Booze drink

In reference literature, you can find information about the Turkic origin of the buza drink, which was traditionally prepared from millet, barley, buckwheat, wheat and oat cereals or flour. At the same time, sensible dictionaries often describe buza as "a special thick and cloudy drink, a genus of wheat kvass. "

By the way, the buza drink, along with the buzaji drink - its manufacturer and the buza khan - a drinking establishment where it was served, were mentioned in the travel notes of the great Ottoman traveler Evliy Celebi, who had a chance to visit Crimea.

According to some sources, the buza drink is older in origin than beer, which is based on fermentation of malt. Meanwhile, the classic booze drink is based on lactic acid fermentation of starch, contained in wheat flour.

In Crimea, millet is considered the main source component of the booze drink, much less often - barley, rice or wheat, as well as sugar, yeast and water. Sometimes raisins, bekmes, honey, vanilla, milk, malt, hops are added to the buza drink. However, the main principle of its preparation is fermentation, after which the strength of the buza drink is about 2-3, and after a long exposure - 5 degrees.

Crimean old-timers (people of completely different nationalities) continue to maintain an enthusiastic nostalgic attitude to the booze drink. True, unfortunately, today for the majority of the indigenous population of Crimea and visitors, it has become exotic, although it remains the national drink of the indigenous peoples of Crimea, turning from everyday to festive.

The recipe for making a booze drink involves boiling millet until the cereal is completely boiled. After that, it is wiped through a sieve and poured with boiling water. As the millet mass cools, it is added with yeast steam, sugar and everything mixes well. By the way, for the manufacture of a yeast base, unicellular mushrooms are ground in warm water with the addition of flour, and when the mass comes up, it is poured into a millet solution.

At the next stage of the buza beverage preparation, the container with the contents is closed with a lid and left in a warm place for one and a half days. Then the whole mass is mixed, bottled and well blocked with plugs, which are preferably tied with wire, since weak plugs often fly out.

After three days, the booze drink is ready. It is customary to store bottles with it in a cold place so that the useful properties of the buza drink do not weaken. Interestingly, old-timers assure that the buza drink, aged for about a week, becomes a special strength and quality. It is called bash-buza, which translates as "all buz-buz! "