Food that conquered the world

The Mongols were, quite simply, the greatest fighting force the world has ever seen. By some counts, at its peak, the Mongol Empire stretched nearly 12 million square miles (31 million square kilometres), an area of land roughly the size of the African continent, from the walls of Constantinople to the Korean Peninsula, from Calcutta to Novgorod.

In 1206, a man named Temujin brought together the Mongols under his singular leader. From then on, he would be known as Genghis Khan, the Great Khan, and go onto form the largest continuous land empire in history, killing some 40 million people in the process, roughly 11% of the world population at the time. The unique culture and food of the Mongols was huge part of why they became the mighty, yet divisive, empire history knows them as today.

The discovery of agriculture is considered one of the single greatest human discoveries, on the same level as the discovery of fire and the invention of the wheel. Yet, a great many peoples didn’t practice much in the way of farming, and the most famous example of this are the Mongols.

Mongolia is located on the Asian Steppe, a vast plateau covered in large part by huge deserts and grasslands. It is a challenging place to survive at the best of times and the only way people have been able to do so is to constantly move. The nomadic lifestyle was forced upon the Mongols by their environment and it’s a testament to them that they turned that into a strength, but it did leave them with one colossal problem. What do you eat when you can’t grow food?

The Mongols were accomplished foragers, their environment demanded it. Wild garlic and onions were highly prized, as will have been many others and as they expanded their empire, many local vegetables will also have become available to them. Traditional Mongol foraging knowledge has been passed down to the people of Mongolia today, but isn’t widely available outside of that. We can assume from the lack of reports of malnutrition and scurvy though that the Mongols of Genghis Khan’s era ate enough fruits and vegetables to stay healthy.

Foraging for edible plants and vegetables was a relatively small part of their diet though. Hunting on the other hand played a significant role. The Mongols would hunt just about anything they could. Records describe them hunting wolves, deer, marmots and foxes, along with some wild birds. Naturally their palette expanded as their empire did and they gained such a love of hunting that Genghis Khan had to order his men to scale it back from fear that they’d wear out their horses before battle.

In spite of the vast herds the nomadic Mongols managed, they rarely ate their own animals and for one very simple reason — diary. They herded goats, sheep, camels, yak, oxen and of course horses. Any one of these animals will provide you with a plentiful supply of milk and so the Mongols took great care of their animals, usually only eating them for special occasions or if they died naturally.

Butter was a staple Mongol food, though it was often boiled in a leather pouch, rather than salted to improve its shelf life. Yogurt would also be made from the milk, as would dried milk curds, called ‘quruts’ by the Mongols. Cheese could also be made by drying it naturally in the wind and sun.

Dairy gave the Mongols an essential, easy food source that was both portable and long-lasting for their long military campaigns.

Feasting was an important, but rare part of Mongol society. The tribes only came together for special occasions before Genghis Khan, but after his rise to power and the uniting of the Mongols, feasting appears to have become more common.

It would be before a feast that the Mongols would kill some of their herd. Horsemeat was prized the most, likely due to the near religious devotion Mongol society placed on horses. Mutton and goat meat would also be eaten, along with requisite foraged plants, fruits, vegetables and whatever animals had been hunted.

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