Re: Need honest opinion about Kefir

[Guest guest]

It reminded me of a cross between Sun Tea and Ginger Ale.

I liked it.

Langlois

Key wrote:

Does Kefir -the drink- REALLY taste good?

or is it an "acquired" taste, like say, raw oysters or steak

tartar?

All the websites that sell it state it is fantastic -but I'm a

skeptic.

Does it need fruit or sweetner or is it any good just plain?

Enquiring Minds wanna know!

-- Key

Coventree Farm

ADGA Nubians & LaMancha Dairy Goats

Lake Texoma in North TX

Quote: "Doelings are the Goddesses of Frolic" --unknown

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[Guest guest]

You're talking about milk kefir, right?I have to honestly tell you that I am sometimes in the mood for it, sometimes not. It tastes kind of like a slightly yeasty yogurt. I do like to add either agave nectar or some fruit to it because it is kind of tart. You might want to buy some of the commercial kind in the health food store, although the homemade kind is better. At least this way you'd get an idea of the flavor.

I don't know if that helps or not. I don't think it's fantastic, but it is good for me and it's easier for me to keep making than yogurt. Also, I use it as an ingredient in some of my cooking.--

Does Kefir -the drink- REALLY taste good? or is it an " acquired " taste, like say, raw oysters or steak tartar? All the websites that sell it state it is fantastic -but I'm a skeptic.

Does it need fruit or sweetner or is it any good just plain? Enquiring Minds wanna know!-- Key Coventree Farm ADGA Nubians & LaMancha Dairy Goats

Lake Texoma in North TX Quote: " Doelings are the Goddesses of Frolic " --unknown No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.

[Guest guest]

, are you thinking kombucha?

Sally

It reminded me of a cross between Sun Tea and Ginger Ale.I liked it. Langlois

[Guest guest]

I need to get some grains from someone and start making it again, especially now that the temperature is getting warmer, my kitchen will probably culture things better. But, as a story, my then 7-yr-old daughter was with me at the Wise Traditions conference in '05 on the Monday special chapter leaders day, and we got to snag a bottle of left-over Organic Pastures Colostrum Kefir. She LOVED it! She insisted on sipping it the whole way home and drank almost the whole thing (a pint, I think) herself. I maybe got two sips of it. I've never really acquired a taste for it, kinda like with buttermilk. But I cook with kefir, buttermilk or yogurt (gotta thin that out sometimes, though) a lot for soaking flours in, and put it is smoothies for breakfast.

Sally

Does Kefir -the drink- REALLY taste good?

or is it an "acquired" taste, like say, raw oysters or steak tartar?

[Guest guest]

We cant get past the yeasty taste here. And the alcohol taste either. both hubby and I are non drinkers because it just tastes awful to us. We do very little sugar here and none in stuff like smooties or yogurt - just the occasional batch of cookies or ice cream when we have some surplus milk to run through the separator.

We do use lots of cultured buttermilk for smoothies with fresh goat buttermilk, raw farm fresh eggs, bluberries, strawberries and bananas every morning. I find buttermilk as easy to make as the kefir was - easier in fact. I just put a little buttermilk in the bottom of a canning jar and pour fresh from the goat milk in. Leave it loosly covered and in about 12-24 hours I have buttermilk.

If you like the fermented yeasty addition to the taste it is very similar to other cultured milks.

Aliza

[Guest guest]

I always use raw goat milk (I buy from a farm 10 minutes away) and love the kefir I make. Mine usually takes 36 hours to ferment but as the summer gets closer I expect that to speed up as my house doesn't have central air and we keep it on the cool side during the winter.

I've never tasted any alcohol in mine.I guess if you wanted to be completely sure you could buy the kefir at the HFS but you would be losing a lot of the best things about kefir and who knows what else they add to it as a preservative. Not to mention the cost is prohibitive.

I agree about too many grains making it more sour, as well as more thick. If your kefir is healthy, you will have to take out half the grains every few weeks. I find this a nice way to share with my friends.

Dear Kefir drinkers,I liked all the answers except this one: " The alcohol content can vary and approach 4%

under the right circumstances. " -- No danger of this. You would never tolerate such awful tasting kefir. I don't think this is possible without damaging the kefir grains. People on this board are responsible about feeding their animals. They will be responsible about feeding their kefir grains properly. This is how to keep your kefir grains happy.

Give your kefir grains as much milk as it takes so there is no separation before straining. This keeps them happy and the kefir mild tasting. Alcohol content will be below .5%, suitable for a drink for children. The reason kefir begins to be too sour for people is that they have too many kefir grains in the jar for the amount of milk in there.

Kefir is delicious, especially made with goat milk. Cow milk kefir tastes good too, but the texture of goat milk kefir is superior.Marilyn Kefirlady

kefirlady.com

[Guest guest]

Like it or not, it's the truth. For most folks alcohol is not a

problem, but for some it's a major life threatening allergy. Others

are on medications that ANY alcohol, even the tiny amounts in

flavorings can cause nasty reactions. Kefir has alcohol in it. And

sometimes a LOT more than you think.

Donna

Safehaven Nubians

Dandridge, TN

>

> Dear Kefir drinkers,

>

> I liked all the answers except this one:

>

> " The alcohol content can vary and approach 4%

> under the right circumstances. "

> --

>

> No danger of this. You would never tolerate such awful tasting

kefir. I

> don't think this is possible without damaging the kefir grains.

People on

> this board are responsible about feeding their animals. They will be

> responsible about feeding their kefir grains properly. This is how

to keep

> your kefir grains happy.

>

> Give your kefir grains as much milk as it takes so there is no

separation

> before straining. This keeps them happy and the kefir mild tasting.

Alcohol

> content will be below .5%, suitable for a drink for children. The

reason

> kefir begins to be too sour for people is that they have too many

kefir

> grains in the jar for the amount of milk in there.

>

> Kefir is delicious, especially made with goat milk. Cow milk kefir

tastes

> good too, but the texture of goat milk kefir is superior.

>

> Marilyn Kefirlady

> kefirlady.com

>

[Guest guest]

Marilyn,I absolutely agree that 4% if way off the mark. And I think even stating .5 is WAY too high an estimate for kefir ethanol. Sending this along because I think you might enjoy the " good read " aspect of it...

In reading the " Handbook of Fermented Functional Foods " , part of the " Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals Series " by CRC Press, ISBN 0-8493-1372-4 (putting that in for anyone else interested in heavy-duty science behind fermented food reading), they state: " The production of ethanol in kefir is complex; both yeasts and heterofermentative bacteria produce ethanol. The quantity of ethanol produced is dependent on the fermentation process and the type of container used (tightly capped or not). Kefir produced in small dairies in the former Soviety Union in the early 20th century contained alcohol levels between 1 and 2%. Present-day methods of production result in much lower levels of alcohol. This may be due in part to the fact that fermentations are stopped at higher pH levels than previously. The final alcohol concentration is determined for the most part by the number of yeasts present in the grains added to the milk and the duration of fermentation. Ethanol appears to be produced toward the end of the fermentation process and its formatino can continue even when the pH has decreased to the point where the lactic acid bacteria in the product are no longer active. The ethanol concentration can be increased in the final product by increasing the temperature during fermentation. Kefir produced in the laboratory from grains had a higher ethanol content (

0.040 to 0.30%) than kefir produced commecially in Germany (0.002 to 0.005%). " Later it talks about adding glucose to increase ethanol, but even in control studies the alchol yield was still only 0.07%. Additional glucose was added for long-term storage stability, and even then, ethanol concentrations were 0.24% in the final product.In reading further, they distinguished between traditional grains (Middle East) and modified grains (American), with our modified grains having far less ethanol capability. I can see where, if our modern-day kefir were capable of producing 2% alcohol, as were the early 20th century Russian grains, we'd have cause for concern, especially for children and those with alcohol intolerances, but nothing supports the 4% stated by someone else.

I'll have to visit your website....SharonOn 3/25/07, Marilyn Kefirlady <marilynjarz@...

> wrote:

Dear Kefir drinkers,I liked all the answers except this one: " The alcohol content can vary and approach 4%

under the right circumstances. " -- No danger of this. You would never tolerate such awful tasting kefir. I don't think this is possible without damaging the kefir grains. People on this board are responsible about feeding their animals. They will be responsible about feeding their kefir grains properly. This is how to keep your kefir grains happy.

Give your kefir grains as much milk as it takes so there is no separation before straining. This keeps them happy and the kefir mild tasting. Alcohol content will be below .5%, suitable for a drink for children. The reason kefir begins to be too sour for people is that they have too many kefir grains in the jar for the amount of milk in there.

Kefir is delicious, especially made with goat milk. Cow milk kefir tastes good too, but the texture of goat milk kefir is superior.Marilyn Kefirlady

kefirlady.com

-- Deut 11:14 He will put grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will have plenty to eat.

[Guest guest]

I think it's sort of acquired, and I haven't totally acquired it yet.

My goat milk kefir tends to vary from batch to batch, and once in a

while I crank out a batch that is rich, thick, fizzy, and really fresh

tasting, and then I like almost like it straight. But sometimes it

takes longer, and has a stronger taste to it, and I'm not crazy about

it at all. I mainly make it for my goat share clientele, and they

keep coming back for more. I do get on a kefir jag myself once in a

while, but usually only if I throw some fruit juice concentrate in it.

Like that white grape peach or pear, a little of that mixed in and

I'll down a big mug full. I like my homemade goat milk yogurt better

than the kefir in general, but would definitely choose the kefir if I

were having digestive problems.

Suzy

>

> Does Kefir -the drink- REALLY taste good?

> or is it an " acquired " taste, like say, raw oysters or steak tartar?

>

> All the websites that sell it state it is fantastic -but I'm a

skeptic.

> Does it need fruit or sweetner or is it any good just plain?

> Enquiring Minds wanna know!

>

>

> -- Key

> Coventree Farm

> ADGA Nubians & LaMancha Dairy Goats

> Lake Texoma in North TX

> Quote: " Doelings are the Goddesses of Frolic " --unknown

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go

> with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.

>