MWW 38: Өрөм

Cyrillic	өрөм
Transcription	öröm
IPA	[ˈөrəm]
Layman’s Pronunciation	OH-rum
Translation	“Mongolian butter”
In Genghis Khan’s time it was örüme.

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Өрөм, sometimes also called Монгол масло (Mongolian butter), is what you get when you boil milk. Americans don’t boil milk at home very often, but when they do they don’t care much for the skin that forms on the top of boiling milk. Mongolians however collect this skin as өрөм. It ends up looking almost like a large omelet. It’s crumblier than butter, and stiffer than margarine. Also, if it gets hot, it sweats milk. And just like butter, Mongolians love to spread it on bread, sometimes with sugar. They also stack dried-out өрөм in candy bowls along with ааруул and бяслаг.

öröm

BONUS POINT: What language did Mongolian take the word масло "butter" from?