The fermented dairy drink from the Caucasus known for its probiotics is kefir. It is made by fermenting milk with kefir grains, which are not cereal grains but living communities of bacteria and yeasts held together in a polysaccharide matrix called kefiran.
Kefir is strongly associated with the North Caucasus, where traditional makers fermented milk in goatskin bags. The bags were sometimes hung near a doorway so passing people would knock them, helping keep the milk and grains mixed. Modern kefir is commonly made with cow’s, goat’s, or sheep’s milk and usually ferments for roughly 12 to 24 hours.
Kefir tastes tangy and may be lightly carbonated because fermentation produces lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of ethanol. It is often compared with drinkable yogurt, but the cultures differ: kefir typically contains a broader mixture of bacteria and yeasts. A common mix-up is confusing kefir grains with tapioca-like grains or assuming kefir and yogurt are interchangeable; kefir is generally thinner and more microbially diverse.