Fermented milk originates from the Near East and subsequently became
popular in Eastern and Central Europe. Dairy products are prepared from
milk of various domestic animals, but mare’s milk is not appropriate for
processing to cheese. For this reason, nomadic peoples have used
unpasteurized mare’s milk for fermentation, to prepare an alcoholic
beverage named kumiss.
Kumiss – National fermented milk product from mare’s milk mixed lactic
acid and alcoholic fermentation, traditionally common among the peoples
of Central Asia since era chalcolithic (about 3500 B.C), as well as in
Bashkiria, Yakutia and other regions horse breeding.
In Kazakh it is known as Qımız(is). Different names of koumiss in other
languages are: koumis (French), (German), kumyss, kumys, кумыс
(Russsian).
Kumiss, prepared in dry inland Asia, is a carbonated alcoholic beverage
prepared by fermenting raw horse milk with lactic acid bacteria and
yeast. It contains 2% alcohol, 0.5-1.5% lactic acid, 2-4% milk
sugar and 2% fat and it tastes like sour ayran. The quality of
Kumiss is markedly influenced by factors affecting the quality of mare’s
milk: grass eaten by horses, habitat and microclimate conditions of the
herders’ home (temperature).
The technological process of industrial production kumiss consists of the following:
A* Raw material processing (filtering, to determine the quality of milk);
B* Yeast fermentation and shaking for 60 min. by mixer at temperature 26- 28 °C;
C* Spill in glass bottles, capping, labeling;
D* maturation at room temperature for 2-3 hours;
E* Cooling to 6 °C;
F* storage and transport at t. 4-6 °C.
Depending on the time of ripening, kumiss divided into 3 categories:
mild (maturation 1 day), medium (maturation 2 days); strong (maturation
of 3 days).
Kumiss manufacturing
