Kefir making as alternative to yoghurt making.

shykins

happy scone making!!!

it is always pretty sharp much like natural yog, personally i love that taste but not everyone can stomach the sharpness. you can mix it with some honey or sweetener to make it more palatable

corkobo

Hello, my 1st post here!

I made and drank my own Kefir for more than 4 years (and even made cheese of it).

Two things I saw here that I hope to contribute some answers:

1. Any milk can be used, cow, sheep or goat, full fat, semi or fully skimmed. The family of bacteria and yeasts of Kefir are after the sugar present in milk (lactose) not after the fat.

2. Sharpness can be lowered in three ways at least:
a) use less grains or more milk (or both);
b) leave it to ferment less time;
c) alter the temperature (this is really a variation of (b) as it's just speeding up or slowing fermentation)

(c) can be done not only by placing the jar in different areas in the house but also by placing it in the fridge for a given period of time.

A combination of a, b, and c with some careful experimentation will produce the sharpness you want.
I would however wait at least 2-3 weeks after getting the Kefir (or moving house) to allow the Kefir grains to stabilise in the new environment, and only then tweak it for sharpness/mildness.

Unfortunately last summer my Kefir died - I spent too long away from it on holiday - so I'm now without it. I miss it.
I'll have to buy some grains soon and start all over again...

shykins

Thanks for that info

Yes I have made cheese with mine too, very scrummy especially when I added peanut butter and sugar free syrup, just like cheesecake!!!

I would offer to send you some but I have split mine 5 times already and have a waiting list at the moment, sorry. If you aren't in a hurry for a few weeks I will, tho last lot I posted went awry in Royal Mail:mad:

corkobo

Thank you for your offer shykins, I may take you up on that later (my current priority is to find or make a Fido jar glass top with a hole in it to put an airlock for sauerkraut fermentation).
As for adding peanut butter and syrup to the kefir cheese, well, that's a great idea! :T
Could you please tell me sugar free syrup did you use?

shykins

I use Da Vinci syrups which come in LOADS of flavours, personally i love the banana, caramel and hazelnut ones. Monin do some as well which are sometimes on offer at TK Maxx cant tell you what they are like tho

hmm will pass on the sauerkraut thanks lol

[Deleted User]

time to resurrect this thread. I have ordered the milk grains and the whole organic guernsey milk is arriving in a few days, I will freeze some milk to make sure I always have some in

DH made kefir every day for quite a while and I never took to it but now I will do my best to get used to it. I think the rich creamy milk will make a difference, after all I eat natural yoghurt every day and I can make ice cream with kefir and I can add it to cereals, fruits and to my hm scones

Wish me luck re the taste and texture, I know how to make it and have the simple equipment and somewhere in the freezer is a small pack of dehydrated kefir grains but could be anywhere in there, hence me buying fresh grains

This will do me the world of good. I can already see me adding it to home grown berries and my hm granola. What a breakfast!

Caterina

Hello all,

reviving this thread since seeing a post about coconut water kefir (are the two threads being joined?). I can't help the coconut water OP but am writing because I am again in need of grains and was wondering if any of you good people have any to spare. Willing to pay P&P of course!

fuddle

Having watched Trust Me I'm a Doctor last night and already dipping my toes into pre/probiotic supplementation I bought kefir grains this morning.

I've had 3/4 different types of antibiotics every couple of months since the summer so I feel the urgency to get some good stuff back in there and give myself a fighting chance.

I'm a complete new comer so I will likely be bending your ears. Thanks for resurrecting the thread Caterina.

shykins

i saw the program last night and found the information re Kefir drinks interesting but they cost something like £1.95 a bottle!!!
as i understand it the bottles are bascially kefir 'watered' down with milk

compared to the few pence my kefir costs me and the fact that its not 'watered' down it has to be as good if not better than the bottles

caterina so sorry but i dont have an spare grains mine seem to have stopped multiplying lately. shame as these are babies of the ones you sent to me last year and would be nice to send you some back

maddiemay

I just noticed today that this thread had been resurrected:D, thank you for doing so Caterina.

My grains have been sat in milk at the back of the fridge for a great many months:( a few days ago I decided to see if they would burst into life, I rinsed them and put in a jar with some organic whole milk. There are 6/7 good sized clumps and I think (fingers crossed that they are beginning to work, the milk I strained off tasted "right" and not at all nasty and I have put them in a warmer corner of the kitchen. I have kept the liquid, given a little to the dog who loved it previously and the bowl has been licked clean, I am hoping to try to make GF flatbread and/or bread soon so may use the kefir in that if it seems OK, wish me luck:D

Previously I was not too keen on the taste, but having now become a regular user of Sauerkraut (bought organic non heat treated so far) I think I will find it easier, hoping it will help my particularly nasty spell of IBS.