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KOUMISS

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 920 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KOUMISS , See also:

milk-See also:wine, or milk See also:brandy, a fermented alcoholic beverage prepared from milk. It is of very See also:ancient origin, and according to See also:Herodotus was known to the Scythians. The name is said to be derived from an ancient See also:Asiatic tribe, the Kumanes or Komans. It is one of the See also:staple articles of See also:diet of the Siberian and Caucasian races, but of See also:late years it has also been manufactured on a considerable See also:scale in western See also:Europe, on See also:account of its valuable medicinal properties. It is generally made from mares' or camels' milk by a See also:process of See also:fermentation set up by the addition to the fresh milk of a small quantity of the finished See also:article. This fermentation, which appears to be of a symbiotic nature, being dependent on the See also:action of two distinct types of organisms, the one a fission fungus, the other a true yeast, eventuates in the See also:conversion of a See also:part of the milk See also:sugar into lactic See also:acid and See also:alcohol. Koumiss generally contains r to 2 % of alcohol, 0.5 to 1.5% of lactic acid, 2 to 4% of milk sugar and 1 to 2% of See also:fat. Kefir is similar to koumiss, but is usually prepared from cows' milk, and the fermentation is brought about by the so-called Kefir Grains (derived from a plant).

End of Article: KOUMISS

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