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Kumis ( , ), alternatively spelled coumis or kumyz, also known as airag ( ), is a traditional fermented dairy product made from mare milk. The drink is important to the peoples of the Central and East Asian , of Turkic peoples and Mongolic peoples origin: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz people, Mongols, and Yakuts. Kumis was historically consumed by the Khitan people, Jurchen people, Magyars, and Han Chinese of North China as well.
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.Law p. 121.
In Mongolia, the drink is called airag (айраг) or, in some areas, tsegee. William of Rubruck, in his 13th-century travels, calls the drink cosmos and describes its preparation among the Mongols.The spelling in William's manuscripts varies, and the most recent editor, Paolo Chiesa, prefers "comos". See Guglielmo di Rubruk, Viaggio in Mongolia (Itinerarium), a cura di Paolo Chiesa, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, Mondadori, 2011.
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.Indra p. 73.
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.Mischler and Sosorbaram (2005–2006). "Ayrag". Mongolian Food Info. Retrieved 11 September 2006. In modern, controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours, at a temperature of around ; this may be followed by a cooler aging period.
Kumis itself has a very low level of alcohol, between 0.7 and 2.5%, comparable to small beer, the common drink of medieval Europe that also helps to avoid the consumption of potentially contaminated water. Kumis can, however, be strengthened through freeze distillation, a technique Central Asian nomads are reported to have employed.McGee p. 761 It can also be made into the distilled beverage known as araka or arkhi.
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. Histories, book four. Translation by George Rawlinson; available online at The Internet Classics Archive.
This is widely believed to be the first description of ancient kumis-making. Apart from the idiosyncratic method of mare-milking, 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 Almond milk on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.Rockhill, William, translator (1900). The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253–55. p. 67. London: Hakluyt Society.
Rubruk also mentions that the Mongols prized a variety of kumis he calls caracomos ("black comos"), which was reserved for "great lords".
In the 19th century, "kumyss" was used to treat gastrointestinal disorders.
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 yaylak or high pasture, where they keep their herds of animals (horse, cattle, and sheep) during the summer phase of transhumance.
Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is supposedly named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting milk.
The famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy in A Confession spoke of running away from his troubled life by drinking kumis.; Transliterated as "kumys".
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.
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