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hendi_alex
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Cultured Probiotics - kefir, kombucha, lacto-ferments...

I'm 66 and have had lower tract issues for most of my life. A few months ago I was having a particularly bad bout and my daughter suggested taking probiotics, the expensive ones like are sold at organic grocers. I generally view such remedies as 'voodoo' but this one time said [what the heck.] After about three days it was like a miracle, all symptoms disappeared and have not returned since. I can't suggest these kinds of results for others, but for me was nothing short of miraculous in taming my IBS like symptoms.

I'm not much of a pill person and don't like artificial sources when regular diet can provide most needed components to promote health. I started researching natural probiotic products and quickly discovered that fermented foods provide greater numbers and greater variety of gut friendly bacteria. We immediately started buying GT's kombucha, Bubbies kraut, and organic kefir. This combination, consumed daily, has apparently given a continued benefit as the capsules were discontinued months ago yet the lower tract continues to feel great.

For me the natural progression was to investigate home fermented products. My first effort was with kombucha. I made my own scoby using a starter of GT's kombucha mixed into sweetened black tea. The scoby formed and thickened in about thee weeks. Since the scoby formed, we make a fresh batch of kombucha about every 7 days, one gallon per batch. It is refreshing, bubbly, and light. Most of all it contains those friendly bacteria. I rate this process as very easy.

Next came kefir. We ordered dehydrated kefir grains and also ordered some fresh grains on line. After a batch or two to reconstitute the grains, we are able to make a batch in under 36 hours Just add to whole milk and let sit overnight. Separate out the grains and let sit another few hours, then a tart batch of very healthy kefir is ready to drink. A gallons using organic milk costs us $5.50 versus $5 per quart for organic store bought kefir. We like buttermilk so definitely enjoy kefir with its tart but not bitter taste. It can be sweetened just like yogurt for anyone who can't handle the tart flavor. Between batches, we store our kefir grains in milk in the fridge.

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I tried kefir before, I do take the pills and try to eat things that will have the bacteria I need in it. I may try some of what you are doing. Friendly bacteria are necessary for our health. I was reading in Scientific American about how having one kind of germ in your gut helps fight cancer and how it helps immune system therapy work much better. Like soil I think we are a symbiotic relation ship whit our environment. This is one of the bad things about antibiotics, when taking them and after it is so important to refresh the bacteria in your system. Sugar helps bad bacteria grow, as well as cancer, natural foods in the right amount is what we need. I would like to know more about what you are doing.

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How cool that you are doing all these. I definitely want to try growing the grain kefir -- it's on my todo list. I HAVE been trying lacto-fermented pickles. I agree 100% that you need to be aware of your friendly gut flora/fauna and take care of them for better health. :D

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Growing kefir is very easy also, probably easier than the kombucha because the grains can be stored for a week or more in the fridge, between batches. The process is so simple. Add grains to milk and let sit overnight at room temp until it slightly thickens with whey slightly separating at the bottom. Strain out grains and place them in fresh milk to place in fridge until the next batch. Refresh the milk if kept over 5-6 days. I use an immersion blender to emulsify the new kefir batch and let it continue fermenting for a few hours until desired level of tartness is achieved. It will need to be vigorously stirred every 30 minutes or so during this step. Refrigerate and drink up to 2-3 weeks. We consumer 3/4 of a quart about every three days, usually making two batches back to back and then let the grains rest until ready for the next batch.

Our kefir is slightly more yeasty tasting than store bought but is very good. We drink it straight, put it in smoothies, and sometimes use it in place of buttermilk.

If a batch of kefir runs too long, it gets very thick. This doesn't hurt the batch, but makes it difficult to separate out the grains, especially when the grains are young and small. 'We never used one, but they make kefir grain baskets that make separation very easy. For me, the first batch of kefir made after the grains have been resting is extra yeasty with second batch being much more tart. That is why I make two batches in a row. IMO the kefir would be best if the grains were always working at room temperature. That is just not practical though. I am very satisfied with our home fermented products. It tastes slightly different from commercial, but is likely healthier because commercial tends to be made using a more limited spectrum of friendly bacteria.

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we eat lots of home-lacto-fermented pickles and krauts in this house.

my wife's not doing dairy these days, and I've never been a fan of milk or the like, so we don't mess with kefir or yogurt, which we'd probably make if we could.

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Do you make your own pickles? I understand that it can be difficult to get crunchy sour pickles.

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we do, do cuke pickles, among other things. I haven't found it too difficult - just a matter of adding enough of some kind of tannic ingredient, as the tannins helps keep them crunchy. I've used fresh grape, oak, and occasionally cherry leaves to good effect. a friend swears by black tea leaves.

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hendi_alex wrote:Do you make your own pickles? I understand that it can be difficult to get crunchy sour pickles.
!potatoes! wrote:we do, do cuke pickles, among other things. I haven't found it too difficult - just a matter of adding enough of some kind of tannic ingredient, as the tannins helps keep them crunchy. I've used fresh grape, oak, and occasionally cherry leaves to good effect. a friend swears by black tea leaves.
OOOHHH! Great TIP! :D

Thanks for asking the question and thank you for the answer! :-()

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I made a batch of kraut this winter and it was excellent. Tried a second batch this spring and it rotted. My conclusion was that our 75-80 degree house was too warm for the process. I'm considering another batch with the crock placed over an a/c register. That should keep the temperature in the upper 60's. I may just wait until fall when the inside temperature gets closer to 70 degrees. I understand that cucumber pickles have a more forgiving temperature range, so may try some of those if the cucumber vines pick up production.

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I've been having issues with my stomach since a year. Went to the doctor who was familiar with my symptoms. What's wrong with my stomach is a real thing, the doctor diagnosed me, not the usual vague middle age complaints.

For the past couple months I've been rotating through several different kinds of plain yogurts and plain kefir type drinks. They each have different kinds of cultures so I figure it might be good to rotate through the different kinds. My condition has improved significantly.

One thing to remember is that probiotic drinks available at the store contain high dosages of sugar. So it's best for your health to purchase the plain flavors and learn to live with the slightly sour taste. It's not bad at all once you get used to the idea that it's only sour. It's like fishing at night without a lantern. After a few minutes your eyes adjust and after an hour you can see by starlight- something that goes against your preconceived ideas about darkness. Getting used to sour tastes is the same, it's about breaking through preconceptions.

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I'm lucky on that score, as we tend to love the sour of most fermented products. We always have plain yogurt, kefir, or kombucha. The only time sugar or honey are combined is if we have a lightly sweetened smoothie. Those tasty treats usually consist of frozen milk, frozen kefir, fruit, a little sugar and/or honey, and vanilla extract all combined in the blender.

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I didn't mention this before, but dinner reminded me: brine-fermented garlic scapes are fantastic.

that's all.

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I made 2 quarts of fermented kosher pickles last week. They are medium crunchy and very good. I used 4 grape leaves in the brine and only let them ferment for 4-5 days before packing and moving to the fridge. After fermentation a splash of vinegar was added to increase tartness. Fermenting temperature probably varied from 70-75 degrees. I'll definitely do another batch, hopefully with home grown cukes next time. These medium sized picklers were quartered before fermentation.

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Currently I have a mall test batch of kraut fermenting at the same temperature range as the pickles. The crock is placed over the a/c register. So far fermentation appears to be going well. Will taste after about 5 days. Three weeks fermentation time is probably a better minimum but hard to achieve in warm weather at our temperature setting.

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in warmer weather, I've had kraut be 'done' in 4 or 5 days. temps definitely make a big difference.

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A friend who had promised to send me some fresh milk kefir grains came through since the weather has cooled enough to not worry about temperatures during shipping. :-()

I've been tending them for a week and a half, through cycles of 1/2 gallon of milk plus some diluted 1/2 and 1/2 and whipping cream due to running out of milk, experiencing first gamut of fermenting kefir, perfect fizzy and creamy kefir, an over-active mature kefir that overflowed the airlock, to over-ripe kefir, then back to fresh supply of milk and lovely creamy, foamy kefir... starting to get the hang of what to look for, and seeing my kefir grains starting to grow a bit, too.

DH and I have been drinking some of the wonderful home-made kefir sweetened with a tiny bit of stevia and a bit of honey, and he has been drinking them without complaint. Image We also drink it with a spoonful of home made blackberry sauce. And I had enough refrigerator matured kefir to make a pitcher of smoothie for everyone today (frozen blackberry, kale, pineapple... fresh sectioned naval orange, a banana, and local wild honey).

I've also branched out to making coconut milk kefir and goat milk kefir -- mostly started out with 2ndary fermentation of strained cow's milk kefir (gave each a tiny blob in their individual main fermentation jar to adapt and plan on continuing to add to them as the main mass of grains grow).

It turns out that one of our two kitties can't get enough goat milk kefir LOL.

At some point, I want to obtain some real water kefir grains, but -for the time being- also separated out a tiny blob of milk kefir grain to play with today, culturing a spice jar full of sugar water/ginger/raisins/bit of orange -- started this morning, it floated to the top and sank back down a little while ago. 8)

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...I'm spending way too much time on these -- my typical enthusiastic both feet in start of a new and exciting project. :D

Over the summer, I fell in love with Trader Joe's organic full-fat coconut milk that comes in a can. It tasted sooooo yummy! So I used it for my first batch of coconut milk kefir... then the weather turned cold and the kitchen temperature dropped below that magic number. 2nd time, when I opened a can after THOROUGHLY shaking it as usual, I discovered that the top 1/3 ...nearly 1/2 was SOLID coconut oil. I used the thin 1/2 can of coconut "milk" then opened another can, thinking that can might have been an older one. But 2nd can was the same so I added the liquid from the 2nd can and saved the oil from both cans for another use.

Yesterday, I had the clever idea to gently warm the can before opening in a bain-marie, shaking thoroughly THEN using it. Today, I discovered my mistake -- the oil had floated to the top and solidified, englobing the kefir grains. :shock:

This morning's activity consisted of MAKING fresh coconut milk from unsweetened dried shredded coconut. I blended 1 cup mixed with 1 cup hot spring water and 1 cup cold spring water then fine-mesh strained to make warm/tepid coconut milk.

First, fine mesh strained out the solidified oil from the strained 2nd culture airlock bottle and transferred to refrigerator culture jar. Then strained the englobed kefir grain in the regular grain strainer while pouring the grain jar kefir to the cleaned 2nd culture airlock bottle. Then gently poured small amount of the the warm freshly made coconut milk over the grains and oil through the strainer to melt the oil until the grains were exposed and rinsed. Grains went back into the grain jar with the warm coconut milk to be swirled and rinsed until they were completely free. Then I added back about 1/2 the amount of 2nd fermented coconut kefir.

1/2 of 1/2 of 1/2, so ratio of cow's milk kefir has reduced quite a bit and This latest batch must be getting close to mostly coconut milk? This is probably why the coconut oil is solidifying as well -- not enough milk fat to emulsify.

I made a 2nd extraction of basically low-fat coconut milk by adding another cup each of hot and cold water to the strained shredded coconuts -- I was prepared for this to be weak and tasteless, but it is actually very good. I added 3/4 cup sugar to the strained "must" and boiled and simmered until I ended up with a ...something. I was aiming for coconut jam kind of thing -- didn't want to do the custard with egg yolk this time. But it is tasty and will be used in baked good or something.

Coconut milk kefir has been crazy. This is the one that keeps bubbling through the airlock. I'm down to only half-filling the bottle now. The previously made coconut kefir are in the fridge for further experimentation/fermentation, tightly capped now to possibly trap the air for a bubbly beverage. If they like the home made coconut milk from shredded coconuts, I may not buy any more canned. It was super easy.

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I was advised that milk kefir grains need animal milk to sustain them -- maybe I should "supplement" the grain in the main coconut milk fermentation/culture jar with some cow's milk once in a while or let it vacation in cow's milk every so often? Or maybe I should use young coconut water as supplement if I can find unprocessed one -- I heard they can be found in the freezer section. (I'm thinking of the water from green coconuts used as IV fluid....) I wonder if water kefir grains is what should really be used to grow coconut milk kefir...? But not to worry, I'm only using "spare" grains.

The main blob of milk kefir grains have grown and at least doubled in volume since I started (and smaller blobs have been "harvested" for my conversion to water kefir experimentations and to start the goat milk kefir grain jar. Goat milk results have not been spectacular. Partly, I think it's because goat milk kefir is supposed to be thin, but I think the main issue is I started out with canned goat milk, which I didn't realize was EVAPORATED. Even "fresh" goat milk in the dairy case was ultra-pasteurized. Going to Whole Foods today to see if there are any other kind -- I tend not to look at the ones in plastic jugs because I assume they taste like plastic -- water in same soft plastic jugs taste like plastic to me.

Trader Joes sells pasteurized but not homogenized milks which are on the New England Cheese Co.'s "good milk" list for making cheese. Now, I understand kefir grains grow better in whole milk so that's what I was looking for, but for some reason, TJ's only had homogenized whole milk and highest fat unhomogenized was 2%. My DD's LOVE this 2% milk, so last time, I bought the whole homogenized for the kefir and 2% unhomogenized for DD's. But for some reason, one DD decided whole milk tasted better and drank a lot of it. So couple of nights ago, I only had 2% unhomogenized milk left.

Boy oh boy -- all yesterday I was constantly looking at the milk kefir grain pitcher -- I got this one a few days ago Image https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... SX300_.jpg The thin'ish 2% milk was curdling fast, trapping the whey in the bottom and it was getting increasingly difficult to get them to move and mix by swirling the jug.

By last night the content of the jug was practically yogurt. I drained through the strainer with some difficulty. I'm using the "dome lid" of Easy Sprouter Image
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LfNsrSiDEOE/U ... tainer.jpg
which fits inside the larger Oxo funnel Image
https://media.kohlsimg.com/is/image/kohl ... _sharpen=1

I had been warned not to get cream on top unhomogenized milk -- that homogenized milk is better because the grains can get trapped in the floating milk fat (just like what happened with the coconut milk Duh!) I guess it was jut as well that this was only 2% milk.

...then I discovered that there was only about 3/4 cup of 2% milk left! (panic) -just enough to rinse thick kefir from the grains and strainer- ...So the rinsed grains went in the fridge in a jelly jar of 2% milk to chill/take a break.

I use that dome lid lined with a square piece of paper towel (approx 1/2 of the half sheet Bounty) to drain and make yogurt cheese. (It fits well in the wider 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup) That's what I did with the thick kefir last night. It should be at about Greek yogurt consistency this morning, and if I transfer the dome lid to a shorter container (1-cup deli) and let drain some more and dry out for about a week, it should turn into goat cheese consistency.

---

This: Image
https://demandware.edgesuite.net/sits_po ... t&sfrm=tif
Not this: Image
https://scene7.targetimg1.com/is/image/T ... &fmt=pjpeg

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Here it is!
Image -- looking good! :-()

...I had muesli -- soaked (not cooked) oatmeal this morning. For this one, I mixed fresh kefir with old fashioned oatmeal, put fresh grape halves and soft dried apricot pieces with chopped almonds and thinned a bit with white grape juice last night. Then this morning, added fresh sectioned oranges and juice squeezed from the segment sacs and poured some warmed rice milk over. :() Yummy!

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Today, I made a smoothie from 2nd pressing home made coconut milk, coconut milk kefir, cow's milk kefir, frozen mangoes and frozen banana, and a touch of honey. Served with a bit of freshly grated nutmeg and a spoonful of drinking dark chocolate powder for the grown-ups and marshmallow swirl cocoa mix for the teenagers.

It was a hit, but we had about 2 cups of it leftover. It seems that home made kefir is intense and more satisfying/filling than store-bought. Everyone drinks down their first serving like they were starving, but no one is asking for 2nds (except maybe me -- but I've been drinking them longer and more per day since I'm taste testing as I go, so I think my body is already conditioned to it.)

I left the remaining smoothie to culture/ferment in the blender pitcher, then poured into a container and put it away in the fridge in the evening. By bedtime, the liquid had started to foam and separate (about top 3/4 foam and bottom 1/4 liquid or whey), threatening to overflow even in the fridge, so I spooned out some of the thick foam into a shot glass for a taste.... Oh yummy! If this was a little bit thicker and richer, I would call it "fizzy mousse". As it is, the tropical-tasting foam just melts on your tongue with a tantalizing effervescence. :D ...

...I started draining a domed lid full of goat :() milk kefir for 2nd lump of soft "cheese" :-()

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I'm trying two different ways to develop the coconut kefir into a beverage.

First, is 2nd ferment on the counter with a S-airlock until it stops bubbling and pushing the water over, then strain with tea strainer into a pint-sized maple syrup flask, stoppered with vacuum pumped silicone wine stopper, which I hope acts like an airlock. I let that fizz for a while, then added sugar and securely stoppered it to hopefully make a bubbly beverage in the fridge. This morning, I had 1/2 shot of it and it was kind of like very mild version of liqueur made with coconut cream, no discernible fizz (or buzz) except tiny prickles on the tongue. I think it needs more time.

Second one was a mixture of fresh 24 hr fermented coconut milk kefir and freshly home-made first pressing coconut milk, flavored with some frozen pineapple pieces, cut up dried dates, and 20% sugar by volume. Stoppered with wine sealer "airlock" and 2nd fermented for 8 hrs on the counter than overnight in the fridge.

That one tasted like (non-alcoholic or very mild) piña colada at this morning's brunch. I couldn't get an useful review from DH -- he drank it but he said he doesn't like piña colada. -- Does that mean he thought it tasted like piña colada, too...? or NOT? Personally, I loved the strong pineapple flavored creamy foam. (DH doesn't like pineapple -- that probably explains his reaction).

---

...Another one I tasted this morning was creamy full-fat goat milk kefir 2nd fermented with 10% cane sugar, for 8 hrs on the counter than overnight in the fridge. I added maple syrup to this to sweeten and mellow for a little while longer on the counter -- I thought the result tasted a bit like eggnog, but it is probably an acquired taste needing familiarity with goat milk.

---

...For dessert, I gave DH a special concoction I thought up and tried for myself last night -- a 4 oz glass of creamy foam from the mango-banana-coconut/cow milk kefir smoothie on one side and and creamy foam from blackberry-banana-cow milk kefir on the other side, separated by a line of maple syrup. This probably also has a tiny alcohol content since the foam develops in the floating cream from the bubbles as the kefir smoothies are fermenting in the fridge in tightly closed containers. He was skeptical at first when I gave him the glass with a tiny dessert spoon, but once he started, he spooned it all out, then ran his fingers inside the glass to lick up every little bit.

---

That soft cheese I'm allowing to ripen some more is actually ready to eat. I had a taste and it is strongly flavored -- typical of this kind of cheeses and would probably work well as salad topping and for making dips. Did I mention I started a second one from the goat milk kefir? I'm going to salt it and let it drain some more, then let it ripen for a week or two.

I also managed to strain off most of the whey from just starting to curdle cow's milk kefir yesterday, so I could save some thick, spoonable "Greek style" kefir yogurt. Today's was over-fermented with about 1/3 of the volume in whey this morning, so I managed to push aside the curd and pour off about half of it, THEN mixed the rest up and saved the kefir. But this one will be more sour. I might 2nd ferment it with garlic and make a dip.

...As of this morning, I was out of cow's milk except for 1pint. I used it to store the grains in the fridge until I can go get more. I have enough cow's milk kefir in various processing stages for now. (haha)

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My ginger beer exploded LOL

Wow, it really worked. I was truthfully not expecting that....

Based on this recipe from the link my friend gave me -- except I used a piece of the milk kefir to ferment with, and did not add calcium source except baking soda.
Ginger Beer Water-Kefir

https://users.sa.chariot.net.au/%7Edna/M ... gingerbeer

This is quite possibly the original Ginger Beer Recipe. It is suggested that water kefir-grains were referred to as the Ginger Beer Plant when the culture was first introduced to the west, by British soldiers on their return back from the Crimean War.
I had the final fridge fermentation going in "a momento from back in the day" Grolsch lager bottle with a flip-top (wire bale and rubber gasketted porcelain) for the past 2-3 days. I decided maybe it wasn't going so well so was intending to add a Demerara sugar cube, but when I loosened the wire bail, it sprayed all over the kitchen ...and me! Image

I had my 4 oz sample and decided it had a great beginning flavor but was lacking something at the end. Added 1 tsp bottled Santa Cruz organic not from concentrate LIME juice -- perfect! Image

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I was concerned about the alcohol content of the 2nd fermented and older bubbly kefir in the fridge in terms of suitability for offering them to the DD's -- and found this interesting Japanese kefir site with "science-y" data.

Table is excerpted text from the Chrome/Google translation of the page plugged into Numbers for formatting --

How to make kefir champagne
https://www.nakagaki.co.jp/2_7.html


Image

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Here's another article from the same Japanese website. Translated by Chrome browser and edited for readability.
Winter warming hot kefir
https://www.nakagaki.co.jp/2_9.html

     Now is the season of cold.
       Winter warming hot kefir is recommended! !
 Sweet sake is the flavor of the delicious drink that this is similar to. It helps in the prevention of colds by the action of kefir and ginger.

Ⅰ) Ingredients

Kefir (kefir of no sugar added preparation that is chilled in the refrigerator, about 5 ℃
Hot water (hot water that is kept in the thermo-pot, about 75 ℃)
Sugar or honey
Ginger (well washed root ginger)
Grater
Large mug

Ⅱ) How to make

1) fill approximately half of the mug with cold kefir (about 100g)
2) peel and grate small piece of ginger to taste and add to the mug.
3) add sugar or honey by taste.
4) pour in an equal amount of hot water as the kefir (about 100ml), stir quickly.

Ⅲ) For best results

Kefir is also yeast fermentation in the same way as alcohol, so there is a flavor similar to Amazake (sweet sake). Since lactic acid bacteria is killed if too hot, please enjoy as warm beverage.

Is it OK to warm the kefir?

Image
 

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I make my own kambucha as well. I add ginger for the flavor and its benefits.
With kefir nobody was eating it in my house. I eventually stopped. :(

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Well that must have been a bummer. DH has declared that he won't pour his own kefir -- partly, I think he likes the ritual of my mixing it up for him, and this way he can claim indifference to a weird beverage (wife made me drink it) -- partly, I don't blame him since, right now, when you open our refrigerator, you are confronted by rows of cryptically labeled jars and bottles tucked into every nook, containing vari-colored translucent, white, cream, and butter-colored liquids of varying consistency, some fizzing, bubbling and/or frothing..... :lol:

Goat's milk kefir made with pasteurized non-homogenized goat's milk in plastic jug from Whole Foods (I managed to snag the last one in the dairy case other day) turned out pure white with almost none of the goaty flavor. Very mild. I managed to sneak some of that into his cow's milk kefir yesterday. He didn't say a word. :wink:

I was disappointed that he didn't like the ginger beer/ale -- I thought that turned out really well. But he says he doesn't drink ginger ale. ...and it's true he is more of a(n addictive) Coca Cola, Pepsi, and sometimes Dr. Pepper drinker. So I'm going to see if there is a good cola kefir recipe out there.

...what does kombucha taste like? I'm not sure if I will do that right now -- kefir has been pretty time consuming -- but I might get into that later. 8)

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Today's in(no)vention :()

Leftover green beans creamy soup with kefir

- Sautée roughly chopped elephant garlic (sunflower oil and EVOO), leftover green beans, and some chopped portabello mushrooms.
- Add home made condensed turkey stock and equal amount of cow/goat milk whey. I cheated and used instant mashed potatoes, but would add boiled potatoes here to thicken.
- Immersion blend. Adjust seasoning if needed, but most likely the leftover green beans are sufficiently seasoned.
- Serve in a bowl completely covered with a layer of overnight filter-drained (to remove 50% of whey) and cultured/thickened mixed cow/goat milk kefir yogurt (Don't mix in so some of the probiotics might survive the heat), sprinkled with dried dillweed/seeds.

You could substitute with drained plain yogurt if home grown kefir is not available. ;)

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I'm loving having muesli for breakfast. After reading the above article, I have been adding hot water to the bowl to make creamy and take the chill off.

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Last night for a nightcap, I had a jigger of goat milk kefir 2nd fermented with sugar and vanilla, which initially, while still creamy and then when cream was frothy reminded me of eggnog when served with freshly ground nutmeg, but which had become super tangy after full fermentation cycle. I decided to tame the flavor by adding a good splash of Di Saronno.

...mmm... it was super yummy, but for some reason, my mind kept thinking it reminded me of plum wine... 8)

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Big batch of ginger beer/ale bottle fermenting in a re-purposed glass vinegar bottle is a success! (Milk kefir -> water kefir grains in 1/2 white grape juice, 1/2 water, date/palm sugar, fresh ginger slices, lemon and lime peels ...strained... then second fermented with a strained spice jar of harmless coconut water and boiled eggshell fermented with M->W kefir grains + cane sugar and baking soda in the next cycle) Foam boiling out of the bottle into the glass on opening, nice fizz, bite of ginger and citrusy aroma, touch of leftover sweetness.

Figured out the dilemma with home made coconut milk and the floating layer of coconut oil in the cold temperature. I put the first batch full-fat coconut milk in a wide mouth jar and store on its side until the oil separates float up and solidifies, then pour out the coconut milk.

...planning to treat the rest of the canned coconut milk in the pantry the same way -- soak in warm water, then dry off and store on their sides. :-()

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Today's Image is for home made coconut milk (from unsweetened shredded coconuts) kefir, 2nd fermented with equal amount of TJ's mango lemonade. Yum! :D

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Hey, just thought I'd update this a little -- I've backed off the craziness a bit, but am extremely happy with what I've learned so far from all the dabbling.

I can get cow's milk easily, though not always the "good" pasteurized/non-homogenized. But the kefir grains seem to manage OK even with ultra-pasteurized which is the most commonly available organic milk. Just not AS thick and creamy. On the other hand, ultra-pasteurized goats milk won't thicken at all, so I've given up on maintaining the milk-kefir grains separate, and combine the goat and cow milk grains when good goat milk is not to be had. As a regular serving, a double-shot glass-full with a bit of honey has been accepted by two of the family members... I drink cow or goat milk kefir straight/unsweetened sometimes... and sometimes 2nd ferment some of the extras with molasses, brown sugar, demerara sugar, vanilla sugar... or strain off the whey to make thicker kefir or yogurt when there is a surplus. I also add some to fruit smoothies and baked goods, and regularly use the whey for cooking and baked goods.

The milk grains have multiplied steadily, so I can easily divert extras for non-dairy kefir making. I use milk -> water/non-dairy transition grains as they shrink down and become spent -- for brewing a small amount of sugar/ginger water, or refrigerated not ultra-pasteurized coconut water. Ultra-pasteurized, enriched (extra vitamins and minerals) rice milk seems to help feed them as well. Resulting charged kefir is used to brew/second ferment with home made from coconut flakes defatted coconut milk or home made brown rice and/or brown sweet rice milk. This avoids exposing the kefir grains to the enrobing effect of coconut butter/oil and thick gooey dregs in the rice milk. Adding fruit juice to the coconut milk kefir, and ginger and sugar to the rice milk kefir for 2nd fermenting seem to make very nice combos.

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Yesterday, I made skillet corn bread/cake substituting the 3/4 cups buttermilk in the recipe with 1/2 cup kefir whey and 1/4 cup kefir. When I added the whole wheat and bread flour with baking powder and baking soda to the liquid batter mixture, it immediately bubbled up so much I thought the batter was going to overflow the bowl while I was panicking but unable to get back to it because I was at that very moment trying to measure out the cornmeal. :lol:

I'm eating it now soaked in TJ's carrot-ginger soup and liberally poured over with goat milk kefir. yum! :D

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I'm finding goatmilk kefir tends to produce a lot of ghost white whey that pools on the bottom ¼ to 1/3 of the jar rather than the clear yellowish whey interspersed in the thicker “curd” of the cow milk kefir, though with the cow's milk kefir the whey also end up on the bottom sometimes after a few days. I buy both homogenized and only pasteurized milk – I have to keep track and see if homogenization is the difference.

Goat milk kefir is too thin/liquid if mixed up with the whey – there is a visible demarkation between the whey at the bottom, a band of thinner blend, and thicker whey at top. so I scoop out the thicker kefir then coffee filter the rest to obtain clear whey and scoopable thicker kefir.

Image

Initially I was keeping the cow milk kefir grains separate from goat milk kefir grains, but when I was without one or the other for over a week, I ended up combining them, so now I have been alternating fermenting jars of cow milk and goat milk. I slowly combined the resulting finished kefir in the jars so I don't have to maintain the finished/ripening kefir jars separately (shhh don't tell my DH :> ) I'm hoping that ultimately this will “train” the grains to grow well in both goat milk and cow milk.

Kefir poured over stews and risotto – yum! :()
Last edited by applestar on Sun Jan 22, 2017 5:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Added photo of ripened goat kefir with separated whey in the bottom

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This is different, but I just bought a container of Skyr Icelandic yogurt at Whole Foods to try. You add rennet to the pasteurized milk with the starter plain yogurt to culture, but the best part is this yogurt is supposed to be able to culture at lower temp than the regular yogurt that needs to be kept warm. If this works well, I may have to start buying more milk! :wink:

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New discovery! The bottle I was using to catch/store strained whey didn't have enough room for the amount of the goat milk whey above so I ended up with half of a medium-tall glass full of very thin, mostly whey kefir that was still in the coffee filter.

I tried filling the rest of the glass with knudsen organic veggie juice (I guess kind of like v8), drank about half of it and then forgot about it and left it standing for about 30 minutes. It turned into very thick, delicious beverage :D

I might try unstrained goat milk kefir this way next time. 8)

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I thought I'd post an update on where I am with my kefir adventure. :D

I really wanted to like goatmilk kefir, and I wanted my grains to be able to culture goatmilk as well as cow's. But overall, I prefer the thick creamy kefir that good cow'smilk makes and either my grains or else the only not ultra-pasteurized goatmilk I can get is not capable of making any better than thinner kefir and lots of ghost white whey. So I'm not going out of my way to keep up with the goat milk.

I'll spend the budget on getting the really premium cow's milk as often as possible instead.

I also went back and re-read the kefir websites, and decided to dedicate more attention to maintaining a non-refrigerated 2nd fermentation/ripened milk kefir, which is said to contain even more nutrients -- vitamins and enzymes/probiotics than freshly made kefir. I'm using wedge of fresh organic orange and cinnamon stick with a piece of my own ginger root for the ripening jar, and feeding with extra sugar -- mainly vanilla sugar or date/coconut palm sugar.

Since feeding with the good milk makes the grains multiply exponentially, I have a lot of extra grains to divert for keeping good non-dairy kefir going. For this I've decided to home-make small batches of almond, hazelnut and coconut milk as well as occasional brown rice milk. ...well, I started out with "milk" but have decided to use half-and-half to "cream" level high-fat nut milk for richer flavor. You always have to keep the nutmilk kefir grains at room temperature, and you have to add sugar to feed the kefir grains in non-dairy milk. So I've settled on using maple syrup. The added sugar combined with the higher fat content results in thick and yummy foam both in the jar with the grains as well as the strained nutmilk I keep in the fridge -- which is kept in 2nd fermentation with more maple syrup and a vanilla bean.

Both of these occasionally get demerara sugar.

Since I'm not concerned with strictly non-dairy for the nut milk kefir, I'm straining the dairy kefir first, then using the same strainer and funnel to strain out the nut milk kefir grains . I'm hoping that this way, a small amount of dairy kefir gets on the nut milk kefir grains (which are originally dairy kefir grains) as well as get mixed into the nut milk to restore them and keep them from slowly dying off.

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After nearly a week of bare maintenance, the nutmilk grain jar was looking tired. So completely strained the old batch and used it in a smoothie, then I made a fresh batch of "nut milk" -- more precisely nut cream with 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut and 1/2 cup of TJ's snack mix of organic almonds, cashews, and dried cranberries, adding 1 dried date to grind up with for carbo. I also supplemented the used nutmilk kefir grains with a pecan sized lump of fresh milk kefir grain.

It's warmed up and the ambient room temp has become too warm, so even the nutmilk grain jar needs to be kept in the fridge. But even in the fridge, this batch went completely bonkers -- foaming and separating into whey for the last two days while I shook and twirled the jar every chance I had to stir them all down. Even so, the 3/4 filled contents reached the top of the paper towel lined lid, soaking it ...twice. This is in the fridge, remember. :roll:

I strained the creamy goodness this morning :D
Image

Photo on the right is after straining by stirring and pushing through with the silicon spatula. You can see the white kefir grains and the finer nut meal that gets past the strainer I use for the nut cream, as well as bits of the dried date and apricot I put in for added carbohydrate to feed the kefir grains.

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It's been REALLY HOT but I'm in panic mode to get everything planted, so I'm out there as early as I can until near heat-stroke and exhaustion forces me inside.

I'm finding thinner kefir (don't mix but pour out the more liquid layer) on ice, blended with a bit of extra sweetener (vanilla sugar today, but sometimes maple syrup or honey) and a handful of berries, a little spice -- cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg today -- very refreshing and restorative.

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Is kefir not a popular topic? :?:

...I had been neglecting my kefir grains -- we haven't had good milk in the house for over a week. In desperation I fed them some Bliss Natural creamer ...and they promptly developed some Clear whey. I've been trying to keep the kefir thicker so whey is not what I want, though I found out that continuously feeding them heavy cream created foamy solid mass on top that I'm not sure the grains appreciated.

So I finally got some fresh good kefir feeding milk and had some of the 2nd fermented kefir after straining and mixing.

Wow, you know, it's possible this one had developed some of that alcohol (less than 1% I believe?) and one might attribute it to that, but seriously, there is *something* in the kefir that the body craves/needs.

Let me give you an example --

Just yesterday, I was saying to my DD that After I came in from 4 hours in the hot sun in the garden, I had made myself some tea and put some ice cubes in it to cool it down but not chill it. When I went to take a sip, it was just the right temperature, which was a good thing because my thirsty body basically latched on and I was not just sipping from the rim of the cup but nearly sucking the tea down. I didn't even have time to tip it up so I could chug it. :lol:

Drinking the kefir was like that. First sip went down and I was enjoying the thick foamy tangy and honey sweetness, then I couldn't stop. I got a spoon and scraped up what was left in the bottom of my little glass (I use a 4 oz glass). I don't think it's the calcium because I already take a calcium supplement. I think maybe the body recognizes the symbiotic nature of the probiotics, or maybe it's the B-complex from the yeasts -- I do really seem to enjoy it when I'm tired.



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