WELCOME TO KAZAKHSTAN

Aigerim Musagazhinova is a Kazakhstani ethnographer, PhD in history and an expert on traditional Kazakh cuisine. For over 15 years, she has been studying and reviving the gastronomic heritage of her people: collecting forgotten recipes, systematizing them, and exploring the cultural aspects of nutrition.Many articles have been written about her about the revival of national cuisine, but Aigerim spoke especially for the Qazaq Culture website about the nation's ethnocode, clean eating and the important connection between a farmer and a consumer.- Aigerim, you talk a lot about the importance of telling about the richness of our national cuisine and culture. You are constantly looking for new recipes and traditions of your ancestors. How did you come up with the idea of ​​popularizing ethnoculture in Kazakhstan?- I am an ethnographer myself and since 2001 I have been traveling to villages and regions, spending a lot of time on expeditions, studying intangible culture and heritage. At first, I was interested in family and everyday rituals, but over time I became interested in food and national cuisine. I was a little offended to hear that Kazakh cuisine is supposedly limited to baursaks and kuyrdak. But in fact, there are more than 40 types of kumys, and the technologies for preparing it are different. Then I realized: we have a huge and rich food culture, and we need to talk about it, share it, and preserve it.- National cuisine is not just food, it is a whole philosophy. What dishes do you especially remember?- Each region has its own “flagship” dishes. There are recipes that were traditionally prepared only by women, or vice versa - only by men. The first dish in my ethnographic menu was ulpershek - a symbol of parental love for a daughter.For example, shubat differs in taste and cooking technology in different parts of the country: it all depends on the climate, water, and grasses on which the animals graze. Our cuisine is a real treasure trove, and we must pass this knowledge on to the younger generation.- You recently published a book, “Kazakh Cuisine: Taste and Traditions,” where you collected 50 unique recipes out of more than 200 found during expeditions. What are your plans now?- Yes, creating the book required a lot of effort. Now I understand: it is important not only to preserve the recipes, but to develop domestic production. We have already studied the product, its properties, and the characteristics of the regions. It saddens me that today's youth is carried away by energy drinks that are harmful to health. Why not tell us about the barberry leaves that grow in our mountains? You can make tea from them — it is a natural antioxidant!Our ancestors have been drinking mare's and camel's milk since time immemorial. And today, in modern realities, we can quite easily develop our own production of kumiss, shubat, along with any fashionable drinks.And the aroma of thyme, sorpa, beshbarmak is part of our ethnic code.- You also opened a chain of ethno-gastronomic restaurants. These are more than restaurants — they are cultural spaces. Tell us about the concept and the uniqueness of the products.- I especially like tare — a product that we associate with mother's milk. It does not contain gluten, it is very healthy. We brew tea, coffee, and cook porridge based on tare. We even developed a special technology for making coffee based on tare.Now many restaurants are opening with an ethno-concept — and I am only happy about this. But it is important not just to copy, but to develop a local product, to study the characteristics of each region. This is the only way we can build a strong gastronomic identity.I also believe that it is important to train farmers, to reduce the distance between them and consumers. I am for honest, clean production. It should be important to us what our animals eat and how the product gets to the shelves.- So you think that gastro-tourism is also a path to cultural revival?- Absolutely! We have everything to show Kazakhstan to the world as a real gastronomic country. Kumys tours, tastings, participation of farmers in festivals, creation of regional brands.It is important that domestic farmers know each other, interact, participate in joint projects. This is the only way we will preserve our real cultural code.