Airag (Kumis)

Airag, known as kymyz among Turkic peoples, has accompanied the lives of steppe horsemen for millennia, in lands where horse herding shaped seasonal migrations. Herodotus already reported in the fifth century BCE on Scythian practices of fermenting mare's milk, evidence of this ancient know-how. Marco Polo, crossing the Mongol empire, in turn described this white, sparkling beverage served at the tables of khans as well as simple herders. A drink of yurts as much as imperial courts, it symbolized the bond between man, horse, and the nourishing land of the great plains. Its preparation, passed down from mother to daughter through generations, remains to this day a powerful marker of identity for the nomadic peoples of Mongolia and Central Asia.

• 5 liters of raw mare's milk
• a starter of already fermented airag (or alternatively leftover from a previous fermentation)
• a leather skin bag made from horse or cow hide (khөөрөг)
• clean water for rinsing the skin bag

1. Milk the mare freshly, several times during the day depending on the animal's availability.
2. Pour the milk into the leather skin bag previously cleaned and lightly smoked for sanitation.
3. Add a portion of starter from a previous fermentation to initiate the process.
4. Beat and churn the bag's contents regularly and continuously, several hundred times a day, using a wooden stick called a bishkuur.
5. Allow to ferment at room temperature, continuing daily beating for one to three days depending on the desired acidity and effervescence.
6. Draw off the desired quantity for consumption, while keeping a base of starter in the bag for the next preparation.

Airag presents a tangy and slightly sharp flavor, close to whey, with a discreet hint of alcohol born from natural fermentation. Its texture is fluid, effervescent on the palate, sometimes frothy depending on the intensity of beating. The aroma evokes raw milk and the smoked wood of the skin bag, with slightly acrid notes characteristic of traditional fermented dairy beverages.