Susan Carmack <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>Since you were speaking of 1000's of years old milk, I was wondering if
>anyone knows how to make kumis or kefir. This is a fermented milk drink ...

A more appropriate question for this list is whether anybody has used a milk
substitute, like soy milk, to make kumiss.

From The Wise Encyclopedia of Cookery, 1971:

Kefir. Milk fermented by the action of certain bacteria and fungi. It is
similar to kumiss (which see), better known in America than kefir.

Kumiss. (Also called koumiss.) Originally, a fermented, intoxicating
beverage made from mare's or camel's milk. The drink is of ancient origin;
Herodotus refers to the use of "kumys" by the Scythians (about 650 B.C.). In
America, kumiss is made from cow's milk, fermented by lactic acid and yeast
cultures. It is a mild, palatable, nourishing beverage with the consistency
of buttermilk. Kumiss can usually be purchased in drugstores.

Yoghurt. Yoghurt is another type of fermented milk similar to kumiss and
kefir. ....

Don.