🇰🇿 Kazakh Cuisine

Kurt

Dried Yogurt Balls

Prep Time 30 min + drying

Servings 20

Difficulty Easy

Calories 46 kcal

Small, hard balls of salted dried fermented milk, a portable high-protein snack that sustained Kazakh nomads across the steppe for centuries.

Ingredients

1 Strain yogurt through cheesecloth overnight to remove all whey, creating a thick curd called suzme.
2 Mix salt thoroughly into the strained curd.
3 Roll the mixture into small balls about 2 cm in diameter, pressing firmly.
4 Place balls on a clean cloth or tray in a well-ventilated, sunny area.
5 Dry for 3-5 days, turning occasionally, until completely hard and chalky.
6 Store in a breathable container. Kurt keeps for months at room temperature.

Did You Know?

Kazakh cosmonauts have taken kurt to the International Space Station as a taste of home, making it possibly the oldest food ever eaten in space.