Roasted cheese curds cooked down into crunchy, caramel-brown nuggets. Unlike pale, pressed dried byaslag or sun-dried aaruul, eezgii is simmered and roasted until the milk sugars brown, giving it a nutty, granola-like crunch and gentle sweetness.
Eezgii is a long-keeping milk food of the Mongolian steppe, traditionally made from fresh milk, the curds left after churning butter, or sometimes the rich first milk (colostrum) of a newly calved animal. The curds are slow-simmered and roasted in a pot until they caramelize and dry, a method that both preserves the protein for lean winter and spring months and develops the toasty, sweet flavor that sets it apart from the steppe's many other white foods.
Crunchy and crumbly like toasted granola clusters, with a warm caramel-and-toasted-milk flavor. Mildly sweet and nutty rather than sour, it dissolves slowly into a malty richness. Moreish by the handful.
Slow cooking and roasting drive off curd moisture for preservation while the Maillard reaction between milk proteins and lactose browns the curds, building the caramelized, nutty flavor and crisp texture that distinguish eezgii from pressed byaslag and sun-dried aaruul.
Variations
Sweetened with extra sugar; mixed with butter for richer texture; cooked more lightly for a milder roast
On the Palate
Where Eezgii sits in the Mongolian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 110 min
Warm fresh whole milk and stir in yogurt or a souring agent to curdle it.
- 215 min
Let the curds separate from the whey, then strain through cloth.
- 35 min
Press the curds gently to remove excess whey but keep them moist.
- 45 min
Crumble the curds into a heavy dry pot or wide pan.
- 525 min
Roast over low heat, stirring constantly, as the moisture cooks off.
Watch outStir the curds without stopping over low heat — they scorch fast against a dry pan and burnt spots turn the whole batch bitter.
- 610 min
Continue until the curds turn golden-brown and smell toasty and caramelized.
Watch outTake it to golden-brown with a toasty, caramel smell — that Maillard color and nutty aroma are what set eezgii apart from plain white curd.
- 760 min
Spread the roasted curds out to cool and dry into firm crunchy bits.
Watch outSpread the curds out to cool and dry into firm, crunchy bits — piled hot they steam soft again.
- 82 min
Store in a dry container and eat as a snack or with milk tea.
