kefir

[ kuh-feer ]

Middle Eastern Cooking.
  1. a tart-tasting drink originally of the Caucasus, made from cow's or sometimes goat's milk to which the bacteria Streptococcus and Lactobacillus have been added.

Origin of kefir

1
First recorded in 1880–85; from Russian kefír, apparently from a Caucasian language; compare Ossetic kʾæpy, kʾæpu “kefir,” Mingrelian kipuri “milk curdled in an animal skin”

Words Nearby kefir

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kefir in a sentence

  • The second method is used when one has a good kefir and two or three days to start with.

    The Bacillus of Long Life | Loudon Douglas
  • In koumiss and kefir the curd is very finely divided and will remain in suspension for a long time as with butter milk.

  • Koumiss is made in Russia from mare's milk and has much the same composition as kefir.

  • Several alcoholic drinks made from milk, such as kefir and koumiss, have been originated among the nomadic tribes of Western Asia.