Kefir

Bumping this old thread up. I have not made any kefir in quite a while, even though I know how great it is for our gut health (was also mentioned in that thread).
One of the things that I was reading about making muesli, is that some people add yogurt to it instead of regular milk, for the probiotics. Kefir has a lot more of both probiotics and prebiotics, so I was thinking that it might work just like adding yogurt, and I ordered one of the kefir packets when I ordered the muesli.
It came on Friday, so I started a quart, and by yesterday morning, it was about ready to drink, so I had some and then added more milk for another batch. With the starter, you can reuse it several times and then the bacteria/yeast symbiotic relationship can get messed up and you have to use fresh starter.
This morning, it was ready to drink, so I tried a cup, and it just seemed to be what my body craved, so my morning coffee is still sitting there, and I am having a kefir drink for breakfast this morning. It had not sat for a whole 24 hours, but it was starting to thicken and had that kefir taste.

I tried having the actual kefir grains before, but you have to keep making it every day to feed the grains and keep them alive, and it was just more kefir than I was drinking. I like the instant packets, and if you have never made kefir before, this is a good way to try it and see what you think about kefir.

 

Here is another good read about the benefits of kefir. It is short and to the point, and easy to read, and explains all of the different ailments that kefir can help.
I used up my kefir packets, and before I did that, I ordered more of the actual kefir grains from a lady on eBay. So I am now making my kefir directly from the grains/SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast).
It takes a few days for the grains to get over the trauma of being shipped, but the dogs just gobble it up, so they helped me drink the first batches that were too sour, and now the kefir grains seem to be working great.

Since you are looking for healthy foods for your wife to help her get through the cancer treatment, kefir might be something you would be interested in checking out for your wife (and yourself), @Tony Page . Read through this little article and see what you think.

https://www.orhaolam.com/uploads/KefirInShort.pdf

 

Well, I was doing great making the kefir packets, so I ordered more real kefir grains. For whatever reason, those just do not work as well for me as the packets do. The grains turn out sour, and they separate before they get that nice thickness, similar to yogurt.

So, I ordered more of the starter packets, and have just been making yogurt instead for the time being.
There is a yogurt/kefir website that has a lot of good information about yogurt and kefir, and one of the things that they say is that you can actually make a nice thick kefir using a yogurt maker. I found that I still had a couple of the packets that I had not used for kefir making (because the grains arrived), so I am doing the kefir-in-the-yogurt-maker experiment.
It said to let it go for about 10-12 hours the first time, and then when I use that as a starter, it only needs 3-5 hours because the basic fermentation has already been done in the starter batch.

They sell all kinds of cultures on their website, but the products (or at least most of them) are also on. Amazon, and cheaper that way.
It is called https://www.yogurtathome.com/ if anyone wants to check it out, and it also has a blog and yogurt forum to help explain even more about the process of making yogurt and kefir.

 

Making kefir and yogurt are both easy, but it helps a lot to have a regular yogurt maker for yogurt.
Since you live where it is warmer, you should be able to make kefir year around , too. Kefir just ferments at room temperature, so all you need is a packet of culture mix and a quart of milk and a jar for it to ferment in.
Mine cultures fine in the summer, but now that it is between 50-60 in the house, it is just too cold, and by the time it gets cultured, it tastes too sour.

You can get the packets on Amazon, and from each packet, you make a quart of kefir or yogurt. Then you can save some from that batch to start the next quart, so each packet will make at least 3-5 more quarts, and then it gets an off-taste, so you start over with a new packet.
This is a good size to start out with and see how you like making kefir.
They also have 4-5 different strains of yogurt cultures listed on the website, so I may try some of those,too, and see what they are like, and how they are different from the plain stuff from the grocery store.

 

I do not have an instapot, @Denise Happyfeet , but I am pretty sure that some of the people here on the forum have mentioned them. I seldom need to cook anything with a pressure cooker, and the instapots are pretty expensive, at least for me.
I have a good yogurt maker that my daughter gave me because she wanted a different one. It makes a quart of yogurt at a time. (She preferred the ones that make little cups of yogurt so she could take them along to work for lunch easier).

And for kefir, you do not need any kind of special equipment, at least when your house is above 70.
Pour milk in a quart jar, stir in the starter, wrap it in a towel and put it on the counter away from sunlight, and the next day (12-24 hours, depending on room temp) you have a nice thick quart of kefir.
It is more like a drinkable yogurt, but still thick.

 

My kefir from the yogurt maker turned out perfect , I am so happy !
I left it 12 hours, and this morning, it was done and chilled. It had a tangy flavor, but not too sour, and was so thick that I had to use a spoon to put it in the quart jar from the yogurt maker container.

I am definitely going to be making my kefir in the yogurt maker from now on, at least in the cold parts of the year. I was having to leave it sit out from 1-2 days to culture, and by then, it was really sour, and didn’t even thicken properly.
That website has quite a few different strains of both yogurt and kefir, so I may try making some different kinds of yogurt, too. Both yogurt and kefir have a lot of good probiotics for the digestive system health, and cheap when I make them at home.