Friday, September 3, 2010

how we do kefir

it's time to make kefir!!
to start off... get your kefir grains.  here's a cute one from our bunch. 


first of all...put your grains in fresh milk.  if you have a tablespoon or so of grains, put them in about a cup of milk.  the kefir grains will eventually multiply and you'll have to add more milk.  we have a couple cups of kefir grains, and we use about 4 cups of milk everyday.  above is our kefir ready to culture!  your kefir needs to be able to breathe, so we put a little bit of cheesecloth on the top, and secure it with a jar ring.

kefir needs to culture for anywhere between 12-24 hours.  it needs to be out of direct sun, and kept at room temperature.  in the summer when it's really hot, we end up taking ours downstairs where it's cooler.

here's ours all ready to drain.  we usually drain it every 24 hours, but others like to drain it earlier.
a lot of people talk about not using metal or plastic when draining, but we've found that using both works fine and doesn't affect the keifr.  here's what we use to drain our kefir.

once poured into the strainer, we stir it and sometimes bang it until all that's left is the grains.
here's the keifr that was drained off.
and here are the grains.  be sure to not rinse your grains, because that destroys the good bacteria.

now you're ready to have fun with your kefir!!  we make kefir smoothies every morning, and i just started making kefir cheese and made some delicious dressing with it!!  there are so many things you can do with kefir!!  


WHAT EXACTLY IS KEFIR?  kefir grains are "a combination of bacteria and yeasts in a matrix of proteins, lipids and sugars.  Many different bacteria and yeasts are found in the kefir grains, which are a complex and highly variable community of micro-organisms."  kinda confusing, but i know that there's a lot of good stuff in kefir, and i love it!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, no! I rinsed mine, just once, is it ruined?

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  2. no it should be good. i think the main thing is to not rinse because it disturbs the bacteria. we've occasionally dropped some on the floor and would rinse it off... so i wouldn't worry too much. unless you've rinsed it everyday and it's not culturing. how is your kefir??

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