🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Iranians

Iranians are the people of Iran: the 2016 census counted 79.9 million people in the country, and by a World Bank estimate there were 92.4 million in 2025. Most Iranians live in cities, but the census also counts the nomadic population separately. Milk comes above all from sheep and goats: in 2023 Iran had 55.2 million sheep and 18.4 million goats (FAOSTAT).

Cattle number 5.55 million head, and cow's milk makes up the bulk of the yield: 7.65 million t out of 8.48 million t. Sheep's and goat's milk still goes into traditional cheeses and soured milk.

The backbone of the cuisine is the yoghurt mast, served with rice and meat. It is used to make the drink doogh: according to a 2021 study, it is 40–50% yoghurt, water and no more than 1% salt, with acidity below pH 4.5. Kashk is dried low-fat yoghurt without added grain; under Iranian national standard No. 2452, liquid kashk contains at least 8% protein and up to 2% salt. Kashk dresses the aubergine dish kashk-e bademjan.

At Nowruz, which begins on 21 March, families lay a table with symbols of purity and plenty; UNESCO has listed the festival as heritage since 2009. Iran is also a land of ancient wine: at the settlement of Hajji Firuz Tepe in the Zagros Mountains, wine residues from 5400–5000 BC were found. Olives grow here too — 112.6 thousand t in 2023.

Why it matters to you. Homemade doogh tastes good, but a study in Hamadan found mould or yeasts above the limit in all traditional samples and in only 24% of industrial ones, so pasteurised doogh is the safer choice when travelling. Kashk is salty, so dishes made with it need no extra salt.