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Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir, but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir "grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars than cow's or goat's milk, when fermented, kumis has a higher, though still mild, alcohol content compared to kefir.
Even in the areas of the world where kumis is popular today, mare's milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production, therefore, generally uses cow's milk, which is richer in fat and protein, but lower in lactose than the milk from a horse. Before fermentation, the cow's milk is fortified in one of several ways. Sucrose may be added to allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modified whey to better approximate the composition of mare's milk.[3]
Terminology and etymology
Look up koumiss in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
In Mongolia, the drink is called airag (айраг)[7] or, in some areas, tsegee. William of Rubruck, in his 13th-century travels, calls the drink cosmos and describes its preparation among the Mongols.[8]
A 1982 source reported 230,000 mares were kept in the Soviet Union specifically for producing milk to make into kumis.[9] Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process.[10]
In Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of which about half is left to her foal.[11]
Production
A glass of homemade Mongolian airag, prepared in the blue plastic barrel in the background.
Traditionally, this fermentation took place in horse-hide containers, which might be left on the top of a yurt and turned over on occasion, or strapped to a saddle and joggled around over the course of a day's riding. Today, a wooden vat or plastic barrel may be used in place of the leather container.[12] In modern, controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours, at a temperature of around 27°C (81°F); this may be followed by a cooler aging period.[13]
Kumyss, in the intestinal disorders of infants and young children
Archaeological investigations of the Botai culture of ancient Kazakhstan have revealed traces of milk in bowls from the site of Botai, suggesting the domestication of dairy animals.[17] No specific evidence for its fermentation has yet been found, but considering the location of the Botai culture and the nutritional properties of mare's milk, the possibility is high.
Kumis is an ancient beverage. Herodotus, in his 5th-century BC Histories, describes the Scythians processing of mare's milk:
Now the Scythians blind all their slaves, to use them in preparing their milk. The plan they follow is to thrust tubes made of bone, not unlike our musical pipes, up the vulva of the mare, and then to blow into the tubes with their mouths, some milking while the others blow. They say that they do this because when the veins of the animal are full of air, the udder is forced down. The milk thus obtained is poured into deep wooden casks, about which the blind slaves are placed, and then the milk is stirred round. That which rises to the top is drawn off, and considered the best part; the under portion is of less account.[18]
This is widely believed to be the first description of ancient kumis-making.[19] Apart from the idiosyncratic method of mare-milking,[20] it matches up well enough with later accounts, such as this one given by 13th-century traveller William of Rubruck:
This cosmos, which is mare's milk, is made in this wise. […] When they have got together a great quantity of milk, which is as sweet as cow's as long as it is fresh, they pour it into a big skin or bottle, and they set to churning it with a stick […] and when they have beaten it sharply it begins to boil up like new wine and to sour or ferment, and they continue to churn it until they have extracted the butter. Then they taste it, and when it is mildly pungent, they drink it. It is pungent on the tongue like rapé wine when drunk, and when a man has finished drinking, it leaves a taste of milk of almonds on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.[21]
Rubruk also mentions that the Mongols prized a variety of kumis he calls caracomos ("black comos"), which was reserved for "great lords".
Kumis-flavored ice cream at a restaurant in Astana, Kazakhstan
Strictly speaking, kumis is in its own category of alcoholic drinks, because it is made neither from fruit nor from grain. Technically, it is closer to wine than to beer, because the fermentation occurs directly from sugars (wine is usually fermented directly from fruit, whereas beer relies on starches, usually from grain, which convert to sugars by mashing). In terms of experience and traditional manner of consumption, however, it is much more comparable to beer and is even milder in alcoholic content than beer. It is arguably the region's beer equivalent.
Kumis is very light in body compared to most dairy drinks. It has a unique, slightly sour flavor with a bite from the mild alcoholic content. The exact flavor is greatly variable between different producers.
Kumis is usually served cold or chilled. Traditionally it is sipped out of small, handle-less, bowl-shaped cups or saucers, called piyala. The serving of it is an essential part of Kyrgyz hospitality on the jayloo or high pasture, where they keep their herds of animals (horse, cattle, and sheep) during the summer phase of transhumance.
Cultural role
During the Yuan dynasty of China, kumis was essentially made to be the replacement of tea. Furthermore, Möngke Khan, the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, had a drinking fountain made in his capital of Karakorum, including kumis alongside Chinese rice wine, Scandinavian mead, and Persian grape wine as a symbol of the empire's diversity and size.[23]
The famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in A Confession spoke of running away from his troubled life by drinking kumis.[28]
The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin was recommended a kumis diet and "water cure" by his doctor in his twenties, for his nervous condition and right-hand injury.
The Japanese soft drink Calpis models its flavor after the taste of kumis.[29]
There is a long history of alcoholic drinks in China. They include rice and grape wine, beer, whisky and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world.
Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar.
Calpis, sold in North America as Calpico, is a Japanese non-carbonated soft drink manufactured by Calpis Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. The beverage has a light, somewhat milky, and slightly acidic flavour, similar to plain or vanilla-flavoured yogurt or Yakult. Its ingredients include water, dry milk, and lactic acid, and it is produced by lactic acid fermentation.
Ayran is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is consumed across Central Asia, and the Balkans. It is very popular in Turkey and Iran. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are carbonated.
Mongolian cuisine predominantly consists of dairy products, meat, and animal fats. The most common rural dish is cooked mutton. In the city, steamed dumplings filled with meat—"buuz"— are popular.
In food processing, fermentation is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohol or organic acids using microorganisms—yeasts or bacteria—without an oxidizing agent being used in the reaction. Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desired. The science of fermentation is known as zymology or zymurgy.
Kyrgyz cuisine is the cuisine of the Kyrgyz, who comprise a majority of the population of Kyrgyzstan. The cuisine is similar in many aspects to that of their neighbors.
An alcoholic beverage is a beverage containing alcohol (ethanol). Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically their alcohol content is between 3% and 50%.
Kefir is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. It is prepared by inoculating the milk of cows, goats, or sheep with kefir grains.
The term Leben, variously laban, liben, lben in the Middle East and North Africa, refers to a food or beverage of fermented milk. Generally, there are two main products known as leben: The yogurt variant for the Levant region and the buttermilk variant for parts of Arabia and North Africa (Maghreb). Leben can be served at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Suutei tsai is a traditional Mongolian beverage.
Symbiotic fermentation is a form of fermentation in which multiple organisms interact in symbiosis in order to produce the desired product. For example, a yeast may produce ethanol, which is then consumed by an acetic acid bacterium. Described early on as the fermentation of sugars following saccharification in a mixed fermentation process.
Carbonated milk or soda milk is a carbonated soft drink. It can be made from powdered milk or fresh milk, and often has added flavor. In addition to modified mouthfeel, carbonated milk also has a longer shelf-life than similarly processed flat milk and a different flavor. It is sold by several companies and is most popular in Asia.
Arkhi is a liquor made from airag, fermented milk brandy, or isgelen tarag which then gets distilled. Isgelen tarag often uses the milk of a mare, donkeys, sheep, cows, the yak, camels (specifically, khormog or of reindeer, depending on local traditions or availability. It holds special status in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, both as the prime spirit of choice among pastoral units and served to esteemed guests.
Isgelen tarag is a yogurt drink made by the Mongolian people, most commonly by nomadic families. It often uses the milk of a mare, donkeys, sheep, cows, the yak, camels (specifically, khormog, or of reindeer, depending on local traditions or availability. It holds special status in Mongolia, Buryatia, and Inner Mongolia, both as the prime spirit of choice among pastoral units and served to esteemed guests.
References
↑ Zeder, Melinda A. (2006). Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms. University of California Press. p.264. ISBN0-520-24638-1.
↑ The spelling in William's manuscripts varies, and the most recent editor, P. Chiesa, prefers "comos". See Guglielmo di Rubruk, Viaggio in Mongolia (Itinerarium), a cura di Paolo Chiesa, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, Mondadori, 2011.
↑ Steinkraus, Keith H. (1995). Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods. Marcel Dekker. p.304. ISBN0-8247-9352-8.
↑ Indra, Rinchingiin (2003). "Mongolian Dairy Products". In Dendev Badarch, Raymond A Zilinskas (ed.). Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment and Development. Routledge. p.74. ISBN0-7007-1598-3.
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