Acquaintance with the peculiarities of the life of peoples in different regions of Russia is unthinkable without tasting traditional cuisine. For those going on a trip to Altai Mountains, we have prepared a list of dishes and products that you should definitely try during your trip.
National cuisine of Altai
The harsh climatic conditions of the Altai Territory influenced the formation of the gastronomic habits of its inhabitants. During a long period of cold weather, they had to use the gifts of a short summer, preserving them through smoking, fermentation, salting and other processing methods. In this regard, the national cuisine of Altai acquired special taste characteristics and was enriched with its own recipes.
Local cuisine cannot be imagined without meat and dairy products.
For your information
Currently, many traditional Altai dishes from meat and milk are prepared only in remote villages. Due to the high cost of products, they are not used in the restaurant business. However, vacationers, upon prior order, are offered tastings on the territories of tourist bases.. Recently, we have noticed the development of the direction of gastro-excursions, many local agencies provide outings to restaurants with an exciting historical program.
Traditional fermented milk drink "Chegen"
Dairy dishes
One of the main dairy products of the Altai Territory cuisine is chegen, which is traditionally served to the guest of honor before eating. A drink is prepared from sour milk fermented from boiled milk. In this case, the previous chegen is taken for the sourdough.
A popular fermented milk product is an ingredient kuruta and aarchi... When preparing the latter, the chegen is brought to 100-degree temperature and boiled for 2 hours, after which it is cooled and filtered through a linen cloth. Oppression is placed on the resulting thick mixture. The result is a delicate curd mass.
Aarchi is used as an independent dish, and also becomes the basis for Altai cheese kurut. To do this, the aarchis are cut and smoked on a wire rack over an open fire for about 4 hours. The resulting sour balls taste like traditional hard cheeses. This product is rich in proteins and vitamins, due to which in the old days it was always included in the provisions for long trips.
We advise lovers of cottage cheese to try bystak... When preparing it, chegen is added to warm milk; the resulting mixture, after boiling, is filtered and placed under oppression for a couple of hours. Altaians eat "curd mass" with honey and kaymakom (local sour cream, which is cream skimmed from boiled, settled milk).
Dried balls of Kurut cheese made from sour milk
Meat dishes
Meat is an integral part of the Altai Mountains cuisine. Among its varieties, beef, lamb or horse meat are in greatest demand. So to cook kocho soup, the locals make a rich broth from the impressive size of meat pieces on the bone, adding barley grits to it. The resulting fatty dish is poured into bowls and served with wild onions and garlic.
One of the most famous meat dishes of Altai cuisine is can - blood sausage. In the process of its preparation, blood diluted with water or milk is mixed with onions, pepper and salt and the ram intestine is filled with the resulting mixture. After boiling, the kan is served hot. Despite the unusual ingredients, according to tourists, the dish turns out to be very tasty.
For gastronomic gourmets looking for what to try in Altai from local dishes, we recommend the local delicacy - kaaz... It is a boiled horse gut with the addition of spices.
Kan blood sausage - a local delicacy
Meat eaters may also pay attention to:
- buur - ram liver shashlik cooked on vertically placed skewers;
- lamb brisket, cooked in muune (broth) with onions and carrots;
- kerzen - lamb brisket shashlik;
- djergem - boiled mutton stomach, which is pre-cut into strips and intertwined with fat with the help of the intestine. Cook for at least 3 hours and serve hot.
"Djergem"
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Where to try
The most famous places where you can taste the real cuisine of the Altai Territory are the recreation center "Merkit"With the restaurant of the same name, where products from its own farm are supplied, and the natural park"Uch Enmek».
Complex "Merkit", Located in the Ust-Kansk region, is known beyond its borders: many tourist centers order its products to organize their own tastings.
In the park "Uch Enmek”And in some territories of the complexes, vacationers are invited to watch the ceremony in the ail - a national dwelling with a hole in the roof for smoke. Inside the ail there is a hearth where dairy and meat dishes are prepared.
In many restaurants of Gorny Altai you can try dishes close to traditional cuisine. Due to the high cost of the original ones (for example, a whole carcass is required to prepare a 1.5-kilogram portion of the national dish from lamb entrails), local chefs offer more budget options.
Bakery products
Altai national cuisine has its own characteristics in the preparation of flour products.
The indigenous people bake bread (teertnek) according to a traditional recipe that includes eggs, butter, sugar and salt. The second option, in addition to the above components, contains curdled milk and soda. In the old days, cakes formed from dough were baked directly in the ash left after the fire; now housewives use a frying pan to fry the dough in fat.
One of the delicacies for which Altai cuisine is famous is boorsok... These are balls rolled from dough and fried, served with warm honey. Borsook is prepared on the basis of flour, chegen, sour cream and yogurt with the addition of eggs, salt, butter and soda.
As a side dish for meat, you can order tutpach - dough cubes boiled in broth and seasoned with wild onions.
Another unusual element of the cuisine of the Altai Territory for a tourist is talkan... It is crushed and roasted barley grains, which are usually added to tea. Since ancient times, talkan was considered a valuable nutritious product that hunters took with them to quickly satisfy their hunger.
National bread "Teertnek"
Traditional drinks
An honorable place among the drinks of the national cuisine of Gorny Altai is tea... As mentioned above, it is often drunk with talkan, adding salt and ghee. It is customary to take such a drink during a long journey in order to replenish the supply of strength.
In many Altai cafes, you can order tea with the addition of cream and salt - this is how the locals are used to drinking it. Tourists will also enjoy the varied herbal mixes.
From alcohol we recommend to try arachku - 12-18-degree drink served in bowls warmed up. This offer becomes especially relevant in winter, when the region does not spoil its guests with mild weather conditions, and after a walk you want to warm up quickly.
For your information
Drinking coffee is not one of the gastronomic habits of the Altai people. It is replaced with tea. However, coffee lovers will have no problem finding their favorite drink - the tourist-oriented restaurants and eateries in the region offer a very diverse assortment..
Sweets
Those with a sweet tooth among the national dishes of Altai should definitely try tok-chok... The main ingredients of the dessert are pine nuts, barley grains, honey and milk, which are mixed, formed into balls and fried in oil.
Throughout Russia, the region is famous for its honey delicacies: classic honey (linden, buckwheat, flower, etc.), whipped in the form of a cream, as well as with various additives - pine nuts, royal jelly, etc.
Halva, biscuits, toffee, sweets and other sweet products made in Altai are no less popular among visitors.
If we talk about local producers, then the leading confectionery enterprises in the region are “Altai», «Altai-sodbri», «Barnaul halvichnaya factory», «Novoaltaiskiy bakery», «Bread-4" and "Forne Confectioner". Many tourists choose their products as gifts for family and friends. So, for example, among the popular products one can note the crumbly halva "Altai bird", which has gained fame not only within the country, but also abroad.
Travelers in the region will be interested not only in tasting Altai national dishes, but also in bringing souvenirs from the trip. For the latter, we recommend shelf-stable products available from local stores.
Prices in stores in Gorny Altai
Of course, one of the products that should be brought from Gorny Altai in unlimited quantities is herbal teas. The region is known for a wide variety of useful plants, from which local residents have learned to make harvests for the treatment of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, female diseases, insomnia and other ailments. The cost of a 100-gram sachet starts at an average of 100 rubles.
We offer coffee lovers to try an unusual drink - cedar coffee, which consists of ground nuts and dry cream (there are variations with the addition of cocoa, spices, etc.). Buy a jar 250 gr. you can for 250 rubles.
One of the useful delicacies that you should treat your loved ones after returning from a trip is Pine nuts; however, this pleasure is not cheap (the price for 1 kg of peeled seeds is about two and a half thousand). Children can be pleased with sweets "Cedar truffle», «Cedar roasted nuts»And other sweets based on nuts.
For those who care about their health, we recommend purchasing a unique pine nut oil... This environmentally friendly product helps lower cholesterol and improves cardiovascular activity. In a specialty store or pharmacy, you can buy a 250 ml bottle for about fifteen hundred. The dishes dressed with oil have a unique coniferous flavor.
"Kedrokofe"
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Alternatively, we advise you to consider Altai sea buckthorn oils or fir.
A trip to Gorny Altai is a unique opportunity to buy cheese, which is produced on local farms (small private farms). Some of them have websites with an assortment and the ability to place an order. The peculiarity of the Altai product is that it is made from the milk of animals (cows and goats) that graze in the purest mountain meadows, which has a positive effect on the taste of the product.
One of the exclusive cheeses is Cherginsky goat cheese, the cost of which varies in the range of 4-6 thousand per kg. Travelers with a more limited budget can buy cheeses that are similar in taste and recipe to the original Altai at reasonable prices: for example, products from 300 rubles are available for order on the website ferma-altaya.ru. per 350 gram serving.
We offer meat eaters to take home blood sausage from the trip. Entrepreneurs accept orders for a product at a price of 270-300 rubles. for a 400-gram package (site ferma-altaya.ru).
Those wishing to bring real Altai honey from the trip are advised to go to the local beekeepers. The cost of the product starts from 500 rubles. per liter (floral, lime, etc.). More exclusive options (for example, acacia) will cost more (in a thousand). In souvenir shops, entrepreneurs also offer sets of several types.
A trip to Gorny Altai is a unique opportunity not only to enjoy the natural beauty of the region, but also to get acquainted with the taste of real Altai cuisine, learn the traditions of cooking ancient dishes and taste products grown in ecologically clean areas.
* Header image by Konstantin Dyadyun | Severo-Chuisky ridge.
