Om Mahmoud, a 50-years-old housewife from Minya, Upper Egypt, never thought that one day she would be forced to stop preparing the Keshk dish, a time-honoured culinary staple of Upper Egypt, but the increasing prices had the final say in the matter.
Kesh is a traditional dish with roots tracing back to the Pharaohs, as ancient Egyptians relied heavily on grains in their diet. People in Minya governorate added eggs to the dish, turning it into a nutritious and affordable meal for low-income families.
“As the prices kept increasing, we started having Kesh once a week only, unlike before when Keshk with eggs was present on our table at least twice a week,” said Om Mahmoud.
Om Mahmoud’s family, and other families in Minya, had to shift to eating potatoes and fried eggplant during the rest of the week, at the cost of 65 EGP, for one kilogram of raw Keshk costs 50 EGP, while it used to cost 25 EGP per kilogram last year.
The same applied to Om Ali, 55-years-old housewife from Minya, “we used to enjoy Keshk with eggs two or three times a week because it’s a nutritious dish with eggs and sour milk. However, with the rising prices, everything has changed.”
Om Essam, a 57-years-old ghee, eggs, and Keshk seller in Minya market, explains how to prepare Keshk, “you need a jar of milk, i.e. milk kept in a clay jar, then you mix the milk with dried wheat after being boiled and fermented for twenty-four hours.”
“A clay jar of milk, weighing between 17 and 20 kilograms, costs around 600 EGP. When approximately 40 kilograms of wheat, costing 500 EGP, is added, the cost of producing one kilogram of Keshk comes to 40 EGP. Including an additional 5 EGP for production costs, it is sold to the public at 50 EGP per kilogram,” explained Om Essam, clarifying that the dish’s price has increased by 100% compared to last year, “As the prices of wheat and milk jars increase, the cost of Keshk also rises since they are its primary ingredients.”
Om Mohamed, a 40-years-old housewife from Minya, describes Keshk as a satisfying fast meal, “I feel that Keshk and eggs dish makes my children feel full for a long time, unlike other days when I cook for them meat or vegetables or chicken.”
She explains that they enjoy eating Keshk, especially with added eggs, as it is incredibly tasty; “Keshk costs 50 EGP per kilogram, 5 eggs cost 30 EGP, bread costs 20 EGP, green salad costs 20 EGP, and ghee and spices cost 10 EGP, bringing the total to 130 EGP.”
As for the dishes the families in Minya decided to have instead of Keshk currently, Om Mohamed, 40 years old from Minya, says, “Keshk and eggs dish currently costs the same as other dishes, like vegetables, rice, potatoes, and eggplant. But the Keshk dish is healthy and the whole family loves it.”
“If I didn’t have enough money to prepare Keshk, I would resort to eating eggplant and potatoes,” said the 45-years-old Om Amer.