Jarma (, []) is a cold beverage made from ground grains found in the cuisine of Kyrgyzstan. While related to the fermented drink maksym, it is not fermented, and is instead often mixed with

ayran Ayran ( ) is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is consumed across Central Asia, and the Balkans, in Turkey and Iran. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are ...

(liquidy yoghurt) to result in a similar fizzy sensation. A commercially produced version of jarma is available from the companies Shoro and

Enesay Enesay () is a beverage company in Kyrgyzstan. Its primary products are Tan (), Arshan (), and Tamshan (). These beverages are based on the traditional Kyrgyz drinks chalap, maksym, and a mix of them, respectively. They also sell bottled wa ...

. It is marketed as thirst-quenching and immunity-strengthening (due to its

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic scale, microscopic size, which may exist in its unicellular organism, single-celled form or as a Colony (biology)#Microbial colonies, colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen ...

and

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

contents), and Shoro produces it without

GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...

ingredients or

preservatives A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or b ...

History

During the

Soviet era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, jarma was made and drunk exclusively in the private sphere. Commercial production of the drink began in the early 1990s by the Shoro company. Today it is sold in stores and from barrels on the street throughout Kyrgyzstan, and is a popular go-to chilled drink during the summer. A small-scale producer and vendor in

Nooken District Nooken District (, before 1992: ''Lenin District'') is a district of Jalal-Abad Region in western Kyrgyzstan. The administrative seat lies at Masy. Its area is , and its resident population was 145,187 in 2021. Population Towns, rural communiti ...

was charging 23 soms (about 0.40 USD) per litre of jarma in the summer of 2015.

Preparation

The exact ingredients and preparation of Jarma vary by region and taste. It can be thick or watery. Generally,

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, or

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

is fried and ground by a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

(including by hand). The ground meal is sifted to separate the

chaff Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...

and other parts of the cereal. One way of preparing jarma involves 4 to 5 litres of water, 200 to 300 grams of ground grain, one tablespoon of cooking oil, one tablespoon of wheat flour, and salt to taste. First the flour is fried in the oil, and water is added. As the water starts to boil the ground grain is added in a way to avoid lumps. It's then cooked until it starts to get thick (and will thicken more when cooling). The result is called jarma, though any sort of dairy product (

suzma Strained yogurt, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, kerned yogurt or labneh is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preser ...

, or

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

) may then be added so that it's more drinkable. Jarma available commercially always contains grain and dairy elements.

References

{{Reflist Drinks Food and drink in Kyrgyzstan