Kefir anyone?

[WadePatton]

It's a fermented dairy product much like, but reportedly much more beneficial than, yogurt. I've been given a start of it. Now to get some more milk (unadulterated) to work with.

As I read about it, it's cream/bland/tart thing that some folks consume as is and others mix with fruit/sweeteners and do all sorts of things with it.

This as with anything that modifies the casein of moocow dairy is more digestible/less offensive/maybe even actually beneficial to our systems. Wondering how wide-spread the info/experience with kefir is.

[dhoff]

I have been drinking it occasionally since 1984. Don't drink it often, but no it to be easy to digest and satisfying. I brought some once for protein at an Ultra event and it did't sit well. After as part of a recovery regimin it is terrific. Not sure if this is what you are looking for but I am a Keifer Fan

[WadePatton]

Yeah, any input is cool. I may have heard of it in the past, but never stopped to think about it. Anything that helps the digestive process, must increase health and that's the most basic aspect of food.

I'll give it a go and increase the dairy in my diet, ever watchful for the sinus issues that drove me from pasteurized dairy. Mine will be, of course, home-brew.

[Too Tall]

I am guessing that it is just another strain of lactobacillus. When I was an broke college student making yogurt with 1/2 gone milk was pretty SOP.
We keep one pint of Blueberry Kefir in the fridge most of the time. It's an terrific in between meals snack.

[lavi]

We are kefir / kombucha people. Here in Portland, that just makes you par for the course.

[ThomasRZ]

I'm all about the kefir. Makes for a great recovery drink or as a base for a fruit/veggie smoothie.

[WadePatton]

I am guessing that it is just another strain of lactobacillus. When I was an broke college student making yogurt with 1/2 gone milk was pretty SOP.
We keep one pint of Blueberry Kefir in the fridge most of the time. It's an terrific in between meals snack.

actually it's a biological micro-mirror-image to yogurt, but somehow _much_ more better and _also_ easy to make at home. some argue that the store-bought stuff isn't quite the same. and of course, no thing from the store is the same as home grown-made-etc.

i never disliked yogurt but simply steered away from all dairy 20-odd years ago-except cheese, and that i minimized. now it seems that consumption of kefir should make all interaction with moocow dairy moore better.

AM I missing out on any other fermented foods i should know about?

[WadePatton]

We are kefir / kombucha people. Here in Portland, that just makes you par for the course.

you get quizzical sidewise glances if you speak like that 'round here.

but then the author of "Wild Fermentation" (an oft-quoted fermentation text--that i should borrow and read) lives across the county. the whole explosion of my interest/learning in foods this year started with interest in making kimchee, which i've not done yet.

[WadePatton]

R U guys making it or buying from the industrial version or do you have access to a co-op/small-time maker of such?

[lavi]

Ours is just super small batch home stuff. We do kombucha mostly...one gallon at a time.

We're not doing too much kefir. The milk my wife uses is $9/gallon and is raw/unpasteurized. So I don't like using that milk for anything other than drinking. My kiddos dig it.

[the bottle ride]

It is great with muesli- a little fruit + kefir = perfect pre ride breakfast.

[WadePatton]

coolios. i was able to get a batch started from the gimme (there was one small "grain", but had to use store-bought milk. i sugared it up a little and thought the milk was going to sour before...boom! fermentation. i'm going to try to keep it going.

oh my it's nice.

i don't have much use for non-fermented/cultured dairy. "sweet milk" is just a step to something else now.

r/u milk is only 4 back here, but i have to wait until i can get the "extra" gallon.

[amos scattergood]

I've been drinking it for a while a just started making my own. Apparently it promotes discretion... I usually drink it with a little bit of maple syrup added. tasty!

amos

[amos scattergood]

oh yeah, I got my culture from here: Kefir Grains | Kefir Starter | Milk Kefir | Water Kefir

amos

[longlegged]

The above link is for cultures for health. I bought some kefir grains from them, but unfortunately was irresponsible, and bad at tending them. I left them sitting on a shelf untended for an ungodly amount of time and then threw them out. A waste of $18 dollars.

But I love kefir, and it is great. I usually eat yogurt, but kefir is a great addition to smoothies and even better on its own. The length of time you culture it for affects its strength. Store bought kefir can be more palatable than home made until you get the hang of it. But it saves you a hell of a lot of money to make it at home.

Cultures for health has some good videos (with an annoting lady) that were helpful to me. She shows you how to go about it and ways to flavor it..

You're lucky you got a starter without buying