<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Q: Should milk be heated before kefir starter is added as directed on the
kefir starter package?
A: The directions on kefir starter packages say to heat milk to nearly
boiling then cool to room temperature. I skip that step. The gal who
gave me my real kefir grains is a professional dairy herd improvement
association inspector, so I consider her an expert on milk safety. She
adds her kefir grains to RAW cow's milk at room temperature. She says
milk doesn't need preheating because kefir microorganisms prevent the
growth of harmful bacteria both in the milk and in the gut. After
speaking with her, I stopped preheating the milk before I added the kefir
starter or kefir grains. I now start with room temperature goat milk. I
can't tell any difference in the finished product.
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Q: Do I have to use goat's milk? Sidney
A: No. Any dairy milk will do, cow, goat, buffalo, etc. It can also be
made with reconstituted milks. But it you want to try non dairy milks,
see the web site for instructions.
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Q: Do you make your kefir with goat milk? Also, how much are you
drinking? And, how much and which fruits are you using?
A: Yes I make it with goat milk. I use Yogourmet kefir starter and I
also use real kefir grains. First time in three years I can tolerate any
dairy except for a little butter. I drink about 2 cups of kefir milk a
day either plain or in a smoothie. If I had a faster way to make it, I
could easily drink more than a quart a day! I love it.
Blender smoothie recipe: 1 cup kefir, 1/2 orange or banana, 3 frozen
strawberries, blue berries or other sweet frozen fruit, sweeten with
stevia or saccharin. My kids love the smoothies; my hubby hates 'em.
But my hubby does like Ranch dressing made with kefir milk. [See my post
Feb 2004: Better than Ranch salad dressing ] Search the internet & you'll
find all sorts of recipes for kefir foods.
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Q: I just joined a yahoo kefir list and should have my kefir grains
arriving today or tomorrow. I wanted to ask you about making the kefir.
Dom's site says to ferment for 12-24 hours. Do you ferment yours longer
to burn up the lactose (like the 24 hour yogurt) or have you not had any
problems with the 12-24 hour fermentation time?
A: I've been culturing mine for 20 to 24 hours. No problems tolerating
it.
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Q: If you had mentioned the brand that you used on the list it might
have been interpreted by some as an advertisement. Now that we're
off-list, could you tell me which brand you had such good results with?
Rick
A: Ha ha! I does sound like an ad! But it's not. I initially started
out making kefir with Yogourmet kefir starter. I'm now using real kefir
grains that I acquired for FREE from a local contact I made on this web
site: http://66.46.11.99/clarkson/Show/Clarkson/kefir/default.asp It
may take some persistence to find someone to send you some grains, but
it's worth it to have the self propagating source for starting real
kefir.
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Q: What's the difference between kefir grains and kefir starter?
A: Real Kefir grains are a plant like, gelatinous, self propagating,
living organism composed of dozens of different strains of beneficial
bacteria and beneficial yeasts. Kefir grains look like little
cauliflower flowerets. As long as they are properly cared for they live
forever. No scientist has ever been able to "create" a kefir grain in a
laboratory. They have been passed down person to person for centuries.
Kefir starter is a commercially prepared powder that includes some of
the same micro organisms that are found in kefir grains. Kefir grains
and kefir starter make a similar milk product with similar health
benefits. When I first started drinking kefir, I started with
commercially prepared kefir starter and got wonderful healthful benefits
(See my post Tue, 24 Feb 2004: Candida and unexpected solution for
chronic constipation). I like using the grains, of course, because they
are FREE! I do supplement with the commercial starter because I don't
have enough grains to make enough real kefir to fill my family's needs .
. . . yet. But I'm expecting that they will grow to the point that I can
share them with others.
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