Uzbekistan – UZ006C
Composition: Clay
Colour: Blue
Shape: Raw
The Kessak Clay originates from Uzbekistan, but is sometimes produced in Ukraine. It is commonly used for cosmetic purposes but also eaten as food supplement. It is often a very salty clay, and is known for being addictive.
This sample was obtained on a market in Samarkand.
We found three types of clay sold on the Siab market in Samarkand, which were described by the sellers as salty (grey), fat (brown) and neutral (yellow). According to the sellers the local clay came from around Samarkand, the salty one from Tashkent and and the fat one from the east of the country. Everyone recommended the salty and fat clays to us as the local clay was more rough and had little stones in it.
To read more about our adventures in Central Asia: http://masharu.nl/Museum-of-Edible-Earth-Central-Asia
It tastes like starch