Re: all about kefir--was goat's milk kefir

[Guest guest]

Hi K.C. and other kefir beginners,

To make kefir, you just put the gelatinous, cottage-cheese looking

grains into the milk, at a ratio of 1 to 1, as in 1 tbsp. grains per 1

cup of milk. Let that sit for 24 hours on the counter, strain it out

with a stainless steel strainer, don't rinse the grains, place them

into new milk, and repeat the process. Your finished kefir drink will

keep in the fridge for a long time, some sat 2 months, I usually say a

month

The resulting kefir product is almost always going to be sour--that's

the point. It's like yogurt. The sour taste comes from the activity

of the lactobacillus bacteria producing lactic acid. This is a common

element in all fermentations that causes things to be sour. The sour

taste of real sauerkraut is lactic acid. The sour taste of real kimchi

is lactic acid. The sour taste of real pickles is lactic acid. And

the sour taste of yogurt is lactic acid as well. Lactic acid is a

preservative. If you don't like sour, maybe kefir isn't for you. Just

be ready for it. There is not really any such thing as a non-sour

fermented product that I know of anyway.

The flavorings for kefir can be anything you like, as Angel said. I

personally have a kefir smoothie every morning made up of 1 c. kefir, 2

pastured eggs, 1/4 c. raw cream, and some Stevia to taste. It is

pretty sweet after the Stevia goes in. Other people use fruits, honey,

maple syrup, whatever, but Stevia saves on calories.

The reason you put kefir grains in the fridge would be to store them

for about a week and a half before using them. If you want to store

them longer than that in the fridge, then just change out the milk, to

feed them. This slows down the process of their reproduction, like all

bacteria. To store them for up to 1.5 years, dry them out after rinsing

with non-chlorinated water between 2 paper towels until they are like

little hard rocks, then store in a paper bag inside a jar in the

pantry.

Check out Dominic Antifeatro's website for all the info you ever wanted

to know about kefir. I got my grains originally from him and his came

from the original Muslim peoples in the Cauasus Mountains of Russia.

It is http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html .

D.

On Nov 15, 2004, at 10:01 PM, RawDairy wrote:

>

> Message: 7

> Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 18:28:53 -0700

>

> Subject: Re: goat's milk kefir

>

> Checked it out, but no one in Idaho. Will check out OR and other

> states that are close. Maybe it won't cost too much in postage that

> way. Have to get ready for milking right now. Will check further

> later.

>

> Thanks again,

>

> K.C.

[Guest guest]

I ferment my pickles and they are not sour. I call them Vampire Chasers because of the garlic in them. I don't use any vinegar.

I have made yogurt that isn't that sour as well. Maybe it's the amount of time it's fermented?

Either way, I want to try it.

K.C.

Re: all about kefir--was goat's milk kefir

Hi K.C. and other kefir beginners, The sour taste comes from the activity of the lactobacillus bacteria producing lactic acid. This is a common element in all fermentations that causes things to be sour. The sour taste of real sauerkraut is lactic acid. The sour taste of real kimchi is lactic acid. The sour taste of real pickles is lactic acid. And the sour taste of yogurt is lactic acid as well. Lactic acid is a preservative.

[Guest guest]

Hi K.C.,

Well, that's odd. Hmmm. Seems to me that if it's not sour, your

ferment didn't happen. The sour is from the lactic acid, and the

bacterial activity. Interesting. Yes, the amount of time fermented

equals the amount of bacterial activity...and if it's just a short time

and nothing is sour, then you may not be getting much benefit...

But garlic chasers sound delicious. Would love to taste those!

D.

On Nov 16, 2004, at 5:16 PM, RawDairy wrote:

>

> Message: 24

> Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 15:58:38 -0700

>

> Subject: Re: Re: all about kefir--was goat's milk kefir

>

> I ferment my pickles and they are not sour. I call them Vampire

> Chasers because of the garlic in them. I don't use any vinegar.

>

> I have made yogurt that isn't that sour as well. Maybe it's the

> amount of time it's fermented?

>

> Either way, I want to try it.

>

> K.C.

[Guest guest]

Well, the pickles ferment because there are bubbles around the top while the pickles are tuning to that pickled color. I just know I don't have any vampires around (HEE HEE). Use lots of home grown garlic, pickling spice and kosher salt and filtered water. Heat the water with the salt in it, pour it over the cuccumers and spices and leave it on the counter for a few days or until the cukes turn the right color. Have made several gallons this year. Probably enough for the whole year. Great with corned beef. You REALLY need to love garlic to eat these. I wanted to sell some, but the people out here can't take them. They are used to cooking the pickles with vinegar....YUK.

The yogurt culture I've been getting is referred to as "sweet" yogurt culture. They do have the sour as well, but the sweet is more to my liking. Understand, it's not sweet like sugar, but just less sour.

As for sauerkraut, you can keep it. My mom loves it, but I can't get it past my nose (LOL).

K.C.

Re: Re: all about kefir--was goat's milk kefir>> I ferment my pickles and they are not sour. I call them Vampire > Chasers because of the garlic in them. I don't use any vinegar.>> I have made yogurt that isn't that sour as well. Maybe it's the > amount of time it's fermented?>> Either way, I want to try it.>> K.C.PLEASE BE KIND AND TRIM YOUR POSTS WHEN REPLYING!Visit our Raw Dairy Files for a wealth of information!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDairy/files/