🐎 Mare
Also known as: Equus caballus
Steppes of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Sweet milk that is made into kumis.
Mare is an adult female horse, a domestic animal kept for riding, work and milk. Mare’s milk is drunk in the steppes of Central Asia and Mongolia, and by other horse-breeding peoples. It is watery and sweet: about 1–1.5% fat and about 6% lactose — noticeably more than in cow’s milk. In its balance of protein and sugar it is compared to human milk.
Milking a mare is not easy: according to the FAO, it is done 5–6 times a day in small amounts, and the milk is only let down when the foal suckles. So the foal is kept close by, and milking takes place in the warm season while the horses are on summer pastures.
The main product is koumiss (airag among Mongols): mare’s milk is fermented by lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, giving a slightly fizzy drink with a little alcohol. UNESCO has inscribed on its intangible heritage list the Mongolian technique of making airag in a leather vessel called a khökhüür, and the spring rites of Kazakh horse breeders that open the koumiss season.
How it connects to milk
Links
- What milk it gives
- 🥛 Mare's milk
- Its milk is used for
- 🍶 Kumis
- What it gives
- 🥛 Milk
- Feeds with milk
- 🍼 Foal
- Belongs to
- 🔬 Mammal
- Where it is milked
- 🌍 Central Asia, 🌍 Urals and Volga region
- Which peoples keep it
- 🧑🤝🧑 Kazakhs, 🧑🤝🧑 Kyrgyz, 🧑🤝🧑 Mongols, 🧑🤝🧑 Yakuts
- Part of
- 🐎 Equids
Frequently asked questions
Why is mare’s milk sweet?
It is high in lactose — about 6% — and low in fat, so it tastes sweetish and watery.
How many times a day are mares milked?
Usually 5–6 times a day, a little at a time, because the udder is small and milk is let down when the foal stimulates it.
Can you make cheese from mare’s milk?
Practically no: it contains little casein, so it is fermented into koumiss rather than curdled.
History
Similar
🐫 Bactrian camel · 🐴 Jenny · 🐪 She-camel · 🐕 Dog · 🦔 Hedgehog · 🦘 Kangaroo
Sources
- FAO — Dairy animals: Other animals (yak, horse, donkey)
- Faccia et al. Milk Products from Minor Dairy Species: A Review. Animals, 2020
- UNESCO ICH — Traditional technique of making Airag in Khokhuur and its associated customs (2019)