So Let’s Talk About Yak Cheese Please!

Yak cheese - mmm - yum yum yum ...!

Yup these tasty little morsels were gifts from the wonderful Sanord aka ‘Papa’, from Nepal.  As ‘Indy’ Jackson booted about the Savanah mid-morning, we became a little nippish.  Well Sanord pulled out a package.  Yak Cheese it said.  “Would you like to try one?” he asked.  “Sure”,  I was game.  He handed me a dry hard squarish sort of thing.  I tried it with my teeth but it was bone hard.  “No no, you put it in your mouth and suck on it.” he said.  Well I certainly couldn’t bite it and it was too big to swallow, so in the mouth it went.  “How long does it take to soften?” I asked.  “Be patient,” Saroj said, “It takes a while and then you can begin to taste it.” he said with a bit of a wry smile.  “Are you having one?” I asked Saroj?  “No” guffawed Saroj.

Saroj and Colonel Karke

So I began sucking away.  Sucking and sucking and sucking.  Laughing, commenting and sucking.  After about half an hour I said, “thanks for this Sanord, this is really good,” sarcastically!  A very little of the outside could be gnawed off with your teeth and it tasted like bits of paper, in other words, nothing.  Still this big dry bone-like thing sat in my mouth.  I was determined.  Victor and Nicholas were also diligently trying it out.

The Kings of the Jungle chilling out after dinner.

We get to the marker that shows the border between Tanzania and Kenya.  There is about 23 m of no-mans land here.  We gathered for a shot.  I think I was maybe over an hour still sucking this block of tasteless nothing.  It had not softened by much at all.  Still tasteless.  “Hey I know a good use for this Yak Cheese,” I mused.  “If you kid is asking for candy you can give them a piece and tell them that they can have another piece of candy once they have done this one.  And they have to show it to you when it is half way done too.”  We all laughed over the potential cruelty of that act, but really, I think it is a good idea.

The gang at the border point between Kenya and Tanzania

Anyway, soon it was lunch and I gave up.  I spit the yak cheese out not much further along.  “Did you spit it out?” asked Nicholas.  “Yup – that sucker wasn’t changing at all and my jaw is tired.”  Out went Nicholas’ then Victor’s.  Oh oh, I started something.  Later that day, still ribbing Sanord about the Yak cheese and laughing I asked him, “Hey did you finish your piece afterall?”  “Oh yeah,” he says, “I have it in my pocket for later.”  Yeah right Sanord, nice try.

My domocile at the Masai Mara camp

But I have some Yak cheese to take home now.  Perhaps when I am bored one day on a long plane ride I will give a piece another chance.  Perhaps it is ok once softened.  Maybe I should just put it in boiling water or something.  But really, you guys in Nepal, do something about that Yak cheese, there has got to be a better way to offer it up!!!