THE WORLDS WAYS WITH MILK

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29324, 1 October 1960, Page 10

THE WORLDS WAYS WITH MILK

Wide Variations Noted [By RENNIE AIRTH. a Reuter Correspondent!

GENEVA, September 19. Milk, whether from cow, camel, sheep, goat or buffalo, is drunk in every country Tn the world, and the methods of processing it are almost as numerous as the countries themselves. ' , - Recently, an expert committee of the World Health Organisation and theXjnited Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation met to discuss milk hygiene. In the course of its work, the committee drew up a list of milk products and processes.

European traditional methods make use of fresh milk rather than boiled, whereas in Asia -the opposite is generally the rule. In North America and some Western 'European countries, industrial production of soured and fermented milks has partly taken over and adapted some of the traditional names and methods, as, for example, “yogurt” and “kefir.” Among the more popular milk products of Western Eurppe is the so-called “long milk” found in the Scandinavian countries. In this viscous sour dish, bacteria causing “ripeness" in milk, usually an annoying,form of spoilage, are combined with formers of acid to produce a palatable product with exceptional keeping qualities. This is known as “langmjolk” or “lattemjolk” in Swedeii, “taette” in Norway, and “pitkapiima'" in Finland. Another popular Norwegian specialty is “kjaeldemelk,” or cellar milk, which is made by placing the “taette” fermentation in cellars in huge, spotlessly clean barrels and keeping the milk at about 10 degrees centigrade. After a time, the milk-, loses its vjscosity but retains a pleasantly acid flavour, and can be kept in a wholesome condition for as long as a year.

Yogurt and yogurt products are the traditional form of sour milk in Greece, Rumania, Hungary, Turkey, the Caucasus arid neighbouring countries. Often, they are the main form in which milk is taken.

In these countries, cow, goat, sheep or buffalo milk is used, mostly whole but-in some places skimmed. It •is boiled until'reduced in volume, allowed to cool to around 45 degrees centigrade, inoculated with a “starter” from the previous day’s yogurt, and then kept warm' until it is clotted and viscous. When the milk has been concentrated by boiling, the yogurt is usually diluted with water for drinking. Italians Have “Dalii” A traditional sour-milk product of the Italians is “dahi.” In the traditional method of manufacture, whole milk is brought to the boil, cooled to body temperature, and placed in unglazed earthenware vessels which are kept warm in a wrapping of cloth or hay. Sometimes a small amount of the previous day’s “dahi” is tised as a starter, ’ but generally the organisms in the pores of the vessels are sufficient to start a vigorous fermentation. . Yogurt and yogurt-like products are taken in many ways and form the basis of many staple dishes. In the Mediterranean countries, the products are stored in jars for long keeping under a layer of fat, or they are dried in the sun. Another popular dish is made by mixiflg yogurt and wheat flour, sometimes with the addition of green leaves, allowing the mixture to ferment, and then drying it in the sun. r Yet another variation of sourpiilk products i& “koumiss”—an alcoholic drink found in the European part of the Soviet Union and Western Siberia. It is prepared from mares’ milk, which contains more lactose than cow’s milk, and after prolonged fermentation may contain up to 3 per cent, alcohol. Concentrated Milk The committee’s report also notes that in various parts of the world, concentrated milk products are made which, in their composition, lie on the borderline between the condensed milks of the dairy industry and its dried products. ■- Fpr instance; a characteristic product ’of India is “khoa” or

“mawa” which is obtained by boiling milk while stirring in an open pan over a brisk'fire until it reaches the consistency pf dough arid the water content decreases to some 30 to 40 per cent. A similar, but less concentrated, product is “kheer,” which can be eaten both sweetened or unsweetened.

But perhaps the most unusual of all milk products is made by the Laplanders. Before the onset of their long winter, these hardy northerners put reindeer milk in a stomach taken from a reindeer’s carcase and place it in the heat and smoke over an open fire. As the milk evaporates, it is replenished until after two or three weeks “curing,” the stomach is filled with a dried, grainy product. One stomach lasts a Lapp family almost all the winter.