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{{Short description|Fermented dairy product made of mare milk}}
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{{Infobox food
| name            = Kumis
| image           = Kumys-bottle.jpg
| image_size      = 240
| caption         = A bottle and glass of kumis
| alternate_name  =
| country         =
| region          =
| creator         =
| course          =
| type            = Dairy product
| served          =
| main_ingredient = [[Mare milk]]
| variations      =
| calories        =
| other           =
}}

'''''Kumis''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|uː|m|ɪ|s}} {{respell|KOO-mis}}, {{small|rarely}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ʌ|m|ɪ|s}} {{respell|KUM-is}}), alternatively spelled '''''coumis''''' or '''''kumyz''''',{{efn|See other [[transliteration]]s and [[cognate word]]s below under the [[#Terminology and etymology|terminology and etymology section]].}} also known as '''''airag''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|r|æ|g}} {{respell|EYE-rag}}),{{efn|{{langx|otk|airag}}; {{langx|xal|әәрг}} {{lang|xal|äärg}}; [[Buryat language|Buryat]] and [[Khalkha Mongolian|Khalkha]] {{langx|mn|айраг}} {{IPA|mn|ˈæe̯rə̆q|}}}} is a traditional [[Fermented milk products|fermented dairy product]] made from [[mare milk]]. The drink is important to the peoples of the Central and East Asian [[steppe]]s, of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]] origin: [[Kazakhs]], [[Bashkirs]], [[Kalmyks]], [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]], [[Mongols]], and [[Yakuts]].<ref name=" Zeder">{{cite book | author=Zeder, Melinda A. | title= Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms | publisher=University of California Press | year=2006 | isbn=0-520-24638-1 | pages=264}}</ref> Kumis was historically consumed by the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]s, [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]s, [[Magyars]], and [[Han Chinese]] of North China as well.<ref>{{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Eugene N. |year=1988 |title=The Food of China |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BAcknxN_S8QC |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0300047398 |page=80}}</ref>

''Kumis'' is a [[dairy product]] similar to [[kefir]], but is produced from a liquid [[starter culture]], in contrast to the solid kefir "grains". Because mare's milk contains more sugars than cow's or goat's milk, when fermented, ''kumis'' has a higher, though still mild, [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] content compared to kefir.

Even in the areas of the world where ''kumis'' is popular today, mare's milk remains a very limited commodity. Industrial-scale production, therefore, generally uses cow's milk, which is richer in fat and [[protein]], but lower in [[lactose]] than the milk from a horse. Before [[fermentation (food)|fermentation]], the cow's milk is fortified in one of several ways. [[Sucrose]] may be added to allow a comparable fermentation. Another technique adds modified [[whey]] to better approximate the composition of mare's milk.<ref>Law p. 121.</ref>

==Terminology and etymology==
{{Wiktionary|koumiss}}

''Kumis'' comes from the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] word ''kimiz''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kumiss|title=Kumiss – Define Kumiss at Dictionary.com|work=Dictionary.com}}</ref>{{efn|{{langx|az|{{noitalic|قیمیز гымыз}}|qımız}}, {{IPA|az|gɯˈmɯz|IPA}}; {{langx|tk|gymyz}} {{IPA|tk|ɢɯˈmɯð|}}; {{langx|tr|kımız}} {{IPA|tr|kʰɯˈmɯs|}}; {{langx|kk|қымыз|qymyz}}, {{IPA|kk|qəmə́z|IPA|Pronunciation kk қымыз.ogg}};<ref>[https://forvo.com/word/%D2%9B%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%8B%D0%B7/#kk How to pronounce қымыз], forvo.com</ref> {{langx|tt|кымыз|qımız}}, {{IPA|tt|qɤˈmɤz|IPA}}; {{langx|ky|кымыз|qımız}}, {{IPA|ky|qʰɯmɯ́s|IPA}}; {{langx|ba|[[wikt:ҡымыҙ|ҡымыҙ]]|qımıź}}, {{IPA|ba|qɯ̞ˈmɯ̞ð|IPA}}; {{langx|sah|кымыс|kımıs}}, {{IPA|sah|qɯˈmɯs|IPA}}; {{langx|tyv|хымыс|xımıs}}, {{IPA|tyv|χɤmɤ́s|IPA}}; {{langx|uz|қимиз|qimiz}}, {{IPA|uz|qɨˈmɨz|IPA}}; {{langx|ru|кумыс|kumys}}, {{IPA|ru|kʊˈmɨs|IPA}}; {{lang-zh|马奶酒|mǎnǎijiǔ}}, {{IPA|zh|mànǎɪtɕjòʊ|IPA}}}} [[Gerard Clauson]] notes that ''kımız'' is found throughout the Turkic language family and cites the 11th-century appearance of the word in ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk]]'' written by [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]] in the [[Karakhanid language]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clauson|first1=Gerard|author-link1=Gerard Clauson|title=An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish|url=https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict0000clau|url-access=registration|date=1972|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|page=[https://archive.org/details/etymologicaldict0000clau/page/629 629]|isbn=978-0-19-864112-4 |edition=1st}}</ref>

In [[Mongolia]], the drink is called ''airag'' ({{lang|mn|айраг}})<ref>{{Cite web |title=Airag – Fermented Mare's Milk – Mongolian Beverage |url=https://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/airag.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117075844/https://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/airag.html |archive-date=17 January 2024 |website=www.mongolfood.info}}</ref> or, in some areas, ''tsegee''. [[William of Rubruck]], in his 13th-century travels, calls the drink ''cosmos'' and describes its preparation among the [[Mongols]].<ref>The spelling in William's manuscripts varies, and the most recent editor, [[Paolo Chiesa]], prefers "comos". See ''Guglielmo di Rubruk, Viaggio in Mongolia (Itinerarium)'', a cura di Paolo Chiesa, Milano, Fondazione Lorenzo Valla, Mondadori, 2011.</ref>

==Production of mare milk==
[[File:Mare milking Suusamyr.jpg|thumb|A mare being milked in the [[Suusamyr Valley]], [[Kyrgyzstan]]]]

A 1982 source reported 230,000 mares were kept in the [[Soviet Union]] specifically for producing milk to make into ''kumis''.<ref>{{cite book | author=Steinkraus, Keith H. | title=Handbook of Indigenous Fermented Foods | year=1995 | publisher=Marcel Dekker | isbn=0-8247-9352-8 | pages=304}}</ref> Rinchingiin Indra, writing about Mongolian dairying, says "it takes considerable skill to milk a mare" and describes the technique: the milker kneels on one knee, with a pail propped on the other, steadied by a string tied to an arm. One arm is wrapped behind the mare's rear leg and the other in front. A foal starts the milk flow and is pulled away by another person, but left touching the mare's side during the entire process.<ref>{{cite book | author = Indra, Rinchingiin | chapter = Mongolian Dairy Products | title = Mongolia Today: Science, Culture, Environment and Development | publisher = Routledge | year = 2003 | editor = Dendev Badarch, Raymond A Zilinskas | isbn=0-7007-1598-3 | pages=74}}</ref>

In Mongolia, the milking season for horses traditionally runs between mid-June and early October. During one season, a mare produces approximately 1,000 to 1,200 litres of milk, of which about half is left to her foal.<ref>Indra p. 73.</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Homemade airag in Mongolia.jpg|thumb|A glass of homemade Mongolian ''airag'', prepared in the blue plastic barrel in the background.]]

''Kumis'' is made by fermenting [[raw milk]] (that is, [[Pasteurization|unpasteurized]]) over the course of hours or days, often while stirring or churning. (The physical agitation has similarities to [[Churning (butter)|making butter]].) During the fermentation, [[lactobacillus|lactobacilli]] bacteria [[acid]]ify the milk, and [[yeast]]s turn it into a [[Carbonation|carbonated]] and mildly [[Alcoholic beverage|alcoholic drink]].

Traditionally, this fermentation took place in horse-hide containers, which might be left on the top of a [[yurt]] and turned over on occasion, or strapped to a saddle and joggled around over the course of a day's riding. Today, a wooden vat or plastic barrel may be used in place of the leather container.<ref>Mischler and Sosorbaram (2005–2006). [http://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/ayrag.html "Ayrag"]. Mongolian Food Info. Retrieved 11 September 2006.</ref> In modern, controlled production, the initial fermentation takes two to five hours, at a temperature of around {{convert|27|°C|°F}}; this may be followed by a cooler aging period.<ref>{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | isbn=0-684-80001-2| pages=46| edition=Revised }}</ref> 

''Kumis'' itself has a very low level of alcohol, between 0.7 and 2.5%,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/microbiologybioc00lawb |title=Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk |publisher=Springer |year=1997 |isbn=0-7514-0346-6 |editor=Law, B A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/microbiologybioc00lawb/page/n134 120] |url-access=limited}}</ref> comparable to [[small beer]], the common drink of [[medieval Europe]] that also helps to avoid the consumption of [[water-borne diseases|potentially contaminated water]]. ''Kumis'' can, however, be strengthened through [[fractional freezing|freeze distillation]], a technique Central Asian nomads are reported to have employed.<ref>McGee p. 761</ref> It can also be made into the [[distilled beverage]] known as ''[[Arak (drink)|araka]]'' or ''[[arkhi]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongol Arkhi – Milk Liquor – Beverage from Mongolia |url=https://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/mongol-arkhi.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117075830/https://www.mongolfood.info/en/recipes/mongol-arkhi.html |archive-date=17 January 2024 |publisher=www.mongolfood.info}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Kumyss, in the intestinal disorders of infants and young children (IA 101167246.nlm.nih.gov).pdf|thumb|Kumyss, in the intestinal disorders of infants and young children]]

Archaeological investigations of the [[Botai culture]] of ancient [[Kazakhstan]] have revealed traces of milk in bowls from the site of [[Botai (archaeological site)|Botai]], suggesting the domestication of dairy animals.<ref name=outram>{{cite journal|last=Outram|first=A. K.|author2=Stear, N. A. |author3=Bendrey, R. |author4=Olsen, S. |author5=Kasparov, A. |author6=Zaibert, V. |author7=Thorpe, N. |author8= Evershed, R. P. |title=The Earliest Horse Harnessing and Milking|journal=Science|date=6 March 2009|volume=323|issue=5919|pages=1332–1335|doi=10.1126/science.1168594 |pmid=19265018|bibcode=2009Sci...323.1332O|s2cid=5126719}}</ref> No specific evidence for its fermentation has yet been found, but considering the location of the Botai culture and the nutritional properties of mare's milk, the possibility is high.

''Kumis'' is an ancient beverage. [[Herodotus]], in his 5th-century BC ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'', describes the [[Scythians]] processing of mare's milk:

<blockquote>Now the Scythians blind all their slaves, to use them in preparing their milk. The plan they follow is to thrust tubes made of bone, not unlike our musical pipes, up the vulva of the mare, and then to blow into the tubes with their mouths, some milking while the others blow. They say that they do this because when the veins of the animal are full of air, the udder is forced down. The milk thus obtained is poured into deep wooden casks, about which the blind slaves are placed, and then the milk is stirred round. That which rises to the top is drawn off, and considered the best part; the under portion is of less account.<ref>''Histories'', book four. Translation by George Rawlinson; available online at [http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.4.iv.html The Internet Classics Archive].</ref></blockquote>

This is widely believed to be the first description of ancient kumis-making.<ref name="Kurmann">{{cite book |author=Kurmann, Joseph A. |title=Encyclopedia of Fermented Fresh Milk Products |publisher=Springer |year=1992 |isbn=0-442-00869-4 |page=174 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> Apart from the idiosyncratic method of mare-milking,<ref>{{cite web |last=Sheridan |first=Paul |date=30 May 2015 |title=How to Make Kumis the Scythian Way |url=http://www.anecdotesfromantiquity.net/how-to-make-kumis-the-scythian-way/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201122912/http://www.anecdotesfromantiquity.net/how-to-make-kumis-the-scythian-way/ |archive-date=1 December 2021 |access-date=27 August 2015 |publisher=Anecdotes from Antiquity}}</ref> it matches up well enough with later accounts, such as this one given by 13th-century traveller [[William of Rubruck]]:

<blockquote>This ''cosmos'', which is mare's milk, is made in this wise. […] When they have got together a great quantity of milk, which is as sweet as cow's as long as it is fresh, they pour it into a big skin or bottle, and they set to churning it with a stick […] and when they have beaten it sharply it begins to boil up like new wine and to sour or ferment, and they continue to churn it until they have extracted the butter. Then they taste it, and when it is mildly pungent, they drink it. It is pungent on the tongue like rapé wine when drunk, and when a man has finished drinking, it leaves a taste of [[Almond milk|milk of almonds]] on the tongue, and it makes the inner man most joyful and also intoxicates weak heads, and greatly provokes urine.<ref>Rockhill, William, translator (1900). ''The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253–55''. p. 67. London: Hakluyt Society.</ref></blockquote>

Rubruk also mentions that the Mongols prized a variety of kumis he calls ''caracomos'' ("black comos"), which was reserved for "great lords".

In the 19th century, "kumyss" was used to treat [[gastrointestinal disorder]]s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/101730285.nlm.nih.gov/page/n9/mode/2up |title=Kumyss|last=Brush|first=EF|date=1882|publisher=New York: Tremain & Co.}}</ref>

==Consumption==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Саксаул Ресторан, kymyz-flavored ice cream.jpg|thumb|Kumis-flavored ice cream at a restaurant in [[Astana]], Kazakhstan]]

Strictly speaking, ''kumis'' is in its own category of [[alcoholic drink]]s, because it is made neither from fruit nor from grain. Technically, it is closer to wine than to beer, because the fermentation occurs directly from sugars (wine is usually fermented directly from fruit, whereas beer relies on starches, usually from grain, which convert to sugars by [[mashing]]). In terms of experience and traditional manner of consumption, however, it is much more comparable to beer and is even milder in alcoholic content than beer. It is arguably the region's beer equivalent.

''Kumis'' is very light in body compared to most dairy drinks. It has a unique, slightly sour flavor with a bite from the mild alcoholic content. The exact flavor is greatly variable between different producers.

''Kumis'' is usually served cold or chilled. Traditionally it is sipped out of small, handle-less, bowl-shaped cups or saucers, called ''[[piyala]]''.  The serving of it is an essential part of Kyrgyz hospitality on the ''[[yaylak|jayloo]]'' or high pasture, where they keep their herds of animals (horse, cattle, and sheep) during the summer phase of [[transhumance]].

==Cultural role==
During the [[Yuan dynasty]] of China, kumis was essentially made to be the replacement of tea. Furthermore, [[Möngke Khan]], the fourth Great Khan of the [[Mongol Empire]], had a drinking fountain made in his capital of [[Karakorum]], including kumis alongside Chinese [[rice wine]], Scandinavian [[mead]], and Persian [[Wine|grape wine]] as a symbol of the empire's diversity and size.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Standage |first1=Tom |title=A history of the world in 6 glasses |date=16 May 2006 |publisher=Walker & Co. |isbn=978-0802715524 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802715524/page/182 182] |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780802715524/page/182 |access-date=20 December 2019 |chapter=5 }}</ref>

[[Bishkek]], the capital of [[Kyrgyzstan]], is supposedly named after the paddle used to churn the fermenting milk.<ref>{{Cite web |title=История города |url=http://www.meria.kg/ru/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240203195934/https://bishkek.gov.kg/ru/history |archive-date=3 February 2024 |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=Мэрия |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bishkek Capital of Islamic Culture 2014 |url=https://www.icesco.org/en/bishkek-capital-of-islamic-culture-2014/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112212626/https://www.icesco.org/en/bishkek-capital-of-islamic-culture-2014/ |archive-date=12 November 2022 |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=ICESCO-En}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 March 2022 |title=In Kyrgyzstan, a taste of the 'purest milk imaginable' |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/5efd328e-bcdd-41ec-96c1-1aec00f38d74 |access-date=11 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 July 2022 |title=This Asian country is betting on fermented horse milk to attract tourists |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/kyrgyzstan-kumis-fermented-milk-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401013421/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/kyrgyzstan-kumis-fermented-milk-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-date=1 April 2024 |access-date=11 November 2022 |website=CNN}}</ref>

The famous Russian writer [[Leo Tolstoy]] in ''[[A Confession]]'' spoke of running away from his troubled life by drinking ''kumis''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classicallibrary.org/tolstoy/confession/3.htm |title= Tolstoy, Leo – Confession}}; Transliterated as "kumys".</ref>

The Russian composer [[Alexander Scriabin]] was recommended a kumis diet and "water cure" by his doctor in his twenties, for his nervous condition and right-hand injury.

The Japanese soft drink [[Calpis]] models its flavor after the taste of ''kumis''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Story of "CALPIS"|url=http://www.calpis.net/features/story/index.html|work=Calpis|access-date=30 December 2014|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520122705/https://www.calpis.net/features/story/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Food}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Ayran]]
* [[Blaand]]
* [[Buttermilk]]
* [[Cacık]]
* [[Calpis]]
* [[Chal]]
* [[Doogh]]
* [[Mattha]]
* [[Chaas]]
* [[Leben (milk product)|Laban]]
* [[Lassi]]
* [[Suutei tsai]]
* [[Tarasun]]
* [[List of ancient dishes]] and foods
* [[List of dairy products]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category inline|Kymyz}}

{{Yogurts}}
{{Cuisine of Turkey}}
{{Turco-Mongol}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Fermented dairy products]]
[[Category:Fermented drinks]]
[[Category:Horse products]]
[[Category:Kazakh cuisine]]
[[Category:Russian cuisine]]
[[Category:Buryat cuisine]]
[[Category:Tuvan cuisine]]
[[Category:Kalmyk cuisine]]
[[Category:Altai cuisine]]
[[Category:Yakut cuisine]]
[[Category:Bashkir cuisine]]
[[Category:Tatar cuisine]]
[[Category:Soviet cuisine]]
[[Category:Kyrgyz cuisine]]
[[Category:Ancient dishes]]
[[Category:Mongolian alcoholic drinks]]