BASHKIR CUISINE

BASHKIR CUISINE, traditionally based on the products of cattle breeding, agriculture, bee keeping, hunting, fishing and plants foraging. Bashkirs were prevailed dairy food. Cow, mare, goat, camel, and sheep’s milk was consumed. Cereals and milk soups were cooked from whole cow’s milk; it was added to tea and used as baby food. Cream was collected from settled milk and was used as food or to churn  butter.  Katyk was made from whole or   skimp   milk   by fermentation; when it was diluted with water, a refreshing drink ayran was produced. Suzma, korot, and eremsek were also made from katyk. Kumys was made from mare milk, less often from cow, camel or goat milk. Boiled colostrum was a ceremonial dish. Meat dishes played an          important          role. Lamb, horse meat, beef, and poultry meat were popular       among    the Bashkirs. One of the traditional festive treats was boiled horse meat or lamb with salma called bishbarmak with obligatory serving of ulyush to guests. Sausages were popular as well: made of horse meat — kazy, of beef and lamb — tultyrma. There were meat and lean soups with thin‑chopped noodles, rhombic noodles, shells, umas, etc. Liver, hearts and kidneys fried in the cooker were served as an independent dish. Meat was jerked, dried and salted for long storage. In forest and mountain‑forest areas, a significant role was allocated to the dishes from game meat, meat of wild goat, roe deer, elk, less often bear.

In the food system, Bashkir milk and meat were combined with cereals. Traditionally, there was barley soup, kurmas, talkan, cereals and soups from kurmas, oatmeal, millet, millet cakes, products from fresh dough fried in fat (baursak, yiuasa, chakchak, etc), cakes baked in ash or in a dry pot. Balesh, gubadia and other pies were baked as a celebration meal; millet ale and bal were the drinks. Edible herbs and roots were consumed (cow parsnip, wild onions and garlic, sorrel, shamrock, wood garlic, yellow daylight, etc) in raw form and as a seasoning for cereal soups and pasta soups. Forest berries (strawberry, currant, cherry, raspberry, etc) and nuts were among the daily products as well. Pastille was made of berries and wild apples. Berries, preserved in melted butter, were considered to be delicatessen. To make therapeutic decoctions, oregano, St. John’s wort, wild currant leaves, rose hips, hawthorn, etc were used. Since the 2nd half of the 19th century, the role of potatoes in the B.c. has grown. Tea became the traditional drink. An important role in the food ration of the Bashkirs was played by honey, which was consumed with tea, used as a preservative to store oil and berries.