Tarak
Also: Mongolian yogurt, Tarag
A thick Mongolian cultured soured milk — a traditional steppe yogurt — eaten plain or with dried curds and other dairy products.
Identity criteria
- 1A naturally cultured, soured whole milk
- 2Thick and tangy, set rather than poured
- 3Made from cow, yak, sheep, goat, or camel milk depending on region
- 4A pillar of Mongolian 'white food' (tsagaan idee) dairy culture
- 5Eaten plain or as a base for further dairy products
Components
Whole milk (cow, yak, sheep, goat, or camel)essentialWhatever herd milk is available on the steppe
Live culture / starter from a previous batchessentialThe souring culture that defines it as tarak, not fresh milk
Sugar, dried curd (aaruul), or grainoptionalOptional accompaniments when eaten
Technique
- Souring milk with a live starter
- The culture thickens and acidifies the milk into yogurt; without it there is no tarak
- Warm setting / incubation
- Holding the inoculated milk warm lets it set thick and tangy
Form & serving
- Served
- Spooned from a bowl, plain or with curds
- Temperature
- cool or room temperature
- Portion
- bowl
- Pairs with
- aaruul (dried curd) · borts · grain · milk tea (suutei tsai)
Character
Flavour
Texture
thick, set, spoonable cultured milk
Eaten
A daily staple of Mongolian herding life, eaten as part of the summer 'white food' dairy season and serving as the base for dried curds and other preserved milk foods.
When
summer · year-round
Variations & related
Regional variations
- Yak-milk tarak · Mongolian highlands
Richer, made from yak milk
- Camel- or sheep-milk tarak · Gobi & western Mongolia
Varies by available herd
Related dishes
- descendant Aaruul (dried curd)
Made by further processing soured milk into dried curds
- sibling Katyk / kefir
Related Central Asian cultured-milk products
Substitutions
Cow's milk → Yak, sheep, goat, or camel milkadmissible
Any herd milk is traditional
Heirloom steppe starter → Commercial yogurt cultureadmissible
Produces a similar soured milk
Cultured soured milk → Fresh uncultured milkinadmissible
Uncultured milk is not tarak at all
Common mistakes
- Incubating too cold so the milk never sets
- Over-souring into a sharp, separated curd
- Using a dead or wrong culture so it spoils instead of culturing
- Confusing it with sweetened commercial yogurt
Provenance
A traditional Mongolian cultured milk central to the nomadic 'white food' dairy tradition of the steppe.
References
- 1.Mongolian nomadic dairy tradition
Confidence: high