Airag is still the drink of choice in Mongolia today, and the country's official newsletter has even claimed that airag is as integral to their culture as Coca-Cola is to the culture of the United States. It is produced throughout the summer in a specially made hide skin bag. First, fresh milk is used to initiate fermentation, and the mix is regularly stirred with a special wooden stick. Fresh airag is basically mild, but if kept for long enough it may turn sour and acidic. Old airag may contain up to 9 percent alcohol. It is usually served in very large bowls.
Medical features of airag have long been proven according to Mongolian sources. It clears any poisons and antioxidants, especially the consequences of overconsumption of fat during the long winter, and generally strengthens the body. It contains many types of vitamins and organic and mineral elements. Airag is widely used for treatment of many diseases.
Not all families make airag because it involves considerable time and effort. Mares should be milked every two hours during the hot summer days and every three hours in autumn. The amount of milk produced by one mare averages about 1.5 liters to 2 liters when milked six times per day. The remaining milk is needed for the colts. So, in order to make enough airag for the family as well as for their visitors, at least a dozen mares are needed. In addition, to get good-quality airag it is necessary to stir the milk mix no less than 1,000 times each day. All guests are expected to contribute and assist with churning the airag.
To get good-quality milk, mares should be grazed on the best pastures and in cool places near rivers and lakes. The best airag is produced in the Middle Gobi province, called the Land of Airag and Long Songs. What makes the taste of Gobi airag special is the unique mixture of desert grasses on which the mares feed. Another area famous for airag is Arkhangai province, or Northern Mountains, which is known for ifs beautiful landscapes and the beauty of the local girls skilled in making dairy products.
Recent research in Russia into alcoholism and drunkenness has come out with some surprising conclusions. Scientists say that they have found a genetic link between Russians' traditional weakness for drink and the marauding Mongol armies of Chinggis Khan and claim that genetic traces the Mongols left behind are partly to blame for Russia's traditional weakness for vodka.
As many as 50 percent of Muscovites are estimated to have inherited Mongol genes that make them absorb more alcohol into the bloodstream and break it down at a slower rate than most Europeans, they say. That means that they get more easily drunk and have worse hangovers and are more likely to become addicted to alcohol. "The difference is huge —in reaction speed, memory, hand tremor —and in how they recover," Vladimir Nuzhny of the Health Ministry's National Narcology Research Center said. "On average, 50 percent of people in Moscow have this Mongoloid gene. So this, we think, is part of the problem. The way they get drunk is completely different. They are also more likely to feel aggressive or depressed," Dr. Nuzhny said. "They do not necessarily look Mongolian, but the gene that governs how they metabolise alcohol is Mongoloid.”
Scientists have long known that people of Mongol extraction, including Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese, have an enzyme for metabolizing alcohol that is different from that of Caucasian Europeans. Dr. Nuzhny claims that his study is the first to look at the effect of alcohol on Russians who have inherited Mongol genes. He says that the phenomenon can be explained partly by evolution. The nomadic Mongols, whose only indigenous form of alcohol was fermented mare's milk, evolved with a different enzyme compared to the settled Europeans, with their long tradition of producing stronger grape - and grain-based alcohol.
The gene, known as ADH2-2, is common in Asian countries but almost nonexistent among Europeans. "This gene is found in 41 percent of the population in Moscow," says Dr. Pavel Gurtsov, head of the center's medical department.
"We don't know exactly how it affects the way alcohol is absorbed, but our findings show that carriers of the gene are more susceptible to the effects of drinking and more likely to become alcoholics."
World History
