Making Homemade Kefir

Okay so as you can tell we have gotten board with eating more raw & fermented foods.


Both hubby and I tried a store brought brand of Kefir called Lifeworks


Here's the website for the brand.


http://www.lifeway.net/

Let me just say now that if this is how this tastes when it's store bought I cannot wait to make my own!

My husband and I are slowly becoming addicted to this stuff! While it does have a slightly sour taste to it it has a sugary taste that remains later on your palate. It reminds me of a really delicious piece of chocolate that hours later has you craving for more.

We plan on purchasing some grains here soon. I have found a company on Ebay that sells kefir grains. We actually bought our scoby Mother from them. So soon here I should be able to post pictures and all.

In the meanwhile I'll post the directions for making Kefir as well as several ways you can use this in everyday cooking.

These directions come from Seeds of Health.

http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/kefir_howto.shtml
500ml glass jar like a kilner jar
About 1 tablespoon of kefir culture
Fresh milk
Put the kefir culture in the glass jar, then fill it with fresh milk about 2/3 or so full. Cover the jar with a cloth or put the lid on the jar. (If you use a lid don't fill the jar above two thirds or use a jar with a rubber gasket that will let any pressure escape.)

Let the contents stand at room temperature for approx. 24 hours depending on your taste. 48 hours will make a thicker, sourer kefir, 12 hours a thinner, sweeter kefir. The temperature will effect how quickly the culture works. So during the warm summer months the kefir will ferment faster.

When it's ready strain the kefir into a clean jar. While it's fermenting the kefir grains will float to the top of the milk along with any cream. It's a good idea to stir it gently with a wooden spoon to mix up the solids and liquids to make it easier to strain. Or use a wooden spoon or clean hands to scoop out the culture from the kefir (the culture is easy to feel and separate from the liquids). The kefir culture produces a jelly like polysaccharide substance that develops around the grains as they grow, making it look 'gloopy'. It has unique properties and it's own name 'kefiran'. As you scoop out the grains you may find them coated with a gel like substance. This is the kefiran. Giving the kefir a good stir will distribute the kefiran in the kefir and it contributes to the thickness of the finished kefir. (This seems to be pretty variable, some strains producing a lot and others not much.)

After straining, the grains are placed straight back into a clean jar without washing them first. Fresh milk is added to the grains to make the next batch.

A Note on Cleanliness
Make sure everything is very clean when handling kefir. It's a living culture, a complex system of bacteria and yeasts and you don't want risk contaminating it. Use freshly cleaned hands, clean jars and clean non metallic implements.

Here are some ways that I have found online to use Kefir. I will also be using the milk from this in bread and pancakes for my son. I've read that it makes extremely fluffy pancakes.
This is the website I got this from.
http://gnowfglins.com/2009/08/07/seven-yummy-ways-to-eat-kefir/


Kefir Cheese – This is much like yogurt cheese, where the whey has dripped out, leaving a thicker consistency that is spreadable like cream cheese. You can season it with herbed seasoning salt, herbs, or anything else you fancy, and then spread it on bread, biscuits, etc.
Probiotic Potato Salad – The secret to this probiotic potato salad is the kefir cheese used in the dressing. It is a tangy, delicious potato salad.
Salad Dressings – Use in place of yogurt in yogurt-based salad dressings. Experiment with adding it to other salad dressings.
Veggie Dip – Season up the kefir cheese (from the probiotic potato salad) and make a dip out of it. Just some homemade herbed seasoning salt is all it takes.
Ice Cream – I’ll be sharing a recipe for this soon! Kefir ice cream tastes much like frozen yogurt, with a little bit of a tang. It is so yummy! Edit: Here’s a recipe for Probiotic Chocolate Ice Cream, featuring – you guessed it – kefir!
Smoothies – Try my chocolate kefir smoothie or summer fruit smoothie.
Popsicles – Use the kefir smoothie (#6) mix to make popsicles (tip from Annette of Sustainable Eats). My friend Amy suggests using an ice cube tray and toothpicks if you don’t have an official popsicle tray.
NEW! Parfait – Make a kefir parfait, using kefir as you would yogurt and top it with soaked/dehydrated nuts and seeds, soaked/dehydrated oats, dried fruit, cinnamon, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of raw honey or maple syrup. Yumm for a snack, as a salad, or as breakfast!