DISH RESEARCH · Drink
Airag
Also known as: Айраг
Mongolian mare’s milk fermented with retained starter in a cowhide vessel.
About Airag
Mongolia’s National Center for Cultural Heritage documents airag made in a khokhuur, the traditional cowhide vessel. Its account associates this mare’s-milk beverage with nomadic herders, especially Khalkha practitioners in central Mongolia.
Mare’s milk and retained starter are the two named preparation components. Fermentation produces lactic acid and a mildly alcoholic character, and the finished airag has a pleasant aroma.
The finished drink is white and foaming. Its traditional presentation belongs to herding households and social celebrations, where airag is shared with guests and used in offerings.
Allergens in this recipe
Contains: Milk.
Other allergen details are unconfirmed.
Ingredients vary by restaurant. Confirm your allergens with staff before ordering.
Ingredients in Airag
Mongolian traditional khokhuur airag.
- Fresh mare’s milkLiquid
- Retained airag starterBinderIngredient page not linked
Ingredient details & uncertainties
Allergen information is incomplete. Unconfirmed details do not establish that an allergen is absent.
- Fresh mare’s milk: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Milk source-confirmed. Actual mare mammalian milk identity confirms Milk; raw handling details and product composition not independently validated.
- Retained airag starter: Recipe-specific ingredient evidence; Milk source-confirmed. Source starter left inside vessel107; precise prior formula and organisms unprovided, no additional ingredients invented.
Origins & food traditions
Countries
- Mongolia
- MongoliaCatalogue link pending review
Cuisines & regions
- Mongolian Cuisine
- Mongolian CuisineCatalogue link pending review
AI-generated illustration of one possible presentation. Recipes and ingredients vary; the image does not establish allergen content.