Sep 24 2008
things I learned today about grease
The lard I typically buy to make bortsuk, a Mongolian beignet-like (but not sweet) bread, is called “soolni toc” translating into “tail fat”. My counterpart told me today that that’s what they make from fat-tail (like there are any other kinds here) sheep’s behinds. When I asked about, say, cow-based lard/tallow, she seemed incredulous, saying that other animals are bony and don’t really have the right tails for that. Hmm.
I tried to explain how presumably beef rendering works (as in, trimming fat off cuts and heating it) but she seemed uninterested in the idea. Not sure if this is because it’s related to a totally foreign reality or because eating fat is tasty…
I also learned that “shar toc” (“yellow grease”) is the fat that separates from horse milk when you are churning it to make airag (that fizzy fermented milk drink). It’s that stuff here you’ll see in repurposed pickle jars that is added by the dollop to milk tea or other foods, like berees (I don’t even know how to explain that other than as a flour-fat mixture mixed with raisins(?) that’s sort of griddled to a roux consistency). Apparently while soolni toc can be used for either cooking or frying, shar toc is only for cooking.
In other news, I have a nagging stomach issue/ache that makes me not want to eat much. And I made bortsuk to bring to my boss, who is staying(?) at the hospital for the next 10 days or so. Hence the whole grease discussion playing out above.
