00:00What does a nation's history taste like?
00:02In Kazakhstan, many would say Khomuz – fermented horse milk and one of the oldest drinks in
00:07the world.
00:07In this episode of Modern Nomads, we travel across the vast steppes of Kazakhstan to discover
00:12the story behind this ancient drink.
00:14This is more than just horse milk.
00:16In Kazakhstan and other countries of Central Asia, we call it Khomuz.
00:20For centuries, this drink fueled and traveled with nomads across the steppes, and today
00:25it remains a cherished part of the nomadic culture.
00:28So, if you want to understand Kazakhstan's history and traditions more, start with a
00:32bowl of Khomuz.
00:33Welcome to Modern Nomads.
00:38Beyond Central Asia, horse milk is also consumed in Mongolia and parts of China and Russia.
00:44But Kazakhstan has a special place in Khomuz history.
00:47At the Bautai settlement, archaeologists found evidence of early horse domestication and traces
00:52of mare's milk on ancient pottery.
00:54The Greek historian Herodotus also described Saka tribes drinking mare's milk in the 5th
00:59century BC.
01:00Khomuz was an important source of food for nomads during wartime, and scientists are still
01:05studying its potential benefits.
01:06So, we asked all the Khomuz producers, they uploaded for the laboratory research work.
01:13We discovered that 80% of the sample was very rich in vitamin A. More than 60% of the
01:21samples
01:22was rich by vitamin B1, B2, B5, and B6.
01:28The main miracle is the fatty acid composition.
01:32We have many unsaturated fatty acids, but also we can speak about the probiotic bacteria.
01:39And I believe that until now, nobody is learning about that peptide.
01:45Khomuz is classified by strength and fermentation time, but the most prized one is Saumal – freshly
01:51milked horse milk.
01:52To taste it, we went to Zhanarka district.
02:01For Ayman Kudjanova, it's part of her daily routine.
02:05She works as a deputy principal at a local school, but outside of the classroom, she milks
02:09around 10 meters a day.
02:11I bought 6, 6 liters.
02:12I bought it with a fish.
02:14I bought it with 5 or 6 liters.
02:15What is the difference between horse milking and cow milking?
02:39One of the oldest Qumuz traditions is Qumuz Murunduq, marking the start of mere milking season.
02:45Traditionally, families returning from winter pastures would gather to taste the first Qumuz of the year and welcome summer.
02:52We came to the Ulotau region to witness that tradition.
02:59From ancient traditions to modern gastro festivals, every year, farmers from across the country come to Astana for a Buy
03:06Qumuz festival and bring their unique recipes.
03:09Inspired by Germany's Oktoberfest, the festival celebrates Kazakhstan's own traditional drink, Qumuz.
03:14It was my first year, Octoberfest.
03:17We bought it from the economy and bought it from the world.
03:23We don't have any kind of food.
03:25We don't have any food for the first time.
03:27We have the word, the culture, our society, our spirit, our culture.
03:40you can also find new products made with horse milk such as hummus ice cream let's taste it
03:52it's tasty it's very tasty here horse milk is also winning fans beyond central asia we've had
03:59a few cups already it's good it's fun it's definitely different than anything else i've
04:04ever had i love it it's really good it's very unique i grew up around horses a lot back in
04:09the
04:09u.s but i had never even thought about drinking horse milk until i came to kazakhstan and heard
04:15about it i think my horse would probably kill me if i tried to milk it but we'll see now
04:20i can
04:20actually appreciate all the different types of hummus because here at valley from this festival
04:25you can see so many types where it comes from from different regions of kazakhstan and i didn't
04:31know it made such a difference in the hummus but you don't have to wait for a gastro festival to
04:37try
04:37hummus you can find it in supermarkets there are also hummus hana or hummus houses in cities across
04:43kazakhstan traditionally the freshest hummus was served to guests in a leather nomadic bottle as a
04:49sign of respect and hospitality today this tradition continues and you can come to kazakhstan to take
04:55place it for yourself
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