The story of how this sour-milk product came about seems rather unusual. It is believed that the Caucasian ridge, or rather its northern slope, is the birthplace of kefir fungi, these yellowish peas. Local residents gave them the name - “Millet of the Prophet”, and in some villages they were called - “grain of Mohammed”. According to legend, Mohammed himself brought these peas as a gift to the mountaineers. He taught them how to use these peas to make a special product. That's just the mountaineers were forbidden to give "grain of Mohammed" to the Gentiles.
Residents of the Caucasus - owners of kefir fungi, often began to prepare a drink that was considered divine. In different regions it was called in its own way. Somewhere - cap, some liked khag more, and some liked chippe. Centuries passed, and the recipe for cooking the product did not change. As before, milk was poured into a wineskin (later an earthenware vessel was used), fungi were also added there. To accelerate the fermentation process, the container was left on the road so that passersby kicked him.
There is no unambiguous information about the origin of kefir in Russia. According to one version, the Russian doctor received a precious sourdough (as a gift in 1866) from a Chechen friend. According to another version, kefir came to Moscow in 1908 from the vicinity of Kislovodsk. And it was delivered by Irina Sakharova, assistant to the dairyman Blandov. The girl, notable for her beauty and fearlessness, was sent by Blandov to Prince Bek-Mirza Baycharov (the supplier of the local cheese factory) to persuade him to sell mushrooms. Drugged by the beauty of Irina, the prince was ready to give in to her, but delayed with a decision, afraid to violate the ban of the prophet. The son of Bek Mirza, falling in love with Irina, abducts her. At the moment of offering her hands and hearts, the police appear. The young prince faces trial. And then Prince Bek-Merza Baycharov offers the victim compensation in the form of fungi (10 pounds). So Blandova’s company, thanks to these events, after some time was able to start producing kefir.
It is proved that the microflora of kefir fungus contains such microorganisms as yeast, acetic bacteria, lactic acid bacilli, streptococci and aromatizing agents. Two main processes contribute to the preparation of kefir: alcoholic fermentation and sour-milk fermentation. Having lost its inaccessibility, the "millet of the Prophet" remained a mystery to everyone. Scientists have not been able to remove the kefir fungus artificially.