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[[Image:Kumys-bottle.jpg|right|thumb|200px|A bottle and glass of kumis.]]
'''Kumis''' (or ''kumys'', see other [[transliteration]]s and [[cognate word]]s below under [[Kumis#Terminology and etymology|terminology and etymology]]) is a [[Fermented milk products|fermented dairy product]] traditionally made from [[mare (horse)|mare]]'s milk. The drink remains important to the peoples of the [[Central Asia]]n [[steppe]]s, of Turkic and Mongol origin:  [[Bashkirs]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Kyrgyz]], [[Yakuts]], [[Mongol]]s and [[Kalmuk]]s.<ref name=" Zeder">{{cite book | author=Zeder, Melinda A. ed. | title= Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms | publisher=University of California Press | year=2006 | isbn=0-520-24638-1 | pages=.264}}</ref> It was also consumed by [[Hungarian people|Hungarian]] tribes.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}

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 the [[cow]]'s or [[goat]]'s milk fermented into kefir, kumis has a higher, though still mild, [[alcohol]] content.

Even in the areas of the world where kumis is popular today, mare's milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production of kumis 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 (food)|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]] in order to better approximate the composition of mare's milk.<ref>Law p. 121.</ref>

==Terminology and etymology==
[[Image:Bowl of Kumis.JPG|thumb|Mongolian airag]]
Kumis is also [[transliterated]]  ''kumiss'', ''kumiz'', ''koumiss'', ''kymys'', ''kymyz'', ''kumisz'', ''kymyz'', or ''qymyz'' ({{lang-kk|қымыз}}, {{IPA-kk|qəmə́z|}}; {{lang-tr|kımız}}; {{lang-tt|кымыз}}; {{lang-ky|кымыз}}, {{IPA-ky|qɯmɯ́z|}}; {{lang-ba|ҡымыҙ}} ''qımıź'' {{IPA-ba|qɯmɯð|}}; [[Yakut language|Yakut]]: кымыс; ''kymys''; [[Tuvan language|Tuvan]]: ''хымыс''; {{lang-uz|qimiz}}, {{IPA-uz|qɨmɨz|}}).  The Russian word ({{lang-ru|кумыс}}) comes from the [[Turkic languages|Turkic word]] ''qımız''.<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kumiss Dictionary.com Unabridged - Kumiss entry]</ref>  The word ''kumis'' is thought to derive from the name of the [[Kumyks]], one of many [[Turkic peoples]].<ref name="Kurmann">{{cite book|author=Kurmann, Joseph A. et al. | title=Encyclopedia of Fermented Fresh Milk Products | year=1992 | publisher=Springer | isbn=0-442-00869-4 | pages=174}}</ref>

In [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]], the drink is called ''airag'' ({{lang-mn|айраг}} {{IPA-mn|ˈai̯rək|}}) or, in some areas, ''chigee''.<ref>[http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/ayrag.html Ayrag - Fermented Mare's Milk - Mongolian Beverage<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[William of Rubruck]] in his travels calls the drink ''cosmos'' and describes its preparation among the [[Tartars]]

==Production of mare's milk ==
A 1982 source reported that 230,000 horses were kept in the [[USSR]] specifically for producing milk to make into ''kumis''.<ref>{{cite book | author=Steinkraus, Keith H. ed | title=Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods | year=1995 | publisher=Marcel Dekker | isbn=0-8247-9352-8 | pages=304}}</ref>
[[File:Mare milking Suusamyr.jpg|thumb|A mare being milked in [[Suusamyr valley]], [[Kyrgyzstan]].]]
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.<ref>{{cite book | author = Indra, Rinchingiin | chapter = Mongolian Dairy Products | title = Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment and Development | publisher = Routlege | year = 2003 | editor = Dendev Badarch, Raymond A Zilinskas | isbn=0-7007-1598-3 | pages=74}}</ref>

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 kilograms of milk, of which about half is left to the foals.<ref>Indra p. 73.</ref>

==Nutritional properties of mare's milk==
During fermentation, the lactose in mare's milk is converted into [[lactic acid]], [[ethanol]] and [[carbon dioxide]], and the milk becomes an accessible source of nutrition for people who are lactose intolerant.<ref>See also [http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_5.htm Nutritional Adaptation] by O'Neil, Dennis, Palomar College: "In the Indian subcontinent and much of Central and Western Asia, dairy products are consumed frequently but usually only after bacteria (lactobacilli) have broken down the lactose.  After this has occurred, milk becomes [[yoghurt]] or kumis, both of which are relatively easily digested even by people who produce little [[lactase]]."</ref>

Before fermentation, mare's milk has almost 40% more lactose than cow's milk.<ref>By weight, cow's milk averages 4.8% lactose and mare's 6.3%. McGee p. 13.</ref> According to one modern source, "unfermented mare's milk is generally not drunk", because it is a strong [[laxative]].<ref name="Zeder"/> [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]]'s ''On Agriculture'', from the 1st century BC, also mentions this: "as a laxative the best is mare's milk, then donkey's milk, cow's milk, and finally goat's milk...";<ref>{{cite book | author=Humphrey, John W | title=Greek and Roman Technology: A Sourcebook | publisher=Routledge | isbn = 0-415-06137-7 | pages=131}}</ref> drinking six ounces (190&nbsp;ml) a day would be enough to give a lactose-intolerant person severe intestinal symptoms.

==Production of ''kumis'' ==
''Kumis'' is made by fermenting raw unpasteurized [[Mare (horse)|mare]]'s milk over the course of hours or days, often while stirring or churning. (The physical agitation has similarities to [[Churning (butter)|making butter]]).  During the fermentation, [[lactobacillus|Lactobacilli]] [[bacteria]] [[acid]]ify the milk, and [[yeast]]s turn it into a [[carbonation|carbonated]] and mildly [[alcoholic beverage|alcoholic drink]].

Traditionally, this fermentation took place in a horse-hide container, which might be left on the top of the [[yurt]] and turned over on occasion, or strapped to the 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.<ref>Mischler and Sosorbaram (2005-2006). [http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/ayrag.html Ayrag]. Mongolian Food Info. Retrieved 11 September 2006.</ref>

Other accounts from some cities in northern or western China have it that the skin, partially filled with mares' milk, is hung at the door of each home during the season for making such beverages, and passersby, who are familiar with the practice, give each such skin a good punch as they walk by, agitating the contents so that they would turn into kumis rather than coagulate and spoil.

In modern controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours at a temperature of around 27°C (80°F); this may be followed by a cooler aging period.<ref>{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | isbn=0-684-80001-2| pages=46}}</ref> The finished product contains between 0.7 and 2.5% alcohol.<ref>{{cite book|author=Law, B A ed.|title=Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk|year=1997|publisher=Springer|isbn=0-7514-0346-6|pages=120}}</ref>

''Kumis'' itself has a very low level of alcohol, comparable to [[small beer]], the common drink of [[medieval Europe]] that also avoided the consumption of [[water-borne diseases|potentially contaminated water]].  ''Kumis'' can, however, be strengthened through [[freeze distillation]], a technique Central Asian nomads are reported to have employed.<ref>McGee p. 761</ref> It can also be [[distillation|distilled]] into the [[distilled beverage|spirit]] known as ''araka'' or ''arkhi''.<ref>[http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/mongol-arkhi.html Mongol Arkhi - Milk Liquor - Beverage from Mongolia<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

== History ==

Kumis is an ancient beverage. [[Herodotus]], in his 5th century BC ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'', describes the [[Scythians]]' processing of mare's milk:

<blockquote>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.<ref>''Histories'', book four. Translation by George Rawlinson; available online at [http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.4.iv.html The Internet Classics Archive].</ref></blockquote>

It is widely believed that this is a description of ancient kumis making,<ref name="Kurmann"/> and it matches up well enough with later accounts, such as this one given by 13th-century traveller [[William of Rubruck]]:

<blockquote>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|milk of almonds]] on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.<ref>Rockhill, William, translator (1900). ''The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253-55''. p. 67. London: Hakluyt Society.</ref></blockquote>

== Health ==
[[Image:A Treatise on Koumiss.jpg|right|thumb|180px|In the West, Kumis has been touted for its health benefits, as in this 1877 book also naming it "Milk [[Champagne (wine)|Champagne]]".]]
Toward the end of the 19th century, kumis had a strong enough reputation as a [[cure-all]] to support a small industry of "kumis cure" resorts, mostly in southeastern Russia, where patients were "furnished with suitable light and varied amusement" during their treatment, which consisted of drinking large quantities of kumis.<ref>{{cite book|author=Thompson, William Gilman|title=Practical Dietetics|year=1906|publisher=D. Appleton|pages=84}}</ref> W. Gilman Thompson's 1906 ''Practical Diatetics'' reports that kumis has been cited as beneficial for a range of [[chronic diseases]], including [[tuberculosis]], [[bronchitis]], [[catarrh]],  and [[anemia]]. Gilman also says that a large part of the credit for the successes of the "kumis cure" is due not to the beverage, but to favorable summer climates at the resorts.<ref>Gilman p. 81 and 84.</ref> Among notables to try the kumis cure were writers [[Leo Tolstoy]] and [[Anton Chekhov]]. Chekhov, long-suffering from tuberculosis, checked into a kumis cure resort in 1901. Drinking four bottles a day for two weeks, he gained 12 pounds but no cure.<ref>Boyd, William (2004). [http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/shared/WebDisplay/0,,213820_1_0,00.html Anton Chekhov: An A-Z]. A Penguin Classics feature. Retrieved July 12, 2006.</ref>

== Consumption ==
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, as in wine (usually from fruit), as opposed to from starches (usually from grain) that had been first [[wort (brewing)|worted]] to be converted to sugars, as in beer. But in terms of experience and traditional manner of consumption it is much more comparable to beer. It is even milder in alcoholic content than beer and is usually consumed cold. 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.

As indicated above, ''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]].

One custom that may be disturbing to the visitor's notions of [[hygiene]] is that of pouring the dregs of each cup back into the ''kumis'' storage container.  That way, none is wasted, and the hostess assures herself that there will be enough for future visitors.

==Cultural role==
The capital of [[Kyrgyzstan]], [[Bishkek]], is named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting milk, showing the importance of the drink in the national culture.

In ''[[A Confession]]'', [[Leo Tolstoy]], a famous Russian writer, spoke of running away from his troubled life by drinking kumis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/confession/3.htm |title= Tolstoy, Leo - Confession}}; Transliterated as "kumys".</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
*[[Ayran]]
*[[Blaand]]
*[[Cacık]]
*[[Doogh]]
*[[Lassi]]

== References and notes ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Alcohol and health}}

[[Category:Fermented foods]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Dairy products]]
[[Category:Horse products]]
[[Category:Central Asian cuisine]]
[[Category:Mongolian cuisine]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani cuisine]]
[[Category:Turkic loanwords]]
[[Category:Yoghurts]]

[[ba:Ҡымыҙ]]
[[bg:Кумис]]
[[ca:Kumis]]
[[de:Kumys]]
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[[eo:Kumiso]]
[[fr:Kumiz]]
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[[he:קומיס]]
[[ka:კუმისი (სასმელი)]]
[[kk:Қымыз]]
[[la:Cosmos (potio)]]
[[lt:Kumysas]]
[[hu:Kumisz]]
[[mn:Айраг]]
[[nl:Koemis]]
[[ja:馬乳酒]]
[[no:Kumiss]]
[[pms:Koumyss]]
[[pl:Kumys]]
[[pt:Kumis]]
[[ru:Кумыс]]
[[sah:Кымыс]]
[[fi:Kumissi]]
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[[tr:Kımız]]
[[uk:Кумис]]
[[zh:马奶酒]]
[[Category:2Fix]]