[Ads-l] kahm, 1890

Mon Jan 2 22:24:39 UTC 2023

When you do a lactoferment (e.g., sauerkraut), a thin layer of foam or scum will often form on the top. That is known as kahm and it seems possible that the word is related to scum, but that is only my speculation. The earliest English citation here is 1890, #8 below.

1. https://preserveandpickle.com/kahm-yeast/
Preserve & Pickle 

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Kahm yeast is a term for a number of harmless yeasts that have a tendency to grow on top of ferments when the pH reaches a certain level.

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Although Kahm yeast can consist of multiple different species of yeast such as Pichia, Hansenula, Debaryomyce, Mycoderma and Candida, Kahm yeast always shows itself with the same signs so it should be easy enough to identify.

The appearance of Kahm yeast will have the following features:

White appearance.
Formation of a pellicle or film on the surface of the brine or ferment.
Smooth or crepe paper appearance with no fuzz.
No growth below the surface of the brine

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2. This word is not in the OED, Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com or the English Wiktionary. It appears briefly on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast#Nutrition_and_growth): "The appearance of a white, thready yeast, commonly known as kahm yeast, is often a byproduct of the lactofermentation (or pickling) of certain vegetables. It is usually the result of exposure to air. Although harmless, it can give pickled vegetables a bad flavor and must be removed regularly during fermentation.”

This Wikipedia article cites "Making Sauerkraut and Pickled Vegetables at Home: Creative Recipes for Lactic-fermented Food to Improve Your Health”, 2007, by Klaus Kaufmann and Annelies Schoneck.

3. https://multicultured.org/kahm-yeast-kahm/
What is Kahm Yeast, and What Does Kahm Do?
by Stacie
19 Jun 2016

This article cites book 4 below.

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In fermentation, we talk a lot about the dreaded “kahm yeast.” This is a surface growth of unwanted organisms that can impart unpleasant aromatics and flavors to our lovingly crafted foods. 
,,,
From what I’ve been able to gather, “Kahm yeast” is a term that’s been used in industrial brewing and food processing for ages. It probably came into use before microscopy allowed for any sort of real identification of microorganisms. I believe the term originated in German beer making (see this 1898 etymological discussion from England). I’ve also seen it referenced in old journals of the Japanese liquor industry as well. 
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4. https://books.google.ca/books?id=EOkzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA281&dq=kahm+yeast&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kahm yeast&f=false <https://books.google.ca/books?id=EOkzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA281&dq=kahm+yeast&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kahm%20yeast&f=false>
Contributions to the Historical Etymology of English Words 
in
Transactions of the Philological Society, p 281
1893
by J A H Murray

Entry: cool, culm

The Butler citation appears to be "The Feminine Monarchie, or a Treatise concerning Bees and the due ordering of Bees” )
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Butler,_Charles_(d.1647) ). I have not found a searchable version, but it can be viewed at https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/hivebees6371408. 

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… and a sense of coome used by Butler 1609, suggests Ger <i>kahm</i> mould, the white film on feinted liquors, and so related to <i>keem</i> of cider.
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5. The German Wiktionary has an entry on Kahm (https://de.wiktionary.org/wiki/Kahm)
The citations include "K. A. Hellenthals Hülfsbuch für Weinbesitzer und Weinhändler oder der ...” (von Johann Karl Lübeck, 1829, https://tinyurl.com/3bvf8r9m), which can be viewed as text and translated to English.

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[1] Schimmel von grauweißer Farbe auf gegorenen Flüssigkeiten (zum Beispiel Wein, Essig oder Bier)
...
Herkunft:

Kahm geht über das mittelhochdeutsche kan auf das vulgärlateinische cana (Schmutzschicht von grauer Färbung auf Wein) zurück. Dieses lässt sich auch in der altfranzösischen pluralischen Form chanes chiennes und dem südfranzösischen cano (Kahm auf dem Wein) wiederfinden. Als die Weinkultur nach Deutschland kam, wurde auch Kahm in die deutsche Sprache eingeführt.[1]

Beispiele:

[1] „Auch kann man den Wein auf folgende Art von dem Kahme befreyen: man reinigt nämlich vor allen andern das Spundloch in- und auswendig, füllet das Faß dann gestrichen voll, und bläset den oben schwimmenden Kahm behuthsam weg. Man klopft oder stößt nun ein wenig an das volle Faß, so steigt der leichte noch verborgene Kahm mitten im Spundloche empor, wo man ihn wieder wegblasen kann. Dieses wiederholt man, indem man das Faß zugleich immer voll erhält, so lange, als sich etwas Kahm sehen läßt, und spundet dann das gereinigte Faß gut zu.“[2]
[2] Jeden Tag muss der Kahm dem Sonnenschein weichen.
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GOOGLE TRANSLATION
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[1] Off-white colored mold on fermented liquids (e.g. wine, vinegar or beer)
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Origin:

Kahm goes back via the Middle High German kan to the Vulgar Latin cana (gray layer of dirt on wine). This can also be found in the Old French plural form chanes chiennes and the southern French cano (kahm on the wine). When wine culture came to Germany, Kahm was also introduced into the German language.

Examples:

[1] "You can also free the wine from the scum in the following way: you clean the bunghole inside and out before everyone else, then fill the barrel completely and carefully blow away the scum floating on top. You knock or push a little on the full barrel, and the light, still hidden ridge rises up in the middle of the bunghole, where you can blow it out again. This is repeated, keeping the barrel always full at the same time, for as long as there is some scum to be seen, and then the cleaned barrel is well sealed with a bung."[2]
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6. Wein-Plus
https://glossary.wein.plus/kahm
23 Jun 2021, last modification

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Layer formed from bacteria and special yeast fungi (Kahm yeasts) in the form of a whitish-grey skin (Kuhme), which grows rapidly on liquids containing nutrients. The Kahm yeasts require oxygen…. The layer is also called "mycoderma vini" (wine fungus skin).
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7. The OED says that the origin of “scum” is unknown, giving forms such as scomme, skomme, and scoomme.

8. Recent Investigations of Smut Fungi and Smut Diseases in 
https://tinyurl.com/murc7jp8
Journal of Mycology, vol 6, no 1, p 5
14 May 1890

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… “sprout fungi” par excellence, which forms we encounter so frequently in our nutrient solutions, and designate briefly as “mold (Kahm) fungi,” or “yeast fungi,” ...
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OTHER USES
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/fermentation/comments/f7lo91/can_we_stop_saying_kahm_yeast_and_start_saying/
Can we stop saying "Kahm yeast" and Start saying "Pellicle”?
“3 years ago”
by El_huesador

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People throw the phrase "Kahm" around as if you can identify a specific type of yeast/bacteria without a microscope. There are a ton of yeast/bacteria species that can create a pellicle, some are good, some are bad, and some are neutral.
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10. https://suigenerisbrewing.com/index.php/2018/10/03/food-fermentation/
Food Fermentation: The Good, The Bad & The Infectious 
3 Oct 2018
by Bryan

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Kahm: Kahm is a harmless, but unpleasant looking growth of yeast. This is not a single species of yeast, and instead kahm is formed by a number of oxidative yeasts including Pichia, Hansenula, Debaryomyce, Mycoderma and Candida. Kahm is often mistaken for mould, but once you know what to look for the two are easy to tell apart. Kahm appears as a waxy, often lumpy or broken film on the surface of a ferment. Importantly, kahm floats on top of the ferment and does not send any sort of filaments or streamers deeper into the food (see picture to the left).
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Benjamin Barrett (he/his/him)
Formerly of Seattle, WA
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org