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Mursik is a basic element of the cuisine of the Kalenjin people of Kenya. Made from curdled dairy products cooked in a specially made gourd container. ==Preparation== ''Mursik'' is prepared from cows' milk fermented in ash-treated gourds. Blood may be added to fresh milk before fermentation, or to already fermented milk. The milk (or blood-milk mixture) is heated to boiling point then cooled to ambient temperature, after which it is left to undergo spontaneous fermentation for three to five days, through the action of lactic acid bacteria, yeast and mould species. ''Lactobacillus plantarum'' was found to be the most dominant of the lactic acid bacteria involved in the production of mursik. Other lactic acid bacteria isolated from mursik are ''Leuconostoc mesenteroides'' and ''Enterococcus faecium''. ''Saccharomyces'' sp. and ''Geotrichum candidum'' have also been isolated from ''mursik'' The use of charcoal from specific trees has long been used in the traditional production of fermented milk products in Kenya. Among the common tree species used by farmers for milk treatment in production of ''mursik'' are ''Senna didymobotrya'', ''Lippia kituiensis'', ''Prunus africana'' and ''Olea europaea'' ssp. ''africana''. A gourd is smeared inside with special charcoal called "osek"; from this, gray lines can be seen when pouring the thick, sour milk. In preparing the gourd, the Kalenjin women, for instance, make a brush (sosiot) from a branch of cycad tree used to clean the inside. Brushes made from this tree are hardy and may last for up to two years before replacement. Charcoal "osek", formed from the smouldering embers of branches from the Ite or Itet tree (peanut butter cassia, scientifically known as ''Senna didymobotrya''), is used as a milk preservative. Women use the embers to coat the inside of the cleaned gourd. The charcoal has various effects. It lines the inside of the gourd, reducing its porosity rendering it airtight. The smoke from the embers also has a preservative effect which prevents undesired bacterial multiplication that causes spoilage, while allowing natural souring. The charcoal smoke imparts a special flavour to the milk, and a bluish colour which is of high aesthetic value to the consumer. Having prepared the gourd, women pasteurize the milk by boiling. The pasteurized milk is left to cool before pouring into the gourd. Finally the gourd is corked to render it airtight, making it possible for the milk to be preserved for up to a month. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mursik」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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