KEPHIR. 287 



Under fermented milk may be mentioned the "ropy" milk which 

 is still prepared in Scandinavia. The fermentation which takes 

 place in this kind of milk has, however, nothing to do with alcoholic 

 fermentation. 



134. Kephir, or Kefir, Kyphir, and Kafir, and, as it is known in 

 the Caucasus, Kyppe, was for long only known to the hill-dwellers in 

 the Caucasus. In Germany it first became known in the year 1882. 

 It is prepared from the milk of different mammals, chiefly from 

 cows' milk, with the help of a special ferment. This ferment, the so- 

 called kephir grains, which are granular lumps about the size of peas 

 or beans, of a hard nature, and of a yellow colour, is first dissolved 

 in water, to which milk is added. After a few hours, at a suitable 

 temperature, fermentation takes place, accompanied by an active 

 evolution of gas, which is accompanied with a slight characteristic 

 noise. After two or three days the kephir is ready for use. By 

 frequently shaking the vessel in which the kephir is contained, 

 first the separation of cream, and subsequently the formation of a 

 lumpy coagulum, are retarded. The kephir grains, which are known 

 in the original habitat of the kephir as the "Prophet's grains", 

 on account of their value, consist of yeast cells and bacteria, 

 the nature and action of which has been investigated by Hueppe. 

 The results of his investigations have been discussed in 44. 

 They convert a portion of the milk-sugar into lactic acid, and 

 another portion into alcohol and carbonic acid, but they do not 

 appear to alter the nitrogenous matter of the milk, at any rate not 

 to any extent. Kephir is best prepared at 12 to 15 C., since th,e 

 fermentations at this temperature proceed quietly, and the lactic 

 fermentation especially is delayed to a desirable extent. The casein 

 separates out at the beginning of the fermentation in a finely 

 flocculent condition, which, as long as the evolution of carbonic acid 

 actively continues, collects in the upper portion of the bottle, above 

 comparatively clear whey, and which later on sinks to the bottom, 

 and may thus be perfectly distributed throughout the liquid by 

 shaking. 



Good kephir should foam, and should neither taste strongly acid 

 nor possess a lumpy coagulum. It is used as a tonic for convales- 

 cents and weak people, and is specially adapted for those patients 

 in whom it is desired to raise the general strength of the system. 

 Its action in all cases is excellent. 



