Maksym Shoro
One of my favourite highlights of Summer, is the appearance of Maksym Shoro.
During long hot summer days – especially in the capital, Bishkek – the streets seem to be lined with people sitting behind a large barrel … from which they dispense cups of cool refreshing liquids.
Amongst the drinks on sale are:
- Carbonated Water – “fizzy” water – which can be plain or with added syrup to give it a flavour
- Russian Kvass – a popular drink throughout Russia and the Slavic countries made from the natural fermentation from bread which has been made from barley, wheat or rye – sometimes with fruit added to the mixture during fermentation to give it taste. (Although homemade Kvass can be mildly alcoholic – so mildly alcoholic that it is sometimes referred to as “children’s beer” – commercially, it is produced like most “soft” drinks.)
- Kyrgyz Tyan (Tan) – a sort of liquid, unsweetened yoghurt, and
- the Kyrgyz classic … Maksym, which was part of the staple diet of Kyrgyz nomads over the centuries, and is variously known as Shoro, Arashan, or the by the generic name: Jarma. Rich in minerals (like salt), vitamins – especially those classified as part of the Vitamin B family – it is a very healthy drink.
Maksym Shoro is actually the trademark for the drink manufactured by the firm Shoro. For many years Shoro was the only company producing and selling Maksym on the street like this and so the trade name, “Shoro”, almost became synonymous with Maksym. Nowadays, however, there are several different firms that have adopted the business model and so different “brands” are available on the streets of Bishkek.
Exactly why Taalbyldy Egemberdiev decided to call his company “Shoro” is not clear … in Kyrgyz it means something like “salty”. For example, in the South of Kyrgyzstan there is a mineral water spring called Kara Shoro – and the waters from this particular renowned for being salty.
Brought up by his mother, Taalbyldy graduated from the Polytechnic Institute in Bishkek and became an engineer. After Independence he because a popular figure, writing articles for newspapers on a wide range of subjects. He is most well known, however, for establishing and developing the Shoro Company and brand … which produces mineral waters as well as Maksym. He has been invited to lecture in Turkey and the US – and even met President Clinton.
The Shoro company is a family affair, run by Taalbyldy and his relatives. He is on record as saying that they began with working capital of just two hundred US dollars, which he got by selling four of his mother’s sheep – and two goats. He also says that they began with one “pail” of the drink – which they took to the market and the 80 litres sold out in two hours. They gave up their jobs and started the company. Originally, the family produced the traditional Kyrgyz beverage from his grandfather’s house – but eventually demand grew to exceed the supply … the day’s production, all prepared in the traditional manner using large (100 litre) kazans, would be sold out before mid-day … so production was expanded to meet the demand and now there are five factories producing seventy tons a day. Much of the production is exported – especially to the Moscow area of Russia.
As well as producing Maksym Shoro and mineral waters, the company has experimented with the production of another national drink … Kumys … and has plans for producing other traditional drinks
I was introduced to Maksym by an interpreter who always stopped off on his way into the office to buy a cup from the girl who sat behind a barrel just outside the office for his breakfast . (He was not very good at getting up in the morning and never seemed to manage to organize himself to prepare a proper breakfast.) One day as we were walking back from a meeting, it was a hot and sultry day and so he suggested a refreshing drink, and I agreed. Her walked up to a girl sitting behind her barrel and asked for two small cups of Shoro. My first thoughts on seeing the dark grey brown liquid were not encouraging … something like, “What have I let myself in for? …” I cannot say that II was an immediate convert, but the experience wasn’t unpleasant … and I had no problem on a later occasion to agreeing to have another cup. Slowly the taste for it “grew on me” and I soon found that I actually quite liked it. I would often go for a cup of Shoro in the middle of the day in preference to another cup of coffee.
To be honest, it probably is an example of an “acquired taste”. I remember one occasion walking with a couple of clients through the city center and offering them a cup. They agreed but with a little reluctance, I presume that was down to the warnings about the dangers of consuming “street food”. Without thinking I ordered three “bolshoi”, large, cups. I had, by now, graduated from the small 200 gram paper cups, (sometimes referred to jokingly as “dietskiy” – children’s), to the larger 400 gram cups, (likewise referred to as “vrostliy”, or adult cups.) They gingerly took sips and were about to put the cups down when they saw me down mine “in one” – it was hot … I was thirsty. So they held onto their cups for another few moments and took a few more sips and did manage half of the cups, however, so if I had bought small cups then they would have finished them. It was clear that it was not to their taste and we agreed that they didn’t have to finish the cups. They were from Australia and they suggested that it was like “Marmite” – you either love it, or you hate it. I think that was going too far … but I took the point.
It is also possible to buy Maksym Shoro in plastic bottles – just like other soft drinks, but care is needed when opening the bottles because it is fizzy and can effervesce over the rim. To make matters worse, the contents of the bottle seem to have “settled” and so there is a great temptation to shake the bottle to mix them up again … this is a mistake … when the cap is unscrewed a brown froth emerges top of the bottle and will soak everything.
A recipe for Maksym or Jarma:
Ingredients for ten litres:
- 200g of animal fat, 200g of wheat flour,
- 0.5kg of talkan (splintered barley),
- salt, 10 liters of water,
- 20g yeast.
The flour is cooked in animal fat until it goes a light brown colour. After that it is covered with water. When it starts boiling the talkan is added to the water and boiled for 30 minutes on a low heat. Then it is cooled to 30 degrees C, 100g of flour, and the yeast are melted in salted water are added to the mixture. The mixture should stand for 12 hours in a covered dish. After 12 hours it is then well stirred before serving. It is drunk cold.
Bishkek