Susan Carmack wrote:
> 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 from
> an Arabian country, I believe.
Kefir is from Caucus Mountain region (Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaidjan), may be
other countries as well. I have no idea about kumis. I know kefir is available
in many stores and there are several companies making it in US.
I made kefir as a kid a few times. As I recall you take milk, put some kefir
(or its culture) into it, and some rye bread. Don't remember what the bread
is for, or even if it was necessary. I don't think it came out tasting/looking
the same way as a store bought variety, but I did get some kind of fermeted
drink. There may have been other things to put into milk as well. Oh, and if
you do try that, then use real rye bread. Make sure the ingredients say rye,
water, salt and pretty much nothing else. A lot of rye breads sold in US are
wheat with just a little rye and caramel/other coloring to make them dark.

If you are into experimentation there are quite a few other fermented milk
drinks out there. At one time my favorite was "Ryazhenka" (sp?) that looks
a little more solid (and clumpy) than kefir (but less solid than yogurt) and
is pink.

Hope that helps, Ilya
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