The many faces of kefir

When many think of milk kefir, they think of it as a probiotic beverage. It is something you drink and that is about as far as they get. In our household, drinking milk kefir is about the only way we don't use it. We are not a fluid dairy consuming household; to hard on our little tummies. But, my milk kefir is used in about every other way. It is my sour cream, my buttermilk, my dairy in my cooking. Today, it is my herbed kefir butter for some hot french bread later on or a spread for crackers. Can you even think of a healthier butter than raw Jersey milk kefir butter? It is a butter with probiotics and cultured for easy digestion. It also happens to taste rather nice. It has a little tang to it which makes it taste light. Super yummy.

The process is very easy. After you make your milk kefir; letting it get thick like buttermilk, stir in a little sea salt and herbs of choice. Then, pour it into a cheese cloth or thin cotton dish towel. Twist it up so that the whey starts to drain. Put on a rubber band to secure the twisted towel. Stick a wooden spoon or other dowel type gadget through the rubber band and hang the cheesecloth over a pot/jar. The spoon/dowel will rest on the pot to keep the cheesecloth suspended. Put it in the fridge overnight to let the whey drain. In the morning, untwist the cloth and the butter should be ready. It will last at least a couple weeks in the fridge. The whey can also be used in recipes.


Milk kefir is generally cured at room temperature. However, I am finding that since I like my kefir to get real thick, I am favoring a fridge method. I leave it out on the counter for about 5-7 hours then with the kefir grains still in the milk, I put it in the fridge. I then let it sit in the fridge for a day or so. This allows the kefir to continue to get real thick without it getting too sour. There is still the same amount of probiotics in kefir cultured at room temp or in the cooler fridge. I checked. Sometimes I like my kefir to get fizzy as this makes it a natural leavening agent to cook with. It makes the fluffiest waffles in town! I let some get quite sour as it makes a sourdough effect on baked goods. 


Oh so many ways to kefir! It is so easy. I love not having to buy buttermilk or sour cream. It is always ready for me as one batch is always ready and one in the culturing process. 


Start culturing. It is easy and so beneficial to your body. Don't be afraid. I promise you can do it.

Kefir Pop

     I have to admit I am a bit addicted to my Kefir pop. I am limiting myself a bit but I love to try out new flavors as I am still fairly new to the game. I think I am getting it now. Practice makes perfect.


    Here are some of my favorite brews so far:

    Orange Creme Soda

    After the first ferment with grains, I strain the grains then add in one orange, washed and sliced; peel still on. I then add a little vanilla.
Set back out on counter with a loose lid for another 24 hours or as desired.

     Cranberry Lemonade

     Again, after the 1st ferment, add fresh cranberries in blender along with the juice of one or two lemons. Add some additional raw sugar as desired. Puree until smooth and add to the strained kefir. Stir in. Sample taste for sweetness and allow to ferment another 24 hours or as desired. It will loose sweetness as it ferments


                              Ginger Brew

     Add in a little fresh ginger and a little vanilla to the second ferment. Let sit out until desired.

     

  Strawberry Lemonade

     Pretty much the same as with the cranberry but with strawberries. I usually add about 8 frozen or fresh strawberries and juice of two regular lemons. I add a little more water if too strong but not too much. I usually don't need extra sweetener with the strawberry.

 Grape (not shown) 

     Just add organic, pure grape juice to the second ferment. My favorite flavor of all but expensive!

I have done fresh squeezed orange juice and it wasn't too great. I did like the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice.

With kefir, it is an individual thing. You have to play around with it and figure out how you like it to taste. I like mine fizzy, like soda and a little tart. I find that using my half gallon jars, 24 hours is plenty of time for my first ferment then after I strain it and add juice, usually 24 hours again for the second ferment is enough. I know it is done by how fizzy it is. It will also get a little fizzier after you cap it and put it in the fridge. I find that about a ratio of 6-7 cups kefir and about 1-2 cups juice works great. I like to use the plastic mason jar lids you can find at stores like walmart. I just set them on top, not screw them on until they go in the fridge. They hold the fizz fine in the fridge. I haven't needed to buy the cork tops. 

I find I can add these to smoothies or I can also just use the plain kefir before I flavor and fizz it up. Once you start, it really is easy as pie. It is just getting in the rhythm of things. I am glad to be getting extra probiotics in around here. They are the keys to the universe. Maybe I will call this my universe juice? 

Can't find the half gallon jars or lids? Get them here:

Getting Cultured: Kefir

Many of you probably have no idea what Kefir is or why in the world you would want this in your diet. The idea of taking on something new in the kitchen can be overwhelming until you understand why it is so important in our diet. I am fairly new to the "kefir" scene, maybe a year into the process and I will share all I know so you may also catch the "kefir bug" at your house.


What is kefir? The word "Kefir" actually comes from a Turkish word "Keif" which means "good feeling". Already sound good? Kefir is a cultured product meaning it is left to ferment to create the healthy organisms in the drink. It can be created from milk or water or even coconut water. It is an enyzme-rich food that contains an overabundance of friendly bacteria to help balance out our inner vessels. 


Kefir is better than yogurt for our bodies. It contains complete proteins, essential minerals and the much needed B vitamins.  We lack so much of this in our diets and with the overuse of antibiotics destroying our friendly bacteria in our systems, kefir will help restore that balance.


When our system is out of balance, meaning the bad bacteria overtakes the good bacteria, we become sick. Our bowels are irregular in most cases, we have yeast problems, allergies, skin issues, auto immune diseases and much more. The daily intake of kefir will help to heal our bodies.


In our house, we use water kefir and milk kefir daily. Although drinking milk kefir is very beneficial, we don't drink milk around here due to some allergies. The process of culturing milk kefir breaks down the lactose in the milk which is a main source of allergy but it still contains many other proteins as well and I am not ready to challenge that in a daily drink, yet. But, I know it is great in smoothies and many drink it daily without issue. For me , I use my milk kefir in any recipe calling for buttermilk, milk or sour cream. It makes the fluffiest and lightest baked goods around. I used it in my buttermilk syrup recipe, for my coleslaw and just about everything else I could think of. Since the kefir is cultured, it is so much easier to use by the body. This is true especially if you are using goats milk although a little stronger of a flavor. Milk kefir is so easy to do. It takes very little work. If you love using buttermilk than this would be a much better option for you. Finding buttermilk in the store that is free from additives is near impossible. This is just the straight milk but loaded with the good things. Of course, by cooking it you are killing much of the good bacteria but you are still getting the benefits of a cultured food for better digestion.


The water kefir is my favorite to drink. My friend Kara has me hooked. It becomes fizzy like a soda pop and when you add juice, it tastes like a sparkling juice. I always have some brewing on the counter and drink it daily as do my children. I have been experimenting with flavors; grape, lemon, cranberry lemon, apple, etc. Some have been better than others. 


How do you make kefir? It begins with kefir grains. You put them in the bottom of a glass container like a mason jar. I use the quart size for the milk kefir and the half gallon size for the water kefir. For the milk, you just add the milk (I prefer the raw milk) and give a little stir with a plastic or wood utensil. You then lightly cover and put it in a dark cupboard or closet. Usually within 24 hours or less you will have some thick and creamy kefir. The longer it sits, the thicker and more sour it gets so it is your choice. It is good to stir it a few times while culturing. You then strain the grains in a plastic colander and store the kefir in the fridge. You rinse the grains and begin again.


The water kefir feeds off of sugar. The sugar is broken down in the process so no need to worry about that. You want to use a sugar that is not processed. I use Sucanat  but you can use whatever you like. Coconut sugar won't work but you can use honey or any of the raw sugars. You cover the grains in water, add some sugar and let it sit for 24-48 hours. After that time period, you strain off the grains and then add juice to the kefir. I then let it sit for another 24 hour period to get good and fizzy. I then put it in the fridge to chill. The longer it sits out, the more alcohol you are making so just beware. Any food fermented has some alcohol, even a piece of ripe fruit. There is such a minimum amount in Kefir unless you let the fruit juice step to go beyond the 24 hours. 


If you are interested in becoming "cultured" around your house, I have lots and lots of water kefir grains and some of the milk kefir grains. I won't ship them but if you live around here, you can shoot me an email to come get some. They are $8 per tablespoon to get you started. They grow like crazy so you can share them as well. I will also give you complete instructions at that time. 


Seek knowledge. Don't be content where you are. The more I learn I realize the more I don't know. Isn't that exciting?