Distinctivebrew
Coming from San Francisco, I’m accustomed to seeing milk alternatives at every cafe and grocery store. But it wasn’t until last week, here in Kyrgyzstan, that I was introduced to one I’d never heard of — horse milk.
They call it kymys, and it’s fermented. The first step to making it is Farmer 1 walking the foal up to the mare to start nursing. Once it starts, Farmer 1 pulls the foal away and Farmer 2 steps in to manually milk the horse milk into a bucket.
Step two is to ferment it in a wooden or leather case. Step three is to serve it to your guests over the summer.
Kymys is so popular that Kyrgyz will go to rural areas for 7-10 days just to drink the milk. Apparently there are lots of health benefits. One of the side effects for newbies, however, is nearly immediate, um, “stomach issues.” Knowing this, we only tried a few sips and emerged unscathed.
Dana is convinced, however, that this is an inevitable wellness trend, wherein influencers will be peddling kymys retreats to Central Asia and, alongside almond, oat, soy and coconut, horse milk will be available in every coffee shop in San Francisco.
Maybe. We’re heading back into the mountains tomorrow to do some more research.
taylor
They call it kymys, and it’s fermented. The first step to making it is Farmer 1 walking the foal up to the mare to start nursing. Once it starts, Farmer 1 pulls the foal away and Farmer 2 steps in to manually milk the horse milk into a bucket.
Step two is to ferment it in a wooden or leather case. Step three is to serve it to your guests over the summer.
Kymys is so popular that Kyrgyz will go to rural areas for 7-10 days just to drink the milk. Apparently there are lots of health benefits. One of the side effects for newbies, however, is nearly immediate, um, “stomach issues.” Knowing this, we only tried a few sips and emerged unscathed.
Dana is convinced, however, that this is an inevitable wellness trend, wherein influencers will be peddling kymys retreats to Central Asia and, alongside almond, oat, soy and coconut, horse milk will be available in every coffee shop in San Francisco.
Maybe. We’re heading back into the mountains tomorrow to do some more research.
taylor