I know Beth but even simple thinking is hard this week, Or leaning new things.at least. Yvonne was so nice to give me all the info and you too..
There's a lot of good info in this thread. I want to try @Kate Ellery 's method of the second ferment with fruit. Sounds like you've been overdoing it, Marie. I'm having trouble with my right arm swelling a bit from lymphedema so that slows me down some, too. I really need to deep clean this house but I just can't get motivated.
@Beth Gallagher I’ve shortened the time I second ferment my kefir after straining….and you’ve placed you kefir in the jar …...add your orange slices ( I normally cut a thin slice in two) and only leave it on your beach for 1/2 hour cause if it’s warm in your home it will ferment faster. If you start seeing a clear liquid forming at the bottom of the jar ( before 1/2 hour ) put it in the fridge right away ….but preferably before that happens …..so start by trying it after half hour it’s quite ok once you refrigerate it it slow it down. I’d rather you try a shorter second ferment that let it get ..over done by separating to much
I have learned something new about kefir. Those kefir grains are some tough little critters. There are so many good things to eat from Thanksgiving until New Years Day that I didn’t have tummy room for kefir. So I put the grains in a pint of fresh milk and put it in the coldest part of the fridge. I took it out about two weeks ago, washed the grains, and put them in another pint of milk. They started doing their thing immediately. Tough little critters. Eating frozen blueberries with the kefir in the cold weather made me feel cold. I wanted something warm to warm my innards. So I put 2 cups of blueberries in just enough water to keep them from sticking and stewed them for 5 minutes. I let them cool a bit and put about ¼ cup of them in a cup kefir with 2 packs of sweetener. It is sooo good. Y’all should try that.
This is a very informative thread, glad I wondered upon it today. I've only been drinking Organic Kefir for about a month and purchasing it at the Health Food Store nearby. I'm very interested though in making my own sometime soon and give it a go, want to continue to improve and balance the good bacteria in my gut.
Once again, I have ordered some milk kefir grains, with the intention of this time using enough of the kefir that I can keep the grains alive and healthy. A local lady had some for sale on ebay, and I just ordered them today, so they should be here in a couple of days. When browsing on amazon, I was looking at a kefir cap, and I realized that it looks almost like my sprouting lid. The kefir cap is a two part lid, one , the one like the sprouter lid, is to strain the kefir, and the other part just fits on top for when you put it in the refrigerator . It costs $15. I said that I could use the sprouter cap and my regular plastic jar lid and do the same basic thing and save my $15, and it would make straining out the grains SO much easier than trying to put them all through a strainer. I like the idea of grains because you never have to keep re-ordering more starter, but pretty soon, I would find that I was not using the kefir fast enough. This time, I want to learn how to make cheese from the kefir and yogurt, and will use more of the kefir that way.
I wasn’t sure where to add this @Yvonne Smith im happy if you move it , if feel this would be better suited to a different thread Just thought I’d post it cause it’s something I’ve never seen mentioned before ..making your own kefir cultured butter https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/cultured-kefir-butter/
I moved this from the kombucha thread into the kefir thread, @Kate Ellery . I never thought about making butter from kefir, but the recipe sounded simple enough. Basically, they just fermented the kefir from cream instead of milk, and it came out much thicker. Putting it in the food processor seems a lot simpler that putting it in a quart jar and shaking it until it turns into butter, which is how I have made butter before from cream. Definitely is something I am going to try. I have been reading that you can use the whey and make a fermented whey soda, so even the whey would be used once you made the butter.
Just strain the fermented / strained milk to make soft cheese Yvonne leave in fridge overnight to strain ) then add any flavouring you want …I like chilly sauce tipped on top like a dip. Why don’t you buy proper kefir grains @Yvonne Smith you can freeze excess grains that way cause they double up….and keep growing ..and growing I have 6 jars of excess grains stored in milk in freezer
I did just order kefir grains last week, so now I am making my kefir with the live grains. I also got the mesophilic yogurt which has a live culture that you keep reusing, just like the kefir grains, and then you never have to buy starter for either one. I tried using my sprouter cap to strain the grains, and that is a lot simpler than putting them through the strainer like I was doing before. Now, I can just strain out the kefir and have the grains ready to go a lot faster. I made my first batch of frozen kefir yesterday, like frozen yogurt, but with kefir instead. It is really good, satisfies that craving for ice cream, but has the live probiotics still active in the kefir, so much healthier, and not all loaded with sugar and preservatives like commercial ice cream.
Last week, when i ordered my groceries from Walmart, they brought me a container of cream, which I had not ordered. I decided to start adding some into the milk when I am making the kefir, and it makes a really thick and creamy kefir with a sweeter taste. I think that I am going to continue to make it that way because it comes out so nice, and the creamier kefir and yogurt is perfect for making the frozen dessert with, too.
@Yvonne Smith I tried what you said you done with your kefir added a bit of cream ……and seeming I was already cutting up apples to preserve when I strained my kefir ….. I added 3 small chunks of fresh apple to my second ferment it turned out the thickest milk kefir I’ve ever made ….I really think the adding of a little cream makes a huge difference to the thickness …..and the tang from the fresh apple was really nice ( my apples have a tart taste …Pink lady ) I’ve got 3 different apple trees , PL ..Fugi and Golden delicious
Interesting article received in a online newsletter today https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/kefir-and-your-blood-pressure/