CHAPTER XXXVI 

 MILK BEVERAGES 



THE preparation of alcoholic beverages is dependent 

 upon the fermentation of sugar by yeasts. It follows, 

 therefore, that if the sugar in milk could be attacked by 

 yeasts, the milk would be transformed into an alcoholic 

 beverage. As a matter of fact, milk-sugar is not readily 

 fermented by yeasts as is cane-sugar. Besides, the milk- 

 bacteria, and, particularly, the lactic-acid bacteria, 

 seem to exclude the yeasts to a great extent, so that no 

 alcoholic fermentation takes place in it. Nevertheless, 

 there are conditions under which lactic acid and other 

 bacteria seem to work in harmony with yeasts and lead 

 to the accumulation in milk of both lactic acid and of 

 alcohol. A number of different beverages, namely, 

 kefir, kumiss and matzoon, that are thus prepared from 

 milk, are highly esteemed in some countries and are 

 even recommended for invalids. 



Kefir. This beverage, which first became known in 

 Asia, is made now in Europe and America also. It is 

 prepared from cow's milk by means of so-called kefir 

 grains, yellowish, hard, rather irregular masses that 

 have been used from time immemorial in the Caucasus, 

 and whose origin is shrouded in mystery. The kefir 

 grains are first immersed in lukewarm water and after- 



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