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Food & Ingredients Nutritional Science 4 min read

Koumiss – traditional fermentation methods, nutritional biochemistry, and therapeutic properties of fermented mare's milk

Tomasz Jankowski
Tomasz Jankowski ✓
Diets Premium Expert • 23.10.2026
✓
Scientifically reviewed by a clinical dietitian: This article has been peer-reviewed for adherence to IŻŻ, WHO, and PTGiP clinical nutritional standards.
Diets Premium Expert Tomasz Jankowski min read 4 min Scientifically reviewed by a clinical dietitian 23.10.2026
Koumiss – traditional fermentation methods, nutritional biochemistry, and therapeutic properties of fermented mare's milk

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Key Takeaways

Koumiss (kumis / airag) represents one of the most venerable and biologically sophisticated fermented dairy beverages in human civilizational history, crafted for millennia by nomadic pastoralists across the Central Asian steppes. Distinct from bovine dairy products, authentic koumiss is cultured exclusively from mare's milk, undergoing simultaneous symbiotic lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, sanatorium-based koumiss therapy ('koumisotherapy') functioned as an established clinical modality for pulmonary tuberculosis, cachexia, and severe gastrointestinal wasting, famously sought by Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. An authoritative examination of mare's milk biochemistry, fermentative microflora, probiotic resilience, and heritage methods.

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Cucumbers

It is a popular drink among the pastoral nomadic peoples: Mongol, Kyrgyz, Tatar, Basque. In Europe and the United States, it is produced on the basis of much more readily available glass, appropriately modified cow's milk. Usually its preparation was spread as early as the 12th or 13th century.

How about production?

Traditionally, rubber is produced in the spring/summer season. The liquid version is nothing more than a small amount of dissolved old rubber. The milk obtained from them is poured into a special bag called a chöchura from animal skin (yellow/sheep/goat/cowskin) turned inside with hair. Then an acid is added, which can take two forms: dry or liquid. Its liquid form is nothing less than a tiny amount of diluted old rubbish.

A list of the organoleptic types and properties

It is rather rare, resembles diluted milk, slightly gaseous and cashy (the presence of carbonic acid). It has a milky-white, mildly blue colour. Its taste can be described as sour, sparkling, lightly yeasty and sweet. Over time, as the process of fermentation progresses, it becomes more sticky and hotter. Depending on the concentration of lactic acid, it is characterized by a weak (low), medium and strong (strong). In the following criteria, acidity increases, which is related to the progressive conversion of lactose to fatty acid.

It has a nutritional value

Coconut milk has a value of 23% ethanol, 2% fat, 2% lactose, 1% protein, 0.51, 5 lactic acid, about 0.3% mineral salts, carbonic acid (gasing) is also present. In addition, coconut contains antibiotic substances, enzymes and vitamins: mainly group B (tiamin, riboflavin, niacin, cobalt), vitamin D, E, and significantly more vitamin C than other fermented beverages.

It's a matter of properties

The medicinal properties of cumin were widely reported, especially in medical publications of the second half of the 19th century. Based on observations of people who naturally used cumin in their diet, it was found that there was virtually no tuberculosis among its members and that in spring, when they were weakened after a lack of food during the winter months, cumin allowed them to quickly regain their strength. These observations were treated as an indication of how to use cumin for the treatment of severe drought in Europeans.

Tags

#Nutritional Composition Of Milk #Nutritional Composition #Nutritional Beverage #Nutritional Benefits #Health Benefits #Fermentation #Traditional #Beverage #Kefir
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