How is qurt made?
Qurt (kurt, kurut) is made by souring milk, draining the curd, salting it, shaping it into balls and drying them outdoors for several days. The result is a hard, salty, long-keeping dried dairy snack from Central Asia. Methods vary by region and household.
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In this article
What is qurt?
Qurt is a hard, dried fermented milk food from Central Asia, especially Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. It is a salty, firm ball that can be eaten as a snack. Spellings include kurt, kurut and qurut.
How is qurt made?
- Sour the milk. Fresh whole milk is left to sour until the curds separate from the liquid.
- Drain. The liquid is drained from the curd for several hours.
- Season. Salt is mixed in, and some makers add peppers, spices or herbs.
- Shape. The curd is hand-shaped into small balls, chunks or rolls.
- Dry. The pieces are dried outdoors in the open air for as long as 3 to 5 days, and much faster in hot southern Kazakhstan sun.
Some regions boil the shapes before drying, but one source says that step is not mandatory.
A home version
A cook who made Siberian kurut at home mixed 500 g of low-fat quark with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, hung it in gauze for 24 to 30 hours, rolled it into 12 balls of about 18 g and dried them in a convection oven at 50 to 70 degrees C: about 3 hours on day one, overnight at room temperature, then about 2 more hours on day two. The author says drying time is flexible. That is one example, not a standard recipe.
Regional differences
| Place | Typical method |
|---|---|
| Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan | Salted balls, air dried outdoors |
| Altai (Siberia) | The traditional version is smoked on a grate at low temperature; the home version has no smoky aroma |
Tips for success
- Drain the curd well; extra whey slows drying
- Use clean hands and tools to avoid bad bacteria
- Dry in a place with moving air, protected from insects and rain
- Turn the balls so they dry evenly
How to store it
One source says dried qurt is stored in canvas bags, keeps for a long time and does not need refrigeration; another says traditional dried Altai kurut can keep for a year because it is dry. Keep it dry, since damp makes mold grow.
Food safety
Drying at home can fail if the weather is humid. Discard pieces with mold or a rotten smell.
People also ask
What is qurt made of?
Soured milk curd, drained, salted and dried. Recipes use fresh whole milk, or quark in home versions.
How long does qurt take to dry?
About 3 to 5 days outdoors, less in very hot sun, and a few hours over two days in a low oven in one home version.
Is qurt the same as cheese?
It is similar in idea to a dried cheese, made by souring and draining milk, but it is its own traditional product.
Sources
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