed with iced water. It's typically served chilled, accompanying a spicy meal of grilled meats and rice. The tartness wakes the palate and the cold creaminess of the drink offers diners a nice respite after an assault of spices.
SCOTLAND
Product: Blaand
When people think Scotland, they think Scotch Whisky. But long before that became synonymous with the country, there was blaand. Introduced to Scotland by the Vikings in the 9th Century, blaand is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting whey, the byproduct from butter and cheesemaking.
KYRGYZSTAN
Product: Kurut
Visitors to Kyrgyzstan will find these powdered yogurt balls in spades. Kurut is a popular snack that can be easily procured from a roadside stall or market. Salty, sweet and sour all at the same time, kurut is made from straining yogurt or milk and then shaping the strained mixture into small spheres before getting some love from the sun.
INDIA
Product: Lassi
Lassi is a yogurt-based drink from the Indian subcontinent and is typically made with a blend of salted yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit. Add a little turmeric powder and lassi is often prescribed as a remedy.
ICELAND
Product: Skyr
Skyr is a millennium-old Icelandic cultured dairy product that's a tad milder than yogurt. Like Scotland's blaand, Iceland's skyr is attributed to the the Norwegian Vikings when they arrived some 1100 years ago. It's typically consumed in an Icelandic dish hræringur (Icelandic for "made by stirring"), which is a combination of skyr and porridge.
SOUTH AFRICA
Product: Amasi
Tremendously popular in South Africa, amasi is made from fermenting unpasteurized cow's milk in a calabash container. The fermented milk develops into a water substance called umlaza and the rest is retained as amasi. The thick sour liquid is then poured over a meal of maize flour porridge or eaten as is.
INDONESIA
Product: Dadiah
Dadiah, or dadih, is a cultured milk product that's popular among Indonesians dwelling in Western Sumatra. It's made by fermenting fresh, raw and untreated buffalo milk in a hollow bamboo stem. The ends are then capped with a banana leaf and left to ferment at room temperature for a couple of days. Dadiah is then consumed for breakfast by locals with ampiang, glutinous rice krispies, and a touch of palm sugar.
