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Kefir making as alternative to yoghurt making.

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leonie_2
leonie_2 Posts: 517 Forumite
in Old style MoneySaving
My son loves those yakkult type drinks that are very expensive, and to be honest, he's a healthy young lad and he doesnt need it!

Anyway I've decided to get some kefir grains and let him make our own yoghurt drinks. Once you have the kefir grains, you simply add milk and you end up with a drink that is loads better for you than those expensive pro-biotic drinks. And all for the price of a cup of milk.

Its supposed to be good for everyone, including babies and pregnant women. Its simply friendly bacteria that help out in the gut. The difference is that kefir can sometimes colonize the gut and keep on working, unlike yoghurt drinks.

Does anyone else drink kefir? I have to say I did a search in the archives and theres nothing really on the subject.
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  • Ticklemouse
    Ticklemouse Posts: 5,030 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Post
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    Leonie - I have just googled this and read up about it - sounds like the sort of thing I would like.

    Can you flavour them with vanilla or lemon - like the shop bought ones? Have you actually tried them and what do they taste like?

    I shall read this thread with interest as I 've never heard of this before
  • leonie_2
    leonie_2 Posts: 517 Forumite
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    I havent tried it myself but my friend has and she is sending me some in the next day or so. When mine grow enough I am hoping to share them too.

    Yes you can flavour them with fruit, she makes a lot of different fruit smoothies with hers as the kids find the 'pure' kefir a little too strong on its own.

    Its far cheaper than making yoghurt as you simply pour milk into a glass and add the kefir. After 24 hours, you are left with a thickened milk. Strain out the kefir and pop them in another glass of milk.

    It seems like a very OS thing to do as its like yakkult but more effective and less money!
  • filigree_2
    filigree_2 Posts: 1,025 Forumite
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    This sounds interesting - where would you buy the kefir grains?
  • Ticklemouse
    Ticklemouse Posts: 5,030 Forumite
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    This is one site I found online by googling, which gives quite a lot of info. I don't know if it's the best or cheapest, but it's as good a place as any to start. I'm not making any recommendations as I've never used it.
  • leonie_2
    leonie_2 Posts: 517 Forumite
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    You could try asking about amongst friends. Once you have some, it soon grows and you will be grateful to give it away apparently!

    Also, there is a yahoo forum called NTUK who will send you some for about £4 which covers their costs of packing, sending etc. Or try freecycle!

    Thats it though, once you have bought them, you dont need any more. So its a cheap way of getting healthy drinks/yoghurt.

    Also I read that you can use it in any recipe that calls for yoghurt so its very OS! :j
  • leonie_2
    leonie_2 Posts: 517 Forumite
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    This also looks like a good link to getting started.

    I never made yoghurt as it was to much fussing for me, but this is great. Kefir in the glass, add milk and you are done!
  • Sharra
    Sharra Posts: 751 Forumite
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    This looks really interesting - just one daft question - one of the sites I read about it talked about fermentation - does this mean it has alcohol in it?
    ta :)
  • squeaky
    squeaky Posts: 14,129 Forumite
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    Sharra wrote:
    This looks really interesting - just one daft question - one of the sites I read about it talked about fermentation - does this mean it has alcohol in it?
    ta :)

    It might well do, though I don't suppose there'll be much. :)

    Dictionary dot com - fermentation
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  • leonie_2
    leonie_2 Posts: 517 Forumite
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    Yes I think I read that once its done its thing, there can be between 0.2 and 0.5% alcohol content.

    Must be ok though as people give it as a health drink to babies. I'm picking mine up this afternoon. Its wrong to be this excited about bacteria :rolleyes:
  • Queenie
    Queenie Posts: 8,793 Forumite
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    leonie wrote:
    .... Its wrong to be this excited about bacteria :rolleyes:

    :rotfl: :rotfl:

    Oooh, I don't know, I get excited if I finally get the penicillin I need ;):D

    Will you be considering being a "Kefir Donar" once you're up and running with it leonie? Sounds like interesting stuff! Thank you for telling us about it :T
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