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Monday, April 21, 2014

Kefir, A Regular Part of Our Diet

We introduced kefir into our diets about four months ago. If you want to look back at that link, kefir has a very interesting history. One of the reasons I was drawn to kefir to begin with was the positive health affects it can have on the digestive tract. Has it lived up to my expectations? Yes, it has. I think I am healthier from ingesting kefir everyday. I have had to use over the counter products to maintain regular digestive health for many years, but since I have started using the kefir, I have been able to decrease these products quite a bit and look forward to eliminating them altogether.


Kefir has become part of our everyday routine. Each evening I strain the grains and 'feed' it new milk. Just a reminder, kefir doesn't do well with metal, so we use glass jars with plastic lids. I also use a glass bowl and a plastic strainer when I work with the grains.


There were some things to learn along the way. I was surprised at how quickly the grains grow. If there are more grains in the jar than the milk will feed in a 24 hour period, the milk will start to separate into whey and curds, of a sort. It's not quite like cheese curds, but I have read that you can hang these curds in cheese cloth just like other curds and have a spread or cheese. I haven't tried anything like that. So if the grains begin to get too large, they need to be separated and part of them discarded or stored in the frig. I feed our extras to the chickens.


The kefir will thicken and culture the milk more evenly if it is shaken several times throughout the day. The lids we use don't seal very well, and sometimes let some of the milk run down the side of the jar, so we keep it on a plate to contain the runoff.

 
I use about a tablespoon of grains and 2 1/2 cups goat milk. Any milk will do, we have used whole store bought milk as well. We have found that leaving the kefir out on the counter for 24 hours gives us the flavor and consistency we like.  Well, Frank doesn't really care for the taste, but he drinks some anyway. We like to add a little maple syrup to offset the tartness of the kefir. I have read many different things people do with kefir, but this is all we do. We drink this amount each evening sometime after dinner. Kefir has a different kind of taste and not everyone likes it. We don't know anyone else that drinks it, so it must not be for everyone.


The Kefir Lady has a lot of information on her website about how to care for kefir and she also sells grains. This is not where I got mine, so I can't comment one way or the other on the quality of her products, but I do like her website and the information she provides. I received my grains from a friend who chooses to remain anonymous.


This is just one more way we are trying to eliminate some items from our bodies and replace them with something more natural. We feel in the long run it will make a difference. It feels good to be able to make an informed decision to care for our physical well-being with non-chemicalized, homegrown products. 

Until next time - Fern

12 comments:

  1. Hi Fern! I tried the kefir grains with store-bought milk and just couldn't handle it! It made me very gassy! Sorry to be so specific, but that's the only way I know how to describe it. I'm hoping with goat milk, I won't be as lactose intolerant I really liked using kefir in strawberry smoothies, but my body resented it. Is it better for you in the goat milk? I can't wait to give it another try! Thanks for sharing! Blessings from Bama!

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    1. Felicia, I think Dom calls it 'wind' when you first start drinking kefir. He has a lot of good information about getting started with kefir as well.

      http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html

      I think fresh milk is better for you than pasteurized, but that is a personal choice. Thank you for the questions and information.

      Fern

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  2. Hi, I am making both water and dairy kefir this past year. For the water kefir, I add slivered ginger, lemon, or root beer extract for the 2nd ferment as they are our favorite fizzy drinks. I am using the dairy kefir for my oatmeal in the morning. Yes, it is an acquired taste and a little extra cinnamon helps in the oatmeal! I have grown to love these drinks.

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    1. We haven't tried the water kefir, only the dairy. I do like to drink it every night, much more so than Frank. We tried it on cereal once, but it's too thick, and, yes, the taste in that instance would definitely be acquired. I can see where the cinnamon would go well, though. Thank you very much for the information.

      Fern

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  3. We tried making Kefir with store milk and had no luck at all. We are planning on making it a major part of our farm food regimen when we get our farm. We drink it though and enjoy it.

    For now we purchase a "commercial" Kefir from a company called Lifeway.

    http://lifeway.net/#countryUS

    It makes us "feel' better over all and even the commercial grade kefir seems to help our digestion.

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    1. Thank you for sharing this additional information, Fiona. I know not everyone has dairy animals, so this is another option.

      Fern

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  4. This is the second blog post I have read this week about kefir. I am planning on giving it a try.

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    1. Sandra, I read about it for a while in passing. But when I finally really started learning about it, I knew I wanted to at least try it. I'm glad we did. Hope it works for you as well.

      Fern

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  5. You've cleared up a mystery for me. I was given some grains a few years ago, but never liked it. It always separated into curds and whey but I didn't know it isn't supposed to. I tried shortening the time it sat out but it didn't help the taste. Now I see that I had too many grains and it shouldn't separate like that. I'll have to try it again sometime. Thank you.

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    1. You're welcome, Kathi. It is definitely an acquired taste. The things I've read indicate you can alter the timing, amount of milk, and even let the cultured milk sit out longer after you have strained out the grains, so it will become more acidic if that is your goal. There are many possibilities with kefir and we are only scratching the surface.

      Fern

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  6. We have been using kefir grains with both store bought and raw cow's milk almost daily for over 3 years now and the health benefits have been amazing! We understand that you can use pretty much any milk as long as it is not highly pasteurized (HP). Our favorite way to use this home made kefir milk is in "green smoothies". We include 1 cup kefir milk, handful of fresh spinach, kale, collard, or chard greens, 1 tsp. of ground flax seed, chia seed, and wheat bran, 1 Tbs. of whey powder, raw organic honey, and coconut oil. We also add 1 banana and 1 cup frozen organic fruit for sweetness and texture. We call them our "Super Shakes" because they include so many "Super" foods. We are sleeping better, have more energy, no more joint pain, digestion is definitely improved (no more colitis attacks), and on top of it all we don't catch cold anymore.

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    1. This is really great information! Thank you for sharing it with all of us.

      Fern

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