Marco Polo arrived in Mongolia in 1275 and stayed in Kublai Khaan’s court for 17 years. During this time, he made written records of how the Mongols used powdered milk. It seems amazing that Mongolians were producing dehydrated milk during the medieval 13th century, but powdered milk was processed by hand for the needs of daily life.

S. Jambaldorj wrote about dried milk in his book, A Treasure of Mongolian Secrets. How did the Mongols make powdered milk? There is the following method: add millet and rice to milk little by little, and boil it until it becomes as thick as cream; then let it dry.

Mongolians still produce powdered milk in the Gobi regions. Herders of Dundgobi and Omnogobi aimags process Tsulkhir – “goosefoot” or “wild spinach”, a pod-bearing pea plant which grows in sandy soil – by hand and have been using it in place of rice and flour since ancient times. After tsulkhir is ripe, it is gathered and dehydrated in the open air at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Tsulkhir rice: the dehydrated tsulkhir is cleaned completely and is used in place of millet for making tea and meals. Tsulkhir flour: dehydrated goosefoot plants are mashed in a mortar until they become as powdery as snuff; it is used fo making various meals and pastries.

I clearly remember that during the zud disaster of the Year of the Monkey, 1944-45, when flour and rice were scarce, the elders of my birthplace, in the Gobi, were using flour and rice made of tsulkhir.

Dehydrated milk made of tsulkhir was consumed all over Mongolia through the long, cold winter and spring. First of all, rice of the herbaceous plant is dried until its bitter taste is gone. Then a bunch is fried in a cast-iron pan. A ladle of the fried rice is then cooked in milk. The cooked rice is dehydrated in the open air. Afterwards, it is mashed into flour. Finally, the dehydrated tsulkhir milk is stored in a cool, dry place.

A tablespoon of the powdered milk is ample for a whole kettle of tea.