Milk processing system in Caucasia : From case studies of the agro-pastoralists in Georgia and Armenia

To understand milk processing systems in Caucasia and analyze their history，nine households of agro-pastoralists were surveyed in Georgia and Armenia. The techniques of clotting agent using series，fermented milk processing series and cream separating series ware broadly shared among agro-pastoralists over Georgia and Armenia. The characteristics of milk processing systems in Caucasia are 1) the milk processing techniques (clotting agent using series and fermented milk processing series) in Caucasia base on those techniques of West Asia，2) the cream separating series have developed in Caucasia because of its cooler natural environment，3) butter and butter-oil making by the technique of fermented milk processing series became unnecessary，thus the fermented milk processing series specialized in sour milk making because of the development of cream separating series，4) the technique of cheese making by using the clotting enzyme has handed down to present. It is considered that the main factors such as cool natural environment，sedentary subsistence and smaller work efficiency changed the milk processing techniques of West Asian type to the Caucasian type