RELATION OF MICROORGANISMS TO SOME SPECIAL DAIRY PRODUCTS. 367 



before his guests and that Moses told the Israelites that curdled milk was 

 one of the blessings which Jehovah had given to his chosen people.* 

 History also tells us that the wandering tribes of Arabia used fermented 

 milk as a beverage. For centuries many of the tribes of eastern Europe 

 and western and middle Asia and parts of Africa have used sour milk 

 for food. Each of these regions appears to have had its own particular 

 milk beverage resulting from the particular bacterial flora of the region. 



The sour milk products which are now on the market under a variety 

 of names have been derived from these original sour-milk drinks of an- 

 tiquity. Fermented milk beverages have become very popular during the 

 last few years among all the civilized peoples, partly because they make 

 a pleasant drink but more especially because of their supposed therapeutic 

 value, f 



KUMYSS (KOUMISS, KUMISS, ETC.). Kumyss derives its name from the 

 Kumanes, a Russian tribe which lived along the river Kuma. This drink 

 was prepared from mare's milk by placing it in a leather bag and adding 

 a small amount of old kumyss as a starter. J In this country kumyss 

 is made from cow's milk. This product is now placed upon the market 

 by a number of companies who keep their methods, so far as possible, 

 from their rivals by maintaining strict secrecy in regard to the methods 

 of preparation. Dr. Piffard who has done special work on this product 

 states that kumyss is fermented by the action of yeasts and lactic bacteria. 

 This fermentation produces approximately i per cent of alcohol and 

 about 0.75 per cent of acid. Kumyss is strongly effervescent. The 

 lactic organisms used in the preparation of this material appear to be 

 a strain of the common Bact. lactis acidi. Whether or not the yeasts 

 are the common forms used by bakers cannot be stated with certainty. 



Kumyss can be easily prepared in the household by the addition of 

 can sugar and baker's yeast to fresh, warm milk which should be kept 

 at a temperature of about 38 (100 F.) until gas begins to form. It should 

 then be bottled and kept at a cool temperature. In one or two days 

 a slight amount of alcohol will be formed and a sufficient amount of carbon 

 dioxide to cause marked effervescence. 



KEFIR (KEFYR, KEPHIR, KEFR, Etc.). Kefir was orginally made 

 and used by the inhabitants of the Caucasus Mountains. It was made 



* Deut. 32:14. 



f Metchnikoff's Prolongation of Life. 



j Milch Zeitung, September, 1889. 



New York Medical Journal, January 4, 1908. 



