Kefir or Keffir

[Ambergris]

My husband loves this stuff. I ordered grains and tried to make it, but the milk putrefied instead.

 

Can anyone give me idiot-proof low-tech directions, and point me to a reliable source of grains?

[PoGo]

I'm sorry, I've never made Kefir, so I don't know a reliable source to get the starter grains.

[MommaDogs]

I get my grains from a friend, if and when I run out. If you search for "free kefir grains" online, chances are you can find someone giving them away in your area. I also get kombucha babies this way. Try your local Weston Price group. Guarantee someone there has some to give you. www.westonaprice.org

 

Body Ecology is a great site to buy any culture product.

 

Dom also has a really good site. http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/

 

OK, so that's where to get them.

 

Kefir is best made with raw milk. If you can't get raw cow's milk, then raw goat milk is second best. Third best is store bought pasteurized milk, but never use ultra pasteurized. It's so completely dead that you can't do anything with it. Many brands are now ultrapasteurized, so be sure to read.

 

I put about a tablespoon of kefir grains into a quart of my raw milk. (I use grains, have never tried the powder and have heard you get poor results with it.)

 

Then you simply sit it out on your counter for as long as it takes for the kefir to form. Shake it regularly, I shake three to four times a day. If you don't shake it, it forms a cheeselike product. You can still eat it, but it's not kefir per se.

 

I also leave the top loose because I don't like a lot of carbonation. In cool weather, it can take three to four days to form (my house is kept very cool in the winter) and in warmer weather, maybe a day and a half. When you see it separate, it's ready. Then strain through a strainer, and put your grains in the next batch of milk. If you aren't ready to make more kefir, store in milk in the fridge, but not for longer than a week. If you need to store for longer, you can freeze, but I've never done that.

 

Flavor and sweeten to taste. Pomegranate syrup, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, and banana honey are our favorites.

 

Also, I use about an inch of the old kefir in my new batch as it is fermenting and it seems to make it a bit thicker.

 

Let me know if you need anything else. Dom's and Body Ecology's sites are full of great information.

 

Oh, and once you get it down, I HIGHLY recommend young coconut kefir. It's amazing and very healthy. And milk kefir grains in cream make a nice cultured butter.

 

 

[PoGo]

Great information, MommaDogs. Thank you!

[Ambergris]

Thanks!

[quiltys41]

Just wondering if anyone else here uses kefir and if yall have any good recipes using it? I just had a friend mail me some kefir grains this past week end. I haven't got a clue as to what to use it for? Or how? Anybody? Bueller???

 

Q

[Grace&Violets]

See post #3 for good detailed info on how to make milk kefir. I'm currently making water kefir, which actually is more involved.

 

For milk kefir, I use a 2 quart jar. Put 1-2 tbsp of the grains in the jar, then fill the jar with milk until it is about 2 inches from the top. Loosely cover. Every few hours, tighten the lid and shake a bit, then loosen the lid and set until the next shaking. I use cream top milk, which is pasteurized, but not homogenized. My kefir tends to be curd-like sometimes, but when I push it through the strainer, it loosens up and becomes more liquidy. I think this may have happened to the OP.

 

Once you have your kefir made and strained, put it in the fridge until it's cold. I don't personally like warm kefir. We usually use a little bit of honey to sweeten. It's so yummy!

 

As for the water kefir, if you're interested, I have water kefir grains that are almost ready to go. You can make kefir soda with these as a sub for commercial soda. I have a great pdf of a webpage from one of my favorite blogs that has great recipes for water kefir.

 

ETA: Kefir is full of wonderful probiotics and really good for you. The only warning I will give you is to take it slowly when you first start to consume kefir. Start with 1 tbsp and work your way up. I can drink a cup or two of milk kefir a day, but I can only drink about 1/4 cup of water kefir.

[Ambergris]

See post #3 for good detailed info on how to make milk kefir. I'm currently making water kefir, which actually is more involved.

 

For milk kefir, I use a 2 quart jar. Put 1-2 tbsp of the grains in the jar, then fill the jar with milk until it is about 2 inches from the top. Loosely cover. Every few hours, tighten the lid and shake a bit, then loosen the lid and set until the next shaking. I use cream top milk, which is pasteurized, but not homogenized. My kefir tends to be curd-like sometimes, but when I push it through the strainer, it loosens up and becomes more liquidy. I think this may have happened to the OP.

 

Once you have your kefir made and strained, put it in the fridge until it's cold. I don't personally like warm kefir. We usually use a little bit of honey to sweeten. It's so yummy!

 

As for the water kefir, if you're interested, I have water kefir grains that are almost ready to go. You can make kefir soda with these as a sub for commercial soda. I have a great pdf of a webpage from one of my favorite blogs that has great recipes for water kefir.

 

ETA: Kefir is full of wonderful probiotics and really good for you. The only warning I will give you is to take it slowly when you first start to consume kefir. Start with 1 tbsp and work your way up. I can drink a cup or two of milk kefir a day, but I can only drink about 1/4 cup of water kefir.

 

I'm kind of afraid to ask, but more afraid not to: Or else what?

[Grace&Violets]

The probiotics are good bacteria. When you start populating your gut with good bacterias, they start to displace the bad bacterias. When this happens too quickly, you can experience "die off". It can be anywhere from a mild reaction to a flu-like feeling and/or headaches. If you start slowly, the bad bacteria is displaced at a slower rate, so the reaction is not as drastic. You may not experience any reaction. We consume a lot of foods with probiotics, so have never really experienced this, but I've heard it can be not-too-pleasant.

 

So, my recommendation (and I've heard the same from many others) is to start off slowly, if you are not used to lots of probiotics. Kefir has more and some different probiotics than yogurt, too. When I first got my water kefir grains, the instructions were to start with 1 tbsp a day, then adjust up or down according to how you are feeling. If you have major gut problems, 1/8 tsp may be a good starting place.

 

According to the lady that gave me the water kefir grains, 1/8 tsp of water kefir is like taking one probiotic capsule. 1 tbsp is like taking a whole bottle! I don't know if this is the same with milk kefir, though. My kids (ages 4, 5, and 7) usually drink 1/2-1 cup of milk kefir in the morning, and maybe some more with their after school snack. This is in addition to whatever yogurt or water kefir they may have in a day.

 

It's the same as kombucha. If you've never drank kombucha, you would NEVER start drinking cupfuls at a time!