Kymyz (kumis, fermented mare's milk)
Mare's milk left to ferment and churned for a long time: it becomes a slightly sparkling, tangy, low-alcohol drink, milky white, drunk cold at the height of summer.
Mare's milk left to ferment and churned for a long time: it becomes a slightly sparkling, tangy, low-alcohol drink, milky white, drunk cold at the height of summer.
At the jailoo, when the mares foaled and the grass was high, the time of kymyz began. We poured the milk into the saba, the smoked leather churn, and all day a hand beat it with the wooden pestle—we never quite stopped, even at night. The milk came alive, became sharp, sour, alive under the tongue. A bowl of fresh kymyz, and the exhausted traveler regained courage: it's not a drink, it's the very breath of the steppe.
- •Fresh mare's milk — full saba (base)
- •Leftover mature kymyz (starter) — a little (seeds the fermentation)
Kymyz (kumis, fermented mare's milk)
Mare's milk left to ferment and churned for a long time: it becomes a slightly sparkling, tangy, low-alcohol drink, milky white, drunk cold at the height of summer.
Why this dish? The anchor of his profile states: kumis was "the fermented mare's milk of his childhood." A sacred drink of Central Asian herders, kymyz returns like a madeleine in Aïtmatov's universe, linked to the summer pastures (jailoo) and the horse herds of his native land.
At the jailoo, when the mares foaled and the grass was high, the time of kymyz began. We poured the milk into the saba, the smoked leather churn, and all day a hand beat it with the wooden pestle—we never quite stopped, even at night. The milk came alive, became sharp, sour, alive under the tongue. A bowl of fresh kymyz, and the exhausted traveler regained courage: it's not a drink, it's the very breath of the steppe.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh mare's milk — full saba (base)
- Leftover mature kymyz (starter) — a little (seeds the fermentation)
Ingredients
- Mare's milk (otherwise, see note) — 1 L (base — the authentic)
- Mature kumis or kefir as starter — 2–3 tbsp (ferment)
Method
- Pour fresh mare's milk (never boiled) into a clean wooden, leather or glass container.
- Add a little mature kymyz as a starter.
- Beat the milk energetically and regularly for several hours at a mild temperature (≈ 20–25°C): the agitation promotes both lactic and alcoholic fermentation.
- Let ripen for 8 to 24 hours depending on desired acidity, stirring often.
- Serve well chilled, in a wide bowl; stir before drinking.
How it was made : The milk was fermented in the saba, a smoked horsehide churn that brought its own ferments and a smoky flavor. The churning pestle is called bishkek—it gave its name to the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Frunze renamed Bishkek, the city where Aïtmatov lived.
The contemporary twist : Real kumis requires mare's milk, unavailable in most kitchens: failing that, one only gets a distant evocation with kefir cow's milk, thicker and less fizzy. Present it honestly as "in the style of" rather than as true kumis.
Chingiz Aitmatov · Charactorium