Ayran, doogh or tan (Albanian: Dhallë, Persian: ?????, Azerbaijani: ayran, Armenian: ??? tan, Arabic: ????? shin?na Turkish: ayran, Hellenic: ??????) is a cold yogurt beverage mixed with salt. It is popular in Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, North Caucasus, the Balkans, Afghanistan (by the Kirghiz) and Lebanon. Its primary ingredients are water and yogurt, and ayran has been variously described as "diluted yogurt" and "a most refreshing drink made by mixing yogurt with iced water".
Ayran is served chilled and often as an accompaniment to grilled meat or rice especially during summer.
Yogurt drinks are popular beyond the Middle East region--ayran has been likened by some to the South Asian lassi.
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History
According to Shirin Simmons, doogh has long been a popular drink and was consumed in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). Described by an 1886 source as a cold drink of curdled milk and water seasoned with mint, its name derives from the Persian word for milking, dooshidan.
According to Nevin Hal?c?, ayran is a traditional Turkish drink and was consumed by nomadic Turks prior to 1000 CE. According to Celalettin Koçak and Yahya Kemal Av?ar (Professor of Food Engineering at Mustafa Kemal University), ayran was first developed thousands of years ago by the Göktürks, who would dilute bitter yogurt with water in an attempt to improve its flavor.
A c. 1000 CE Turkish dictionary, D?w?n ul-Lughat al-Turk, defines ayran as a "drink made out of milk."
Turkish national drink status
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, 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 in ?stanbul, Erdo?an contrasted ayran with alcohol, which he suggested was a recent introduction to Turkey. Stating that in the early years of the modern Turkish republic (c. 1920-1950), alcoholic beverages were "part of the radical top-down modernization program embarked upon by the elites," Erdo?an expressed regret that alcohol was widely promoted during this period even in school textbooks.
Still, sales of ayran in Turkey may 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 the holy month of Ramadan has declined every year for the years 2010-15.
In 2015, Turkey's Customs and Trade Ministry imposed a 220,000 Turkish Lira fine (approx. $70,000) to state-owned Çaykur manufacturers for "insulting ayran" in one of their advertisement for iced tea, in which the protagonist raps that ayran makes him sleepy, and halted advertisements of Çaykur's competing, ice-tea product.
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Variations
Salt (and sometimes pepper) is added, and dried mint or pennyroyal can be mixed in as well. One variation includes diced cucumbers to provide a crunchy texture to the beverage. Some varieties of doogh have carbonation.
Similar beverages
- Chal, fermented camel's-milk
- Chalap, beverage consisting of fermented milk, salt, and carbonated water
- Kefir, fermented milk drink made with yeast grains
- Kumis, fermented mare's milk drink
- Lassi, yogurt-based drink from the Indian Subcontinent
- Qatiq, fermented-milk beverage
- Chaach, yogurt-based drink made with yogurt, salt and water, and occasional mint and coriander leaves
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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