Ahhhhh, ohhh, qımız!

Kumis, also known as kumiss, kumiz, and koumiss (not to mention kymys, kymyz, kumisz, kymyz, or qymyz, as well as қымыз, kımız, кымыз, кымыз, ҡымыҙ, and qımıź, yes, even кымыс and хымыс, but rather seldom qimiz) is a drink 1. made from horse milk, 2. fermented, and 3. as nutritious as laxative.

So when the year’s first kumis (pronounced kms) is served on the high plateaus of the beautiful Kyrgyz mountains, the one who makes it first to the earth closet wins.

Its delicious taste is well worth the race.

(If you happen to like sour, lukewarm horse milk.) (I took a 1,5l bottle with me after a few days at a family stay thing (including a failed attempt to ride a horse) and enjoyed its buttermilky relish even once it got hot from the sun it was exposed to for hours.)

Boris Pink in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan on June 22nd, 2012

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