Does anyone besides Novembersky know what kefir is or eaten kefir or made kefir or interested in making kefir?

I search kefir on the boards and only found one reference to it on CE... Link to kefir reference

I received some kefir grains from my future mother-in-law at Thanksgiving and have been trying my hand at making kefir. I was a little aprehensive about having a mason jar of milk sitting on the counter for 24 hours! Esp. with how freaky I am about safe food storage times.

But, it makes a fabulous banana-berry freeze (smoothie).

Gotta go check out a little filly that needs rescuing...

Love&Light,
Stephanie

(If there is a spell check, I couldn't find it. Sorry.)

Never heard of it. Wonder if that's what Donald Sutherland named his son after. But there's a long history of making lots of distinctive-tasting foods with aged milk, so if it makes a good smoothie...it must be OK.

Does it actually develop alcohol content with the grains and fermenting?

Good funny about Kefir Sutherland
I don't know about movie stars naming their children after fermented milk. Is his name even spelled the same?
Then again there is a star baby named Apple...
Kefir is Turkish for "feel good" Maybe Donald thought, " Baby boy make Donald feel good so I will name him the Turkish word for 'feel good', Kefir"

Here's some info re: kefir

Why You Should Drink Kefir

Kefir, which means 'feel good" in Turkish, is an ancient cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your "inner ecosystem" to maintain optimal health and strengthen immunity.

Kefir's tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, and it contains beneficial yeast as well as the friendly 'probiotic' bacteria found in yogurt. When used regularly, the naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in Kefir combine symbiotically to help balance your intestinal flora and boost your immunity.

Among its many beneficial powers, Kefir:

-Provides supplemental nourishment for pregnant and nursing women*

-Contributes to your healthy immune system

-Promotes a relaxing effect on the nervous system and benefit many who seek a restful night's sleep

-Helps support your normal intestinal tract function, promote bowel movements and your healthy digestive system -- and is beneficial after the use of antibiotics to restore balance to the digestive tract

-Curbs unhealthy food cravings by making your body more nourished and balanced

Quoted from: http://www.mercola.com/forms/kefir.htm


And to answer your question about alcohol content, Maria... *hic*

Kefir is a refreshing cultured-milk beverage, which many centuries ago, originated in the Caucasus Mountains. The word kefir is said to be derived from the Turkish word keif, which loosely translates to good feeling or feeling good. This is quite possibly because drinking kefir is renowned to increase a sense of well-being.[1]

Kefir has a uniform creamy consistency, a sour refreshing taste, with a slight subtle aroma resembling fresh yeast [or a very subtle beer-like aroma]. Kefir also has a slightest hint of natural effervescent zesty tang. There is an assortment of some 40 aromatic compounds contributing to the unique flavour and distinctive pleasant aroma of kefir. To round this off, kefir may contain between 0.08% to 2% alcohol. However, between .08 to .1% alcohol are common figures for a 24 hour cultured kefir-- [yep-- wow!].

Quoted from Dom's Kefir website at: http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html


Quoting from the first link again...explaining that the natural calming effect is from tryptaphan not the alcohol.

"The exceptional nutritional content of Kefir offers a wealth of healthy benefits to people in every type of condition. More than just beneficial bacteria, Kefir contains minerals and essential amino acids that help your body with its natural healing powers and maintenance functions.

The complete proteins in Kefir are partially digested and therefore more easily utilized by the body.

Tryptophan, one of the essential amino acids abundant in Kefir, is well-known for its relaxing effect on the nervous system. Because it also offers loads of calcium and magnesium -- both of which are critical for a healthy nervous system -- Kefir in the diet can have a particularly calming effect on the nerves. "

Before I started drinking kefir, I admit I gently teased my mother-in-law about her kefir consumption and the alcohol content. I suppose now you guys can tease me (gently!) about kefir consumption and my being a Pisces who either rules or is ruled by alcohol in one way or another.

Love, Light & Beneficial Bacteria,
Stephanie

Steph,

I didn't read the links yet, but it sounds awesome! Is it hard to make? Before I give it a try I'm going to have to put the word out to the local Amish (my husband treats a lot of them) that I'd like some raw milk. That would be the healthiest way to do it, huh?

Glad you asked!

The less processed the milk the better. The less hormones and junk the better.

I use pasteurized, organic, non-homogenized whole milk from Crystal Ball Farms in Osceola, Wisconsin. I love the name of the farm and I think their crystal ball logo is too cute.

My mother-in-law uses raw milk from a farmer near her for her kefir. She thinks it's the best milk to use. I can't remember if she pasteurizes it. I don't think she does...but I would... just to make sure there aren't any nasty microorganisms lurking about.

That's awesome you have raw milk available from area Amish farmers! How fortunate! I know I feel lucky to have so many local, organic farmers in west central Wisconsin.

When I lived in farm country in northern Minnesota we had the worst produce at our grocery stores and the most terrible food selection available for the health conscious. I was mystified by the fact that I lived amongst farmers who feed our country, but have such poor food quality for themselves. It really made me want to move back to the Twin Cities where you can find a meal that won't make you feel like you are going to die prematurely.

Kefir is not hard to make at all. You just leave a jar of milk with kefir grains in room temp for 24 hours. Obtaining the kefir grains is probably the hardest part.

Don't put a tight lid on the jar as gas is created in the process, instead use a coffee filter secured by a ponytail holder (or rubber band). You should, however, use a tight lid when storing kefir or resting the grains in the fridge.

Stephanie

Hi again Steph,

I was checking out where to get the grains online and ordered some from the kefir lady in Ohio. She has a website, if anyone is interested. It's http://www.kefirlady.com

I'm looking forward to trying it. She sends a booklet with instructions and recipes too.

So... I got my Kefir grains on Friday, and started off with Soy Milk, because I had read you can do that on some of the sites I came acrosss with my research. It was OK, but pretty sour, so I added some honey. That was better. Today I made a smoothie which was really good!

So, I'll share...

3/4 cup Kefir
4 oz cup fruited yogurt (I used Dannon all natural strawberry)
1 scoop protein shake (I used Standard Process Whey Pro Complete)
1/2 - 1 whole banana (depending on size)
Blend...

It was yummy!

Hi Kel,

I was checking out the KefirLady's website...and saw that she also sells Kombucha, which I have never heard of before...so I looked it up...
Kombucha - Wikipedia

Kombucha looks harder (& scarier ) to make than kefir.

My mother-in-law has water kefir grains--totally different than the milk-loving kefir grains. She's mainly been using apple for the fruit. If I remember right, water kefir has a higher alcohol content. I tried it once it kinda tasted like a cider-beer.

I got more (milk) kefir grains from my mother-in-law during X-mas, so today I have two jars of kefir going for the first time. My grains have about doubled. They started growing much faster after I started splitting the grains in half with a stiff rubber spatula.

My problem this past two weeks is that I've been working 10-12 hour days and have been putting the grains and kefir in the fridge for a day-or-two before I have time to strain the grains out of the kefir and put them in fresh raw milk. I think it tastes better, looks better, and has a more yogurt-like consistency when you don't put them to rest in the fridge. It takes a couple batches (& days) before it is 'just-right' again.

I have never tried making kefir in soy milk before.

My favorite kefir smoothie recipe is:

1 banana
1 scoop whey protien powder
1-1/2 to 2 cups kefir
7 frozen stawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
6-8 frozen peaches slices
a few slices of frozen pinneapple, honeydew, a grapes (or just enough to get it the 'just-right' milkshake thick consistency I enjoy)

I usually add real vanilla extract and when I have time I scrape the seeds out of a 1/2 of a vanilla bean.

I used to use organic vanilla yogurt for my smoothies. The organic vanilla yogurt I prefer costs around $4.50-5.50 a tub depending on the store. Lately I've just been using kefir which costs the price of non-homoginized organic whole milk which just rose from $2.99 to $3.19 for a half gallon.

Did you get dried grains, Kel? Or were they in milk?

I was also curious about the 7-page booklet that come with the grains...have you read it yet?

Would like to stay longer but the kids are driving me crazy to do something "ANYTHING!" today and I have been working oodles of OT...I'll try to get back later tonight or Sunday-Funday!

L&L,
Steph

Hi Steph ,

I was wondering what Kombucha was too, but didn't go as far as to look it up, so I'll have to see what wikipedia has to say.

The stuff that tastes like cider/beer sounds interesting. I like Woodchuck, so I'd probably like it.

My grains came in a little cup. They had been in goats milk and were still moist. They are doing well. I'd say I probably have a cup or more of the grains now. I've had to keep them in the frig now because they are producing faster than we can drink it, so I had to slow production down. I haven't tasted the batch growing in the frig yet to see if it's different tasting. I'm out of yogart too, so didn't even drink any yesterday. Gotta go grocery shopping today, so I think I'll get some frozen friut to try some different things.

It was good in soy milk. I used that first since it was what I had on hand at the time, but have switched to store bought milk. I haven't been able to get the word out to the right Amish yet to score some raw milk, but am hoping to soon.

The Kefir lady is real nice and prompt in her email replies, as I wrote her the other day with a couple of questions about the Diatomaceous Earth sample she sent along with my Kefir. The 7 page of instructions are real good... very detailed. The topics included, were how to make Kefir, making Kefir cheese, recipes, uses for Whey and some info on the microflora of Kefir (if you want me to share any of this information, just let me know and I'll type it out). She also included a two page article with a sample on Diatomaceous Earth and another page about oil-pulling for detoxification.

If anyone is looking to get Kefir grains and wants to start making their own Kefir... I highly reccomend her.

I hope you had fun with the kids this weekend!

One of my California friends sent me a Kombucha "baby" years ago, and I made/grew and drank Kombucha regularly for about a year ... maybe two? But I honestly didn't notice it really helping. She had thought it would help give me energy, which is always a major issue for me with my chronic fatigue syndrome. I did kind of enjoy the whole kind of witchy aspect of it -- boiling the big cauldron of water, making sure I used the containers and utensils of proper material, seeing the new "baby" that the mother produced. And the drink was not bad. Kind of tart and refreshing. I might try it again if I can get another starter.

Maria

Just back to say that, oof, that wikipedia article isn't so good, and the tea doesn't even look right. Go to Laurel Farms and Betsy Pryor for info on Kombucha. I'm pretty sure that's where my friend got her starter (and my starter was a baby of my friend's starter). At any rate, when I was brewing a new batch, if I had forgotten any bit of what I was doing, I would always go to http://www.laurelfarms.com/ -- which I see has gotten a lot snazzier as a website than it used to be.

I feel like I just got a late Christmas present with this new forum! Cool beans as Kel would say! Cute name for the forum too. Pleased Virgo rising here. Thank you!

Have been trying to go AOAP (as organic as possible) for some years now. My yard is very wooded and shady, but this year I am going to start using more sunny spots for planting.

Interesting info on the kefir. Kelly, you were right on it! Anyone feeling results yet?

Love,

Cool, PD!

Kel for sharing Kefir with me and too sharing the grapefruit seed extract capsules. I'm so excited about getting on the track to a better health regimen and your support and generosity has been a huge added bonus.
Everyone, I've got to tell you that I just finished a Kefir Smoothie and YUM YUM!!! I loved it!
I took a cup of Kefir
1 Banana
1 cup of Strawberry Yogurt,
blended all of this together and I'm amazed at how filling this is.A very satisfied belly. And healthy too.
Now it's Bren's turn to learn how to make her own Kefir
I find that later in the evening is when I search for something to eat and in the past this got me in trouble with weight gain for I would grab the no-no's instead of something healthy. After finishing this Smoothie this morning I know now that this will be my late evening treat.
Thanks so much for starting this thread.
Bren~

Oh, and by the way, Woody for the wonderful chiropractic adjustment as well....
It always makes my day
Bren~

This is definitely one of the stranger recipes I've seen. Which means I'm going to have to try it out!

(After I overcome my issues with the "aged milk".)

Great stuff. Where do you folks come up with all of this stuff?
I consider myself fairly well read, and not dainty when it comes to exploring new experiences. You guys have me feeling a little wet behind the ears.

Thanks. I needed that.

Love,

daf

Hey Bren,

Sorry I didn't notice that you wrote on here till today. You are most welcome for the Grapefruit seed extract, Kefir and support. I'll give you some grains the next time you stop by. They have grown quite a bit as I measured them yesterday and had a very full cup, and I already sent some to my Dad. The shake before bed also helps to induce sleep, so there is an added bonus. If you want to watch your calories, use less yogart (I use 1/2 cup per serving) and banana.