Kefir making as alternative to yoghurt making.

anniewoo

Many thanks Angelina for the grains received today :T

I've just read through this thread again to make sure I know how to do everything correctly.

I am quite excited about this,which is a bit sad really lol.

purpleivy

I only threw the first lot out Angelina, have been putting it in the bread since. It seems to 'split'. New experiment today is putting it in a larger jar with more milk. taste has modified slightly. Now just tastes like bad milk LOL! Early days, as you say. giving it a shake as I pass as per instructions.

Angelina-M

Really pleased you got it Annie, it is exciting. You must try it as a face mask!

PurpleIvy if its splitting then its been ready quite a while. So the grains must be growing and eating the lactose. You now need to start increasing the amount of milk you give them or slowing down the speed of maturity by putting them in a cooler place. I put mine on the windowsill in the utility room.

Hey we can have a happy colon week on MSE! :rotfl: :j

purpleivy

Angelina-M wrote: »

Really pleased you got it Annie, it is exciting. You must try it as a face mask!

PurpleIvy if its splitting then its been ready quite a while. So the grains must be growing and eating the lactose. You now need to start increasing the amount of milk you give them or slowing down the speed of maturity by putting them in a cooler place. I put mine on the windowsill in the utility room.

Hey we can have a happy colon week on MSE! :rotfl: :j

LOL just 'tested' half of the smallest burger bun that I made with kefir. they are really good. Must get some of them in the freezer quickly so that there are there for tea later in the week. There could be worse things for the kids to be scoffing I suppose!

Re kefir. I worked out that must be why it was splitting, hence extra size jar. Kitchen is warmer today, as it's the weekend and I have been baking.

Re Eating lactose, have visions of the grains, knives and forks in hand, napkins round their necks (like the pigs outside of butchers' shops... what is that about?)

Sorry, what was it someone said about being mad and a difference of reality?

RE Happy COlon week..... I haven't been brave enough to have it on its own yet LOL!

Angelina-M

Ha ha I've sent out loads recently so there's loads of us having a happy colon week... it could catch on!

You talking about the little kefir grains with a knife and fork made me think of how I imagine them. I always think of them coming down the colon using their little kefir arms to reach out and grab the debris. I imagine them furiously hoovering everything up shouting 'mine' 'mine' thats mine'

Angelina-M

Following a tip I read on here ages ago about making healthy roast spuds using yoghurt, I made some kefir roasts yesterday and they were fab, so crunchy on the outside. I've made them before but its one of the things you forget. I had some spare kefir and rediscovered it... scrummy!

larmy16

How do you make the kefir spuds Angelina. Incidentally is anyone aware of the fat and calorie content of Kefir?? I am following slimming world at the mo, and have some grains in my fridge which I may try to get going again, but I wonder if they are non caloric (?) in themselves, its just the medium (skim, semi skim or full fat milk etc) which must be counted as cals?? Anyone??

purpleivy

Had my first 'smoothie' this morning. Never been something that I fancied before, as I would rather eat my fruit rather than drink it.

I took some kefir, added some very ripe pear and very ripe mango. THen some kefir. In spite of the fruit I could still taste the kefir, so added cinnamon. Not enough, so added some nutmeg. It's 'OK' but no more than that. Now going to the doc, so hope 'effects ' aren't too immediate:eek:

I have been using my kefir for breadmaking. Have been making the most fabulous bread!

Angelina-M

larmy16 wrote: »

How do you make the kefir spuds Angelina. Incidentally is anyone aware of the fat and calorie content of Kefir?? I am following slimming world at the mo, and have some grains in my fridge which I may try to get going again, but I wonder if they are non caloric (?) in themselves, its just the medium (skim, semi skim or full fat milk etc) which must be counted as cals?? Anyone??

Hi Larmy

What I did was par boil the spuds as usual and then instead of putting them in any oil I just painted the kefir onto the spuds and popped them into the oven. The spuds always go much crunchier this way than in oil.

I believe slimming world tell you to make roasts with yoghurt rather than oil so you dont have as many calories so its the same thing really except its with kefir.

You would only need to include the calorific amount for the milk but you use hardly any because you are painting it on (I use a pastry brush) Now kefir eat the sugars in the milk and convert it so I dont know if this means the milk has less calories, I've never looked into that as I'm not watching my diet.

Purpleivy its not moneysaving I know but my kids will drink it if I add crusha milk shake flavouring. I think its ok to add a bit of this as although its not that healthy, its a way to get the kefir into them so in my books its worth it!

purpleivy

Hello again,

I think that I'm getting the knack of making the kefir. It's quite warm in the kitchen on sunny days and then the heating is on in the evening. I'm draining it off at bedtime, putting the fresh milk on it, then getting the jar out in the morning. Shake on the way past in the day, in the evening, keep a closer eye on it, till it looks right.

What sort of amount do you think is necessary for a therapeutic dose? The sort of amount that is in Yakult and other such products?

THis morning I decided to experiment a little. I thought I would try and make a cold chocolate shake, to see if it would disguise the taste a little. I used 150ml kefir, 2 tsp cocoa powder and some fructose. Got it a bit sweet. It's quite palatable though. whizzed it with my Bamix. Next time might add a drop of vanilla, think this is used in some commercial chocolate drink powders.