Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Kefir

Sometimes I find out new things in the most roundabout ways – at least it seems that way to me. I was browsing the archives of a blog I subscribe to and came across a post about kefir. I had seen it mentioned in recipes here and there so this post piqued my interested. Suddenly, I had to know what kefir was and I wanted to try some NOW. Here is the original blog post.

Kefir is a fermented milk drink. You can buy it or you can ferment your own with kefir grains. After you have a batch, you remove the grains (by straining) and start all over again. There’s much more to the process but who wants to read all about that? If you do, you can go here. Personally, I think kefir is like a liquidy yogurt. It has oodles of health benefits (probiotics, vitamins, etc) that I won’t list here. You’ll just have to trust me. There is a wealth of information online.

I decided to try kefir before I attempted to make my own so I got a premade bottle at one of my favorite stores, Health Foods Unlimited. I got a flavored kind and I really liked it. So I called around to find some grains. All I could find locally was a powder but I decided to try that before I ordered actual grains online. With the grains, you just add it to milk and let it ferment at room temperature. With the powder, you have heat the milk, cool it, mix the powder and then set it out for approx 24 hours. I did this a few times and actually prefer the stuff I made myself to what I bought in the store.

For ease of use, I’d really like to get some grains. I found a woman in Fayette, Ohio, who sells them. She seems very knowledgeable and helpful, should you have questions about the process. The only issue with getting my own grains is that it multiplies very quickly so I’d need people to give some to. I know of one person who would be interested so there could be more. This lady also buys them back. Not sure if that’d fit into my schedule but we’ll see.

So what do I do with it after I’ve made it? So far I’ve only made smoothies but I’ve seen other recipes that call for kefir. I just haven’t had a chance to make any yet. Kefir can be used as a substitute for buttermilk, sour cream and yogurt. I’ve even seen a banana nut bread that had kefir.

And now you know all about kefir. Well, sorta.

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