MlIiK SPIRIT AND MILK VINEGAR. 681 



In Switzerland, generally, a cow, giving 12 quarts of millt a day will, 

 during the summer, yield a daily produce of 1^ lbs. of whole or full milk 

 cheese — or 10| quarts of milk, about 21 lbs., will give a pound of cheese. 



In the high pastures of Snaria, again, in the same country, one cow 

 will give for the 90 days of summer about 60 lbs. of skiuimed-milk 

 cheese and 40 lbs. of batter — or 11 ounces of cheese per day. 



It appears, therefore, as we should otherwise expect, that the average 

 produce of cheese is affected by many circumstances — but that in this 

 country 8 to 10 lbs. of good milk, in the summer season, will yield' ow« 

 pound of ivhole milk cheese. 



§ 23. Of the fermented liqiurr from milk, and of milk vinegar. 



Milk is capable of undergoing what is called the vinous fermentation, 

 and of yielding an intoxicating liquor. The Tartars prepare such a 

 liquor from mare's milk, to which the name of kou7niss is given. When 

 made from cow's milk it is called airen, and is less esteemed because 

 generally of a weaker quality. The Arabians and Turks prepare a si- 

 milar liquor, which the former call leban, and the latter yaourt. In the 

 Orkney Islands, and in some parts of the north of Scotland and Ireland, 

 butter-milk is sometimes kept till it undergoes the vinous fermentation, 

 and acquires intoxicating qualities. 



It is the sugar contained in milk which, by the fermentation, is changed 

 into alcohol. As mare's milk, like that of the ass, contains more sugar 

 (p. 534) than that of the cow, it gives a stronger liquor, and is therefore 

 naturally preferred by the Tartars. By distillation ardent spirits are ob- 

 tained from koumiss, and when carefully made in close vessels, a pint of 

 the liquor will yield half an ounce of spirit. The koumiss is prepared in 

 the following manner : 



To the new milk, diluted with a sixth of its bulk of water, a quantity 

 of rennet, or what is better, of sour koumiss, is added, and the whole is 

 covered up in a warm place for 24 hours. It is then stirred or churned 

 together till the curd and whey are intimately mixed, and is again left 

 at rest for 24 hours. At the end of this time it is put into a tall vessel, 

 and agitated till it becomes perfectly homogeneous. It has now an agree- 

 able sourish taste, and in a cool place may be preserved for several 

 months in close vessels. It is always shaken up before it is drunk. This 

 liquor, from the cheese and butter it contains, is a nourishing as well as 

 an exhilarating drink, and is not followed by the usual bad effects of in- 

 toxicating liquors. It is even recommended as a wholesome article of 

 diet in cases of dyspepsia or of general debility. 



Milk vinegar. — If the koumiss be kept in a warm place the spirit dis- 

 appears and vinegar is formed. In some parts of Italy a milk vinegar 

 of pleasant quality is prepared by adding honey, sugar, spirit, and a lit- 

 tle yeast to the boiled whey, and setting the mixture aside to ferment in 

 a warm place. [II latte e i suoi prodotti, pp. 415 and 450.] 



§ 24. Of the composition of the saline constituents of milk 



"When milk is boiled down to dryness, and the dry residue burned, a 



small quantity of ash remains behind. The proportion which the 



weight of this ash bears to that of the whole milk is variable — as the 



qualities of the milk itself are — so that 1000 lbs. will leave sometimes 



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