Kefir
November 25th, 2010 § 2 Comments
Kefir ready to be poured, kefir grains are swimming on the top by fabrivelas on Zooomr
I got my milk kefir grains on 4 Nov 2010 from one source and on 11 Nov 2010 from another source. They came from sources in Belgium, Australia and Spain, but have been cultured in Belgium for a while. My milk kefir grains are growing relatively fast. I already gave half of them away to a colleague. If I find a way to send them I’ll send some to friends.
Close-up of a small kefir grain by fabrivelas on Zooomr
At the moment I make ½ litre each day, but if they keep growing I need more than ½ litre or have shorter milk changes. At the moment I am trying to have a rotation of 2 kefir containers going: I take half of the kefir out of each and refill with fresh milk every other day on alternate days, so far I have been using organic cow’s milk, either raw or pasteurised and either full or half fat, depending on what kind of milk I find. My method of making kefir still has to be improved, though.
At the moment I am experimenting with hermetically closing my container, last week I left it open, and it seems that it does not make a huge difference. If I want to stick to my half litre measure, I will have to give away or eat half of my grains every week, so that I have a nice not too fermented kefir after 24h.
Another close-up by fabrivelas on Zooomr
Filtering the kefir grains is not easy because of the curd substance adhering to the grains, so if a strainer is used it has to be shaken quite vigourously, or a wooden spoon or your hand has to be used to stir the grains in the strainer. Shaking the container with the kefir before straining helps, too. There are lots of videos on youtube explaining this.
How is the taste? Like commercial varieties you can buy in the grocery stores?
It is tasty, but very variable. It depends on how long you are leaving the kefir, how long you are leaving it after straining, what kind of milk you are using and if you are fermenting it in a sealed container or open to air. I have the impression that it is mild when it is open, especially during the secondary fermentation. The taste resembles the Liberté brand variety. It appears that their secondary fermentation continues in the plastic container so that the lid bulges outwards and the container is under pressure, which means that something is alive.