Cheesemaking, Traditional Azerbaijani Hard Cheese - Kurut

A Central Asian dry cheese made of fermented milk, qurt is a versatile treasure of nomadic people's ingenuity. There are variations of names for this food, including kashk in Iran, chortan in Armenia, and aaruul in Mongolia, as this calcium-rich, protein-packed snack accompanied travellers along the Silk Road and beyond.

But the origin of qurt is the road itself. Born out of necessity, the nomadic people of Central Asia carried horse, sheep or camel milk in animal-skin saddlebags called torsyk. Journeys across the vast steppe provided a perfect setting for fermentation to take place inside this vessel, and the galloping motion of the horse gave a churning effect that separated the milk into curds. These curds, drained, dried, and lightly salted, packed all the nutrients of the liquid dairy product into solid, portable food.