Background: Koumiss is a traditional fermented beverage made from mare's milk. The traditional backslopping method for koumiss production has shortcomings in terms of microbiological diversity and nutritional characteristics. In this study, a two-stage fermentation method was established to scale up the production of koumiss powder. The chemical composition and nutritional properties of a novel two-stage fermentation koumiss powder (TKP) were compared with backslopping koumiss powder (BKP).
Results: The TKP exhibited important nutritional and functional properties, including a high percentage of essential amino acids, and high polyunsaturated fatty acid, vitamin, and mineral content. The essential amino acid content of TKP was not significantly different from that of BKP. The oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and water-soluble vitamin content of TKP was higher than that of BKP. The Ca:P ratio of TKP was also close to the optimal Ca:P ratio in humans.
Conclusion: The novel method could be applied for the scaled-up production of koumiss powder with similar nutritional properties to traditional backslopping koumiss powder. The successful production of koumiss powder could also promote the development of the koumiss industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Keywords: amino acid; fatty acid; koumiss powder; two-stage fermentation; vitamin.
© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.