Yak butter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yak butter (Standard Tibetan: འབྲི་མར།; Chinese: 酥油) is common in regions where the domestic yak is the primary source of dairy products. Whole yak's milk has nearly twice the fat content of whole cow's milk, producing butter with a texture closer to that of cheese.[1][2] Among herder communities in Central, North, and East Asia, yak butter is a staple food and a trade commodity.[3] It is integral to several culinary traditions in China (Tibet), India, Mongolia, Nepal, and Pakistan (Gilgit–Baltistan).
Yaks provide their herders with many different benefits, including dung for fuel, draught power, meat, fiber, and milk. Not all herding communities have a tradition of using yak's milk or making butter, although in regions of mountain pastures the practice is common. Each individual yak cow produces little milk, so only when large herds are present can herders expect much milk to be obtained.[3] Milk is much more plentiful in summer than winter; turning fresh milk into butter or cheese is a way to store calories for later use.[5]
In western Tibet, yak's milk is first allowed to ferment overnight. In summer, the resulting yogurt-like substance is churned for about an hour by plunging a wooden paddle repeatedly into a tall wooden churn.[5] In winter, yogurt is accumulated for several days, then poured into an inflated sheep's stomach and shaken until butter forms.[5]
Fresh yak butter is preserved a number of ways, and can last for up to a year when unexposed to air and stored in cool dry conditions.[5] It is sewn into sheep-stomach bags,[5] wrapped in yak skin, or wrapped in big rhododendron leaves.[1][2] Once the container is opened, yak butter will begin to decompose; producing veins of blue mold similar to blue cheese.[1][2]
The English word "yak" is a loan originating from Tibetan: གཡག་, Wylie: g.yak. In Tibetan, it refers only to the male of the species, who needless to say do not produce milk (a literal translation into Tibetan would be like saying "bull butter"); the female are called Tibetan: འབྲི་, Wylie: 'bri, or nak. In English, as in most other languages that have borrowed the word, "yak" is usually used for both sexes.
.JPG)
