Kefir Cheese Detected on Tarim Basin Mummies

XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION, CHINA—According to a Gizmodo report, a new analysis has confirmed that the substance smeared on the heads and necks of 3,600-year-old mummies in the Tarim Basin is kefir cheese, a dairy product made with yeast and probiotic bacteria to separate curds and whey. Researchers were able to identify cow and goat DNA in samples of the substance. “This is the oldest known cheese sample ever discovered in the world,” said Qiaomei Fu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The study also identified bacterial and fungal species in the sample that are found in modern kefir products, particularly those from Tibet. “Our observation suggests kefir culture has been maintained in Northwestern China’s Xinjiang region since the Bronze Age,” Fu explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Cell. To read about the origins of the Tarim Basin mummies, go to "Around the World: China."