Angira Shaburova, About milk vodka and diet in the past

Abstract

Angira says that milk vodka is made from chigyan, which is a kind of fermented milk. Vodka is distilled in two pots connected with a wooden pipe. To render them airtight, the pots are smeared with mud on the outside. The bigger pot is put on a fire and chigyan is poured into it. As the chigyan boils, the steam moves through the pipe to the other pot where it cools down into liquid. Since it is difficult to procure large amounts of milk vodka, in the past relatives would make small quantity of vodka and then contribute it to the collective endeavor such as weddings and other holidays. In the past, Kalmyk diet included bulmug, soups, cooked meat, tea and chigyan.