Kefir recipes, tips, tweak, and general Q & A

[Soliloquy]

Please share how *you* make kefir, if you use it in any recipes, any tips and tricks you've found, and feel free to ask questions! Ferment away!

[Blue Savannah]

bbl! I made yummy kefir waffles this morning, and will share the recipe. :heart

[hopefromgrace]

:popcorn

[Blue Savannah]

Waffles

1 cup ww flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup bran (I use ground flax instead)
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
3 cups kefir

Mix and let sit at room temp 30 - 60 min or overnight in the fridge. Cook on hot waffle iron. This makes enough for the two kids and me to have breakfast several mornings. Don't let the lack of sweetener turn you off--these are wonderful!

I'm sure baking kefir destroys some of its benefits, but fermenting the grains would have benefits, right?

[hopefromgrace]

I'm sure baking kefir destroys some of its benefits, but fermenting the grains would have benefits, right?


I was wondering this too.....I didn't know that you could bake with kefir.

[Punkie]

Here's my confession for the day:

I make kefir, but it scares me, and then I dump it out :bag I need help.

[Blue Savannah]

:nak I substitute kefir for buttermilk unless it's a yeast recipe--I don't like the way kefir reacts with it


Here's my confession for the day:

I make kefir, but it scares me, and then I dump it out :bag I need help.


:giggle

[Ima LeShalosh]

Kefir makes a mean Mac N Cheese. It gives it a tanginess that rocks :rockon Use it in place of the milk. I also use my Kefir as sour cream. Whisk it until it thickens more...put it over baked taters, pasta, dips...etc. I make a homemade ranch dip with herbs and Kefir and it is always a rave.

For drinking...I simply add apple, grape, cranberry (etc) juice to the kefir. If I want it thick, I blend it with ice, or frozen bananas, blueberries, etc. Kefir makes an awesome healthy smoothie.

Anyone dealing with Psoriasis...it has CURED my oldest. When he drink his kefir shakes, the psoriasis clears up totally :heart

[Punkie]

OK, so maybe I'll try making some more. My grains have been in my fridge with the same milk for about a week. Will they still be OK if I take them out and try a new batch? How long can they live in the same milk?

[Ima LeShalosh]

OK, so maybe I'll try making some more. My grains have been in my fridge with the same milk for about a week. Will they still be OK if I take them out and try a new batch? How long can they live in the same milk?
mine have been known to fast in the same milk for over a month. They are pretty tough...it may just take a few batches to reactivate them.

[Punkie]

How do you make yours?

[Soliloquy]

Lisa's Kefir Recipe

Fill a glass jar w/ milk. I usually use about 2 cups.
Drop in the kefir grains.
Cover.
Shake gently whenever walking by the jar.
The 2nd day, gently tilt the jar before shaking. If it has thickened to the consistency of pudding, it's done.
Fill a new jar w/ milk, scoop the grains out of the first jar and place into new jar. Cover and repeat.

With the finished kefir, you can eithe rdrink it right away, refrigerate it right away, or cover it and let it sit out for another 12-24 hours to increase the vitamin content. It will probably separate but can easily be shaken or blended back. This is called ripening. Ripened kefir is slightly carbonated.

Also, if you wish, you can keep re-using the glass jar w/o washing it. This is called "continuous culture." I do this from time to time.

[MaiMama]

:popcorn bbl

[Soliloquy]

OK, so maybe I'll try making some more. My grains have been in my fridge with the same milk for about a week. Will they still be OK if I take them out and try a new batch? How long can they live in the same milk?


Yup, they're fine! Your first few batches will probably taste off--smell kind of like Parmesan cheese. Just keep changing the milk every 24 hours, shaking well, and it should be great in 2-3 days.

[Punkie]

My friend had me put it in the cupboard. Do you put yours in a dark place while you're making it?

[Ima LeShalosh]

My friend had me put it in the cupboard. Do you put yours in a dark place while you're making it?
:no just on my counter away from the direct light of the window

[Punkie]

OK, so maybe I'll try making some more.  My grains have been in my fridge with the same milk for about a week.  Will they still be OK if I take them out and try a new batch?  How long can they live in the same milk?


Yup, they're fine!  Your first few batches will probably taste off--smell kind of like Parmesan cheese.  Just keep changing the milk every 24 hours, shaking well, and it should be great in 2-3 days.


So throw out the milk every 24 hours?  Man, that's going to be expensive! Is it not safe for consumption? :shifty

[Soliloquy]

It's totally safe for consumption, you just might not like the taste. Go ahead and taste it. And, you'll only have to do it 1-3 times, so 2-6 cups of milk. You could use it for baking, too.

[Lady TS]

:cup

[Punkie]

It's totally safe for consumption, you just might not like the taste. Go ahead and taste it. And, you'll only have to do it 1-3 times, so 2-6 cups of milk. You could use it for baking, too.


I'm very protective of my raw milk :giggle Our farm had a refrigeration issue this week and so no one could get more than what they pay for in their cow share. We only have 1 share, so I could only get 1 gallon (I normally get 1 1/2). So 6 cups would make a serious dent on my weekly dairy, and I refuse to buy the pasteurized stuff! Hopefully my farm will have their reserves back up by next week when I go get my share.

[Soliloquy]

:think ITU. :think

I would get them out of the fridge. Put them in some milk and check it in 12 hours. Make sure to shake it. Drink it in 12 hours.

UNLESS you just want to keep them in the fridge when you get more milk. They'll be fine in the fridge for another week.

[Punkie]

I put them in milk earlier. You think I should just take them out after 12 hours? It won't be funky?

[Punkie]

I'm planning on making mac and cheese tonight. Do you think I could use the milk that's been in there with the grains for today? Its been about 5 hours. Should I wait longer?

[Soliloquy]

It won't be funky, it just won't be very sour yet. Just taste it. Keeping the grains well-fed will bring them out of their resting stage faster, I think.

[Lady TS]

Ok, so I just put my kefir grain I got in the mail a few days ago in 2 cups milk in a sealed jar.

Tomorrow do I throw out the milk it is in now and then start another batch and keep the next batch? Or is it ok to drink the first batch?


Edited to add: It is now over 24 hours past the time I put the kefir grains in the milk and it's definitely not 'about the consistency of pudding'.....what should I do?

[Lady TS]

bumping after the weekend :)

[Soliloquy]

I would smell it and taste a bit. It will not hurt you, it just might not taste very good, KWIM? If it taste really sour and kind yucky but it still liquid, I'd toss the milk and give it fresh. Often, after traveling or resting in the fridge, it takes 1-3 days for the balance of flora and fauna to go back to normal. IIRC, yeasts thrive in an anaerobic environment but the bacteria need oxygen so, while resting, sometimes the yeasts gain too much ground.

Kefir grains are a strong culture, though, so they almost always recover. I think you have to work pretty hard to kill a kefir grain.

[Punkie]

I used the first batch in some chocolate muffins. The second batch is much creamier and thicker.  I just used it in a smoothie, which I'm drinking as I type  :)

[Blue Savannah]

I thought of another thing I love to do with kefir--kefir cheese. Just strain a batch of kefir through cheesecloth and a mesh sieve. I LOVE it on bean tostadas. . . beans, kefir cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, etc. So yummy!

[Soliloquy]

I thought of another thing I love to do with kefir--kefir cheese. Just strain a batch of kefir through cheesecloth and a mesh sieve. I LOVE it on bean tostadas. . . beans, kefir cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, etc. So yummy!


:yes :tu

Add some sea salt and whatever herbs you like. Use it just like cream cheese. :yum Save the whey that you strain out, too. It will keep for months in the fridge and is very useful.

[Blue Savannah]

so, what do you use the whey for? Whey scares me. :shifty

[Soliloquy]

You can use it if you soak grains before cooking (usually a few Tbsp. of whey for ever 2 cups of water--can't remember the exact ratio recommended but I usually eye-ball it). If you make homemade mayonnaise, adding 1 Tbsp. of whey for every cup of mayo will make the homemade mayo last for 6 months instead of 2 weeks (let it sit on the counter for 7-12 hours before refrigerating it). It's called for in fermented salsa :yum. It's supposed to be very good for the elderly as well.

It's also useful to speed up the fermentation of homemade sauerkraut.

[Blue Savannah]

You can use it if you soak grains before cooking (usually a few Tbsp. of whey for ever 2 cups of water--can't remember the exact ratio recommended but I usually eye-ball it). If you make homemade mayonnaise, adding 1 Tbsp. of whey for every cup of mayo will make the homemade mayo last for 6 months instead of 2 weeks (let it sit on the counter for 7-12 hours before refrigerating it). It's called for in fermented salsa :yum. It's supposed to be very good for the elderly as well.

It's also useful to speed up the fermentation of homemade sauerkraut.

great!! I can make mayo in bigger batches now!!

[cobluegirl]

This should be stickied!!

[Katiebug]

:rockon

[Soliloquy]

:bump

[2Cor1:8-10]

bbl

[Mama Rophe]

I love this thread!

[abbiroads]

does cooking kill off the good stuff like it does with other ferments?

[Soliloquy]

does cooking kill off the good stuff like it does with other ferments?

Yes. Although in Gut and Psychology Syndrome NCM wrote that even dead probiotics are beneficial.

[MiriamRose]

I have to say this thread has inspired me to start making kefir again! :tu Where can I get grains, though? Last time I lived in a different state and the farmers that we got milk from shared some of their grains with us. I don't know anyone locally who makes kefir (well...I don't know very many people locally so that's probably why!). If I order from online somewhere will it still be a strong culture and work just like the grains I had before?

[2Cor1:8-10]

What is a good source to buy kefir grains from?