Koumiss
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and ferment
Take fresh mare's milk and add one-sixth part water.
Pour the mixture into a wooden vessel.
Add one-eighth part sour cow's milk as a ferment.
Cover the vessel with a thick cloth.
Place the vessel in a warm area for 24 hours.
Rest and churn
After 24 hours, a thick creamy substance will form on top.
Use a stick to blend the creamy substance with the liquid below.
Let it rest for another 24 hours.
Pour the mixture into a taller, narrower vessel and agitate until homogeneous.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fresh mare's milk
- Forms the base liquid whose sugars feed the fermentation that thickens and sours it.
- Sour cow's milk
- Acts as the starter, adding lactic bacteria that sour the milk and help it thicken.
The step that matters
Place the vessel in a warm area for 24 hours. Warmth keeps the lactic bacteria active so the milk sours and thickens evenly. Cold slows the fermentation, while overly hot conditions can let spoilage organisms take over.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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