Ayran

Ayran
Ayran in a glass with a frothy head
Alternative namesDoogh, dhallë, daw, avemast, mastaw, çeqilmast, xynogala, chalap, shanina, suwsab, tan, jeran, or yogurt milk
TypeFermented dairy product
CourseBeverage
Region or stateCentral Asia, West Asia
Serving temperatureCold or lukewarm (depending on preference)
Main ingredients
  • Yogurt, water, salt (typical)
  • Milk, fast ayran culture (industrial production for restaurant consumption)
  • Wikibooks logo Cookbook: Ayran
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Ayran

Ayran (/aɪˈrɑːn/ eye-RAHN, also ayryan) is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage found throughout Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Middle East. The drink is a heterogeneous mixture that has been consumed by Turkic peoples for approximately 1,000 years. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be added, and some varieties are carbonated. It is a national drink of Turkey and is served in most restaurants in Bulgaria.

Etymology

Ayran (cf. airag in Mongolian: 'mare milk', uyran (уйран) in Chuvash: 'buttermilk') is mentioned in Mahmud al-Kashgari's 11th century Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, although he did not give any information how ayran was made. The word is derived from the Old Turkic root adır- ("to separate"), cf. Turkish ayır- ("to separate").

Preparation

Ayran is served chilled and often as an accompaniment to grilled meat, bread or rice, especially during summer. It is made by mixing yogurt with chilled or iced water and is sometimes carbonated and seasoned with mint. It has been variously described as "diluted yogurt" and "a most refreshing drink made by mixing yogurt with iced water".

The traditional method of preparing this drink among various Iranic peoples involves pouring yogurt into a waterskin —known as mashk (مَشک) in Persian, Luri, and Kurdish, and maskah (مَسکه) in Afghanistan— and vigorously shaking it to separate the butter from the liquid. The process takes a considerable amount of time and effort and is often made easier by suspending the waterskin from a wooden frame called malār (مَلار) using woollen ropes, allowing it to swing freely. Once the butter is extracted, the remaining liquid, called doogh, is collected and consumed as a refreshing beverage. In Pakistan, ayran is called Namkeen Lassi (نمکین لسی).

History

Ayran was developed in Central Asia by Turkic tribes. A c. 1000 CE Turkic dictionary, Dīwān ul-Lughat al-Turk, defines ayran as a "drink made out of milk".

Other similar but not identical drinks include doogh in Iran, t’an (Armenian: թան) in Armenia, and lassi in the Indian subcontinent. However, they can also differ from doogh.

Variations

Turkish Yayık Ayran is served in a copper pitcher.

Salt, black pepper, dried mint, and lime juice can be mixed in. Diced cucumbers can be added to provide a crunchy texture to the beverage. Some varieties of ayran are carbonated. In Balkan countries, the drink is usually consumed for breakfast or lunch, usually combined with pastries like banitsa, börek or other pastries.

In Turkey, there are three well-known registered ayran variations; one of them is Susurluk Ayranı. In this version, ayran is drawn from the vat and rapidly poured back into it through a narrow pipe from above. During this circulation process, the fat in the ayran creates a foam on its surface.

In some eastern parts of Turkey, ayran is made using a mixing method, which results in a very frothy drink known as Yayık Ayranı. In the Malatya region, there is a form of spicy ayran known as Malatya Spicy Ayran. It has gained a registration and patent on 11.04.2022.

In Afghanistan, ayran (known as doogh or shromba) is a summer beverage. It is made with yogurt, salt, mint, diced cucumbers, lime, and is sometimes carbonated. It is drunk alongside bolani, Afghan flatbread, and other picnic foods.

In Albania, ayran is known as dhallë and is made exclusively with yogurt, salt and water, and it is served cold. The name 'dhallë' comes from mixed and shaken '.

In Cyprus, ayrani (αϊρανι) is made with sour sheep yogurt, water, salt and mint.

In Russia and some other Eastern European countries, a variant is called kefir which has a similar taste but is instead made using fermented milk from kefir grains. The term may have derived from the Turkic word köpür ("to froth"). Kefir is also popular in Turkey, though its consumption is less widespread than traditional fermented drinks such as ayran.

Turkish national drink status

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a Turkish politician who has held the posts of President and Prime Minister, has promoted ayran as a national drink. Speaking at a 2013 WHO Global Alcohol Policy Conference held by simar in Istanbul, Erdoğan contrasted ayran with beer, which he claimed was a recent introduction to Turkey.

Nevertheless, sales of ayran in Turkey lag behind other non-alcoholic beverages. According to a 2015 joint statement from the Soft Drink Producers Association, the Sparkling Water Producers Association, and the Milk Producers and Exporters Union of Turkey, ayran consumption during Ramadan had declined every year from 2010 to 2015.

In 2015, Turkey's Ministry of Customs and Trade imposed a 220,000 TL fine (approximately $70,000) on state-owned Çaykur manufacturers, stating that ayran had been "insulted without reason" in one of their advertisements for iced tea, in which the rapper Ceza rapped that ayran makes him sleepy; the ministry halted advertisements of Çaykur's competing iced tea product.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Also known as dhallë, dew, Jaree'a, leben, avamast, çiqilmast, mastaw, shaneena, or xynogala

References

  1. ↑ Fuller, Devin (24 August 2023). "Ayran (Turkish Yogurt Drink)". The Mediterranean Dish. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "Ayran homojen mi yoksa heterojen midir ve neden?". 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ Diker, Ali Halit (21 May 2025). "The greatest hot-weather drink you've probably never heard of | CNN". CNN. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  4. ↑ Tamime, A. Y., ed. (2008). Fermented Milks. John Wiley & Sons. p. 124. ISBN 9781405172387. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Jacobson, Sarina; Weiner, Danya (2008). Yogurt: More Than 70 Delicious & Healthy Recipes. Sterling. p. 6. ISBN 978-1402747595.
  6. ↑ Strnadel, Leslie; Erdley, Patrick (2012). Bulgaria. Other Places Travel Guide. Other Places Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 9780982261996. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  7. ↑ Nazif Shahrani, M. (2013). The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan. University of Washington Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 9780295803784. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Alpert, Kristy (23 February 2019). "These 12 Bulgarian Foods Prove That Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day". Fodors Travel Guide. Fodors. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Eats, Istanbul. "Turkey's National Drink: The Ayran vs. Rakı Debate". Culinary Backstreets. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Martine Robbeets; Alexander Savelyev (2017). Language Dispersal Beyond Farming. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 145. ISBN 9789027212559.
  11. ↑ Otyzbay, Zhazira (September–October 2019). "Etymology, Meaning and Place of the Word Ayran in Turkish Culture". Türk Dünyası Araştırmaları (in Turkish). 123 (242). Institute of Turkish World Studies - Ege University: 219–232. English Abstract
  12. ↑ Reşat Genç (1997). Kaşgarlı Mahmud'a göre XI. yüzyılda Türk dünyası (in Turkish). Türk Kültürünü Araştırma Enstitüsü. p. 248.
  13. ↑ Maksudovna, Matkarimova Sadokat. "Explanatory Dictionary of Khorezm Dishes.[permanent dead link]" Electronic Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities 2 (2020): 247–252
  14. ↑ "Turkish Buttermilk". www.kultur.gov.tr. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  15. ↑ Gina Husamettin (24 May 2013). "Ayran – Turkish national beverage". balkon3.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  16. ↑ Davis, P. H. (1956). "Lake Van and Turkish Kurdistan: A Botanical Journey". The Geographical Journal. 122 (2): 156–165. Bibcode:1956GeogJ.122..156D. doi:10.2307/1790844. JSTOR 1790844.
  17. ↑ Islamic Republic of Iran (26–29 January 2009). Project Document for a Regional Standard for Doogh (CX/NEA 09/5/8) (PDF). Tunis, Tunisia: United Nations. Joint FAO/WHO food standards programme of the FAO/WHO coordinating committee for the Near East. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  18. ↑ Yildiz Fatih (2010). Development and Manufacture of Yogurt and Other Functional Dairy Products. CRC Press. p. 10. ISBN 9781420082081. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  19. 1 2 Halici, Nevin (27 April 2013). "Turkish Delights". Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies. 1 (1). University of California Press: 92–93. doi:10.1525/gfc.2001.1.1.92.
  20. ↑ Lake Van and Turkish Kurdistan: A Botanical Journey P. H. Davis The Geographical Journal, Vol. 122, No. 2 (Jun., 1956), pp. 156–165 Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Article doi:10.2307/1790844
  21. ↑ "آیین مشک زدن (استان چهار محال و بختیاری )". آپارات - سرویس اشتراک ویدیو. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  22. ↑ "تهیه لبنیات مثل ماست، دوغ، روغن، و پنیر روستایی کار ساده‌ای نیست. - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 3 June 2019. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  23. ↑ Ramineni, Shubhra (2012). Entice With Spice: Easy Indian Recipes for Busy People. Tuttle. ISBN 9781462905270.
  24. ↑ Cooking through History: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Food with Menus and Recipes, ABC-CLIO, 2020, p. 23, ISBN 9781610694568, ayran was a nonalcoholic drink of yogurt and water developed among early Turkic tribes at an unrecorded date
  25. ↑ Nishinari, Katsuyoshi (31 December 2019). Textural Characteristics of World Foods. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-43079-7. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020. Doogh is an Iranian type of traditional fermented dairy-based drinks that is usually produced by mixing set or stirred yogurt and water at the same rate, as well as some aqueous extracts of local herbs, and spices such as thyme.
  26. ↑ Katz, Sandor Ellix (2016). Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, 2nd Edition. Chelsea Green Publishing. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-60358-628-3. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  27. ↑ Islamic Republic of Iran (26–29 January 2009). Project Document for a Regional Standard for Doogh (CX/NEA 09/5/8) (PDF). Tunis, Tunisia: United Nations. Joint FAO/WHO food standards programme of the FAO/WHO coordinating committee for the Near East. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
  28. ↑ Nishinari, Katsuyoshi (31 December 2019). Textural Characteristics of World Foods. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-43079-7. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020. Doogh consumption is common in Asian countries (e.g. ayran in Turkey, than in Armenia, lassi in southern Asia). However, they may differ from doogh in dilution ratio, rheological characteristics, fat content, and sensory properties.
  29. ↑ "Ayran". Etimoloji Türkçe (in Turkish). Telif Hakları. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Susurluk Ayran". Geographical Indications Portal (in Turkish).
  31. ↑ "Arşivlenmiş kopya" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  32. ↑ "Malatya Pirpirimli Acılı Ayran / Malatya Semizotlu Acılı Ayran". Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  33. ↑ "kefir". Kefir dictionary definition | kefir defined. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "Milk and Milk Products, December 2023". Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT). Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  35. ↑ Kotan, Mustafa (2016). "Consumers' kefir consumption: A pilot study in Turkey". International Journal of Gastronomy Research. 1 (1): 1–7.
  36. ↑ "PM says Turkey's national drink is doogh, not beer". Zaman. 27 April 2013. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  37. ↑ "Turks turn away from 'national drink' despite Erdoğan". Zaman. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
  38. ↑ Çelikkan, Erdinç (9 November 2015). "State-owned tea firm fined 220,000 liras for 'insulting ayran' in ads". Hürriyet.