442 MICROBIOLOGY OF MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS 



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 antiquity. Fermented milk beverages have become very 

 popular during the last few years among aU the civilized peoples, 

 partly because they make a pleasant drink but more especially because 

 of their supposed therapeutic value, t 



KuMYSs (Komass, Kmiiss, 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 dcidi. Whether or not the yeasts are the common forms used 

 by bakers canUot be stated with certainty. 



Kumyss can be easily prepared in the household by the addition 

 of cane sugar and baker's yeast to fresh, warm milk which should be 

 kept at a temperature of about 38° (ioo°F.) until gas begins to form. 

 It should then be bottled and be 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. 



* Deut. 32:14. 



t Metchnikoff's Prolongation of Life. 



t Milch Zeitung, September, 1889. 



§ New York Medical Journal, January 4, 1908.' 



