496 MANUAL OF MILK PRODUCTS 



and it is probable that their preparation and use developed 

 gradually by accident and cumulative experience. One of the 

 first of the fermented milks known to Europeans was the 

 kefir, made from the milk of sheep, goats, or cows in the Cau- 

 casus Mountains and neighboring regions. Kefir differs from 

 most of the fermented milks of the Mediterranean countries 

 in that it is made from a dried preparation and contains con- 

 siderable quantities of alcohol and gas. Kefir is made by many 

 tribes under varying names, as "hippe," "kepi," "khapon," 

 "kephir," "kiaphir," and "kaphir," all of which are said to 

 come from a common root signifying a pleasant or agreeable 

 taste. 



For a large part of their food the mountaineers of the Cau- 

 casus depend on kefir, which they prepare in leather bottles 

 made from the skins of goats. In the summer the skins are 

 hung outdoors, either in the sun or in the shade, according to 

 the weather, but in winter they are kept in the house. The 

 bags are usually hung near a doorway, where they may be 

 frequently shaken or kicked by each passer-by. Fresh milk is 

 added as the kefir is taken out, and the fermentation con- 

 tinues. Made and propagated in this way, foreign bacteria 

 become mingled with the essential bacteria of the grains, and 

 abnormal and frequently disagreeable flavors result. When 

 the milk is drawn off, in order to prevent the escape of gas, a 

 string is first tied around the neck of the leather bottle, so that 

 the small part wanted for use is held between the stricture and 

 the opening. In the villages and the low country kefir is made 

 in open earthen or wooden vessels, and most of the gas escapes. 



Small, yellowish, convoluted masses are observed in kefir, 

 which are called seeds or "grains." These grains consist of a 

 central filament of two parts, of which the outer spreads out, 

 forming the convoluted polyp-like exterior. These parts are 

 built up one upon another, giving the large grains a coral-like 

 appearance. The central part is made up of a mass of bacterial 



