Health. Koumiss

In the past the Bashkirs used to beat up and keep the koumiss in leather crockery while later on they started using the crockery hollowed out from wood (mainly from the lime-tree) and for beating up twirling sticks with a mushroom base. One of the conditions of making koumiss was the frequent shaking and the abundant froth was the sign of readiness. Koumiss crockery (tubs, cups, scoops) was ornamented with thin carving and the tradition of making koumiss remains up to the present time.

Koumiss-treatment (using koumiss for the medical purposes) was first applied by the Bashkirs and the healing power of koumiss is confirmed by the clinical-laboratorial researches carried out under the guidance of the scientists of the Bashkir Medical University. The mechanism of koumiss's medical effect is caused by the whole complex of healing substances contained by it such as ferments, microelements, antibiotics, vitamins A, Bl, B2, B12, D, E, C (particularly a lot), ethyl alcohol, lactic acid, carbonic gas and others.

The consumption of koumiss benefits functionality of the alimentary canal, metabolism, cardiovascular and nervous systems, the blood-producing organs, the function of kidneys, the glands of inner secretion, increases the immunity. The effectiveness of koumiss was established in the cases of pulmonary and urino-genital sphere tuberculosis, emaciation, anemia, etc and Koumiss is widely used in sanatoriums.
Koumiss is very widespread in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan so if you find yourself in Bishkek you won't find it difficult to taste this drink. It is sold in small (0.51) bottles in big amounts in many supermarkets of the city and the taste of the drink is original so for this reason start the adaptation of the organism to this drink with small portions 50-1OOg in one taking. Like all fermented products koumiss contains a feebly marked percentage of alcohol. The meal is started and ended with koumiss and according to the stories of tourists who have been on the Issik-Kul Lake; the local people make a very delicious koumiss from the milk of yaks.

The color of such koumiss has a pink tint and a sweetish taste but this drink is very nourishing. If one drinks it in the morning on an empty stomach, he will not want to eat for a long time and there is no intoxication. This is another peculiarity of the drink which is if it is drunk while eating then there is light intoxication. The women in Issik-kul treat themselves to a drink, which is made from koumiss and is left to stand for too long. After its percolation they add bread and leave for 1 hour in the sun so that a drink resembling weak c\vodka is obtained. In Tashkent you can taste koumiss in the "Manas" cafe.

Kazakhs considered the interference of a boy (man) in the kitchen affairs, him cooking as shameful but milking mares by men was always treated with respect as this duty was honorable. Probably this is a custom which remained from the Scythian times, described by Herodotus. The remains of koumiss left on the bottom of the cup after drinking should never be pored out. Some not knowing the customs and habits of Kazakhs and sometimes even neglecting them, pour out the remains on to the ground as the Kazakh-host looks on at this visitor with horror. According to Kazakh legends, old man Kambar prepared the first koumiss and he appears in the folk sayings as the protector of horses. People having milked the mare, boiled its milk like the milk of sheep and suffered because it didn't work well. After the processing they make "kurt" (balls made from sour curds and then dried in the shade), cottage cheese. Grand dad Kambar-ata ("ata", "ota", means "father" in Central Asia) made koumiss and taught everybody. In the present times a tradition remains that on the toy of koumiss ("toy", "tuy" a festival with food and music timed to some-kind of event or accompanying some-kind of ritual) all the blessings begin with the ones concerning Kambar, the protector of horses.

Here is one of the wishes on such a festival:
The protector of horses Grand-dad Kambar,
May God fulfill every wish!
I Let there be many mares,
Let there be much koumiss,
Children be healthy,
Relatives harmonious,
Let the unity be strong.

Koumiss was given a magic force, legends and fair-tales which cultivated purity of thought and soul in people were composed about it. Once a man milked the mares in the morning, filled the bucket with milk and put a clean stone at the bottom. The way home to the village took up a lot of time so this is why the stone at the bottom of the bucket, by moving in the milk, whipped koumiss from it. Near the village the man met his neighbor on the road who said with envy: "What a koumiss, like water from a pure stream!" At home the man poured the koumiss into the wineskin and looked into the bucket. It turned out that the stone at the bottom of the bucket split in two so since then people say: "A stone can be split by the tongue, if not a stone then the head".

Other drinks from milk are not less popular with the peoples of Central Asia such as ayran, chalop, katik, as well as the sour milk products which in the different regions of Uzbekistan are called differently. This is suzma or chakka. Suzma is widespread in Surhandarya, and chakka in Jizak and Samarqand. From first hand experience we can say that in Samarkand chakka is very tasty it can be eaten simply with pancakes (lepyoshka). But usually, suzma and chakka is added to soups like katik.
Katik is a clabber from baked milk and Katik (sometimes matsun, matsoni, yoghurt) is widely consumed in pure form and as well as a spice in the national cuisines of the Central Asia, Transcaucasia, Tataria and Bashkiria.

Recipe #1
For making katik you will need milk (11) and a ferment from the previous portion of katik (1OOg). Heat the whole milk to reddish-yellow color and cool to the temperature approximately +40degrees C while adding the ferment (cooled katik) which was thoroughly mixed in a separate dish. After this mix the milk well and wrap up the dish with something warm trying not to shake. If it is not cool in the room then after 6-8 hours katik will be ready and it must betaken to the cold.

Katik can be prepared with beet and cherries. Boil the washed beet, peal it from beet skin and cut into small pieces; remove pits from the cherry, squeeze the cherry pulp with a spoon. Put the beet and cherries in hot milk until fermentation takes place. Pour one glass of sour cream into milk in order to increase the taste quality and sustenance of katik.