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Cheese from Kyrgyzstan

Kurut (Kyrgyz)курут

Milk is soured into ayran, the curd is drained of whey and left to press itself for 2–3 hours, then salted and shaped by hand into balls or flat cakes of 40–60 g. The pieces dry slowly in the air or sun until they hold no more than about 15 % water and keep for months. Kyrgyz kurut is traditionally unsalted or lightly salted, made from sheep or cow milk.

Fully documentedCheese6 h – 8 hKyrgyz national standard KMS 285:2001 'Kurut' (cited in a patent)Family: Dried sour-milk curd family (qurut, aaruul, kashk, chhurpi)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe home method in the patent shapes 40–60 g balls; the national standard sets salt at 2–3 %.
Cow, sheep or goat milk, whole or skimmed[kg-patent-802][mametzhanov-phd]
Ayran starter (part of an earlier batch) or a lactic culture[mametzhanov-phd]
SaltHome kurut was 3.5 times saltier than the 2–3 % the standard sets[kochkorova2021]
Starterayran from a previous batch, or a lactic culture

Total time across the recorded steps: 6 h – 8 h

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countL. delbrueckiiS. thermophilus38–42 °CpH 4.2–4.6Milk sugarLactic acid

What changes: Lactic bacteria sour the warm milk into thick ayran

Step 1 of 6
Sour the milk into ayran
Time
4–5 h
Reported
Temperature
38–42 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4.2–4.6
Reported
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
L. delbrueckii
S. thermophilus
Lactobacillaceae
Streptococcus
Enterococcus
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus when industrial cultures are used

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Milk is soured into ayran, the curd is drained of whey and left to press itself for 2–3 hours, then salted and shaped by hand into balls or flat cakes of 40–60 g. The pieces dry slowly in the air or sun until they hold no more than about 15 % water and keep for months. Kyrgyz kurut is traditionally unsalted or lightly salted, made from sheep or cow milk. Made in 6 steps over 6 h – 8 h. The longest step, sour the milk into ayran, takes 4–5 h (Kyrgyzpatent 2005) and runs at 38–42 °C (Mametzhanov A.M. (supervisor Musulmanova M.M.)). Salt is 2–3 % (Kochkorova F.A 2021). Lactobacillaceae (Lactobacillus most abundant), with Streptococcus, Enterococcus and Lactococcus, in 84 kurut samples from all seven Kyrgyz regions does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–5 hReported[kg-patent-802]Sour the milk into ayran
Temperature38–42 °CReported[mametzhanov-phd]Sour the milk into ayran
Salt2–3 %Set[kochkorova2021]Salt and roll into balls
AciditypH 4.2–4.6Reported[mametzhanov-phd]Sour the milk into ayran

What makes this one different

Kyrgyz kurut is made from drained ayran curd, salted and dried in small balls, much like the qurt of Kazakhstan, but in Kyrgyzstan it is traditionally unsalted or only lightly salted. Shop and home kurut often hold far more salt than the 2–3 % the standard sets.

Composition
Protein averaged 14.6 % in eight common kurut types (the standard requires at least 16.0 %); fat 1.8 %
Shelf life
Shelf life of 9-10 months (the patented kurut, packed in cloth sacks or paper boxes)
Survey
80.1 % of 7251 Kyrgyz schoolchildren aged 14 to 18 consumed kurut, in a survey reported in 2021
Water activity
aw 0.60–0.72 and 3–10 % salt for dry kurut across five Central Asian countries (review figures quoted in a Kyrgyz dissertation)

Related ferments

Safety

Low water activity (aw 0.60–0.72) and salt keep dry kurut stable without a refrigerator. A study found home kurut 3.5 times saltier than the standard allows, which is a concern for children who eat it daily.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Kurut was a staple of nomads moving between seasonal pastures, light to carry and slow to spoil.

  1. [kg-patent-802] Kyrgyzpatent 2005, Patent KG 802 C1, Ismailov B., 'Method of producing the fermented milk product Kurut and the drink Aktyk based on it' (describes the home method and cites standard KMS 285:2001 'Kurut')other
  2. [mametzhanov-phd] Mametzhanov A.M. (supervisor Musulmanova M.M.), PhD dissertation 'Optimisation of the recipe and technology of milk-protein compositions for special purposes based on ancient Central Asian recipes', Kyrgyz State Technical University named after I. Razzakov (section 1.1.3 on kurut)archive
  3. [kochkorova2021] Kochkorova F.A., Kitarova G.S. 2021, Nutritional value of the national dairy product kurut and its place in the nutrition of adolescents of the Kyrgyz Republic, Voprosy Pitaniia 90(5):87–95 (abstract)paper
  4. [yegin2024] Yegin Z., Mamatova Z., Yurt M.N.Z., Tasbasi B.B., Acar E.E., Ucak S. et al. 2024, A metagenomic survey of bacterial communities from kurut, the fermented cow milk in Kyrgyzstan, Chemistry & Biodiversity 21(2):e202301374 (abstract)paper