My friends are probably tired of me ‘banging on’ about the wonderful benefits of kefir … but I won’t stop because more and more research is highlighting the health benefits of eating / drinking fermented foods. Dr Michael Mosley has been in the press recently talking about the importance of a healthy gut and the links with depression and anxiety . Kefir and Kombucha (future post) may be a recent health craze but have been drunk for a very long time…before trendy was even a word!
I have passed both milk and water kefir grains to many of my friends for them to start fermenting their own kefir.
Milk kefir is definitely an acquired taste and I recommend to all of my friends that they will drink it much more easily if they increase its palatability (not sure if that is a word but I like it!). In fact people’s comments have ranged from hmmm…? to yuk! and…how do you drink that?!
So to ensure that they do benefit from the wonderful bacterial cultures I do say, ‘Disguise it!’ My husband is my barometer. I can drink it neat but I have to completely disguise it for him. So, for him, when each batch is strained I add coconut milk and a generous dollop / or two of a flavoured organic yoghurt / coconut yoghurt / soya based yoghurt. This ensures that he has a glass every day 🙂 The adult equivalent tactic to hiding vegetables in food for fussy children!
If you really cannot enjoy the milk kefir then water kefir is a really good runner up. Not as diverse a range of beneficial bacteria but still very good for you.
How do you flavour your kefirs?
Jo's food bites. 
I drink it straight but my hubby is much like yours – we have to hide it. He loves to add it to his yogurt or smoothies. The health benefits are definitely too good to pass up 😘.
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Totally agree. 😊
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I agree, to start drinking kefir later in life can be a challange. For us it was more like the joy if meeting an old friend, when I got the grains and started to make kefir on regular basis. We like the thick and creamy in texture, and not so sour in taste version. I get it by slowing down the process and keeping milk with grains refrigerated some time. We call it exile in Siberia. Kefir grains obviously love it. To make my own cottage cheese I make more sour kefir, it makes cottage cheese preparation easier and results in more flavoured product.
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Exile in Siberia…love this😃 . Do you have to reactivate the grains or do they cope with the slow down and just work at a more leisurely pace? Thank you for following me 😊
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I do not do anything special, initially we started to refrigerate granules with milk just to stop oversupply of kefir. It is kind of regulation trick. We usually refrigerate kefir overnight, take it out and drain the liquid when kefir is ready. Under this regime they still multiply. With mine, full cream kefir, I keep it 3-4 days refrigerated, take out, wait several hours to mature and then drain the liquid. Sometimes I wash kefir granules, sometimes not, depends on how soon I want another portion to be ready. On average I make kefir once in 5 to 7 days, the portion size in 1l. With 1l of fresh milk and 1l of kefir I get 460-470g well drained, soft cottage cheese, which I make regularly and use fresh or for baking. I find cottage cheese performs better in any batter or dough, compared to ricotta cheese.
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That really slows the process down…I have 1l of kefir ready every 2 days which can sometimes be overwhelming. Will start using your method 😊
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Forgot to say that with long refrigeration kefir granules practically
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Practically do not grow and multiply. They however change their surface appearance, the surface becomes more flat. Final maturation happens at room temperature.
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Hanks for your knowledge 😊
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