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Howdy everyone !
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Today, I’m going to be talking about “Kefir”, as I believe it may hold many interesting properties linked to dairies, minus the milk !
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So, what is kefir ?
I discovered kefir over 15 years ago, an aunt came from Belgium to visit us in Australia, with a jar filled with these funny-looking grains ! She used to cultivate them in water back home, but the ones she arrived with, were milk kefir ! It made a yogurtish flavored drink that I found too sour to my taste, and that I got given to drink on a daily basis ! I was glad the day kefir disappeared from home
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Kefir is a culture of bacteria and yeasts that live together in a symbiosis. Together, they form little grains that look like cauliflower and when put into milk, or in sugary water, they transform the substance into an interesting refreshing pro-biotic drink !
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Kefir probably appeared thousands of years ago, as an accident : when milk was added to leather pouches, for keeping or transporting it, the milk would go “sour” after some time, much like yogurt, and those little kefir grains would appear. Since then, they have been cultivated and widely consumed in lacto-fermented drinks throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia (and later spreading to the rest of the world). They are believed to bring interesting properties such as pro-biotics mainly, and a better immune system, along with a lot of other health-related advantages.
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Kefir has many different names, depending on the regions where you go ; and it is very similar in the working to kombucha and other fermented drinks.
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Most people tolerate kefir quite well, though careful if you are not lactose-tolerant ; and for the water version, I have recently discovered that not every one reacts well to it either ! Side effects may be quite disturbing in many cases, ranging from gases to bad digestion ! Another cause of non-tolerance can be stomach issues (such as an ulcer for example).
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How do you get kefir, how do you make it, what is there to know ??
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You can’t “grow” kefir on your own, out of nothing, and certainly not from today’s leather pouches, as leather is now, most of the time, treated with harmful chemicals. Kefir grains are lively, fragile matter and can be obtained as gifts, as purchases or anyhow, from someone already owning/caring for a culture. I bought my grains via snail mail from a person in France. Though look out when you buy from someone remotely, make sure that the price is correct, and that the grains get sent in a proper plastic sleeve, inside a bubble-wrap envelope, else you might get the misfortune of seeing the envelope torn and get no content when it reaches you (can you tell I’m speaking from experience ? :p )
The grains reproduce as you use them to make the fermented drinks. (I have found out, from my own experience, that letting them soak at room temperature and feeding them at least one or two tablespoon of brown cane sugar a day boosts their growth in no time ! almost doubling your batch of grains in just a mere few days…)
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There are many ways of making fermented drinks from kefir, you can use milk, or soya milk to make lacto-fermented kefir drinks. Or you can make a “lemonade”-like beverage with water kefir, my favorite, as I do not like or drink milk. Although the grains are almost the same in both cases, to use them with water, milk kefir grains will need to adapt first. You can do so by letting them rest for a few days (at least 5) in 1 L of water with some cane sugar.
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- To make the drink, in all cases, you pour grains into 1 L of liquid, either in a 1 L glass bottle that you will seal with a very light fabric, allowing the kefir to breathe, as carbonic gas is produced (you might want to let it escape, else you might just pop your container…), and at the same time, keeping small insects and flies out of it (they seem to be very fond of the liquid, as it’s all natural, even ants as my BF could tell you ! ) ; or you can either use a large 2 L jar, that you seal with the lid. (as there is enough room remaining for the needed air)
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Why glass ? simply because the environment of the kefir is a bit acid, you might not want to use plastic, which might get deteriorated and exchange harmful particles with your drink…
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If you make milk kefir, use preferably whole milk ; and if you use water, there are different ways and ingredients for making it : some people use sugar, other fruits, and some others, both fruits and sugar. My personal preference goes for fruits alone : I add one fig (it is the source of sugar, to be digested by my grains) and a few slices of lemon or orange. The citrus slices are used to keep the environment acid. It is better to use organic fruits as the pesticides might kill your grains, or poison you in the long run. For the water, it is also more interesting to use filtered water, to avoid chemicals which may counter-act the benefits from the bacteria and yeasts.
The reason why I avoid sugar, is simply because it does not bring any more taste, all it does is increase the degree of alcohol produced by the yeasts (it is a very low level, barely 1%). The fruits are more than enough to make it bubbly and tasty.
I let the grains and fruits sit in the water for about 24 hrs (if you leave it longer, it will start getting bitter, but will be richer with folic acids) ; and then use a plastic sieve to separate the beverage from the fruits and grain. (note : NO METAL, ever with kefir, all contact with metal is to be purely avoided, else you’d destroy your grains !!).
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Once I have filtered my grains, I rinse them well with water, let them sit in a ceramic bowl while I squeeze the lemon or orange slices and put their juice in the liquid. I then rinse the container properly with clear water (NO SOAP !! – being clean is important to avoid contamination of the culture) and add the kefir back in there, with 1-2 tablespoons of organic cane sugar, new and fresh filtered water, and either let the grains at room temperature (for fast reproduction), or if I am not going to use them for a few days, I let them sit in the fridge, which will slow their metabolism down. You can start a new batch right away if you feel like it, but make sure to give it some rest and feed it with sugar after at least 2-3 batches, I have found mine to be a bit weak if I don’t do that, perhaps because I do not use sugar when preparing the drink…
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The filtered drink can be cooled in the fridge, it is even better when it is slightly cold. And it will keep for 2-3 days at most.
You can get creative as you make the kefir : use cool tea instead of water, add other dried up or fresh fruits : raisins, dates, fresh apple or pear slices… Or even add slices of ginger to flavor it all. These little extras will be removed when you will strain your kefir to gather the then ready liquid. Getting creative with your kefir is the fun bit, and the variations can be amusing and just as tasty !
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I personally enjoy the drink more after a “double-fermentation”, I find my bubbles (kefir becomes sparking, naturally, in every case) to be almost champagne-like because of how thin they have gotten. What I do is add a few raisins to my batch, and once I have strained the liquid, I put it in my fridge for a few extra days, to ferment before I drink any of it. Ripe grapes are known to be very sweet, and many yeasts live on the fruit skin (this is how wine is made, amongst others, using those yeasts). So, using dried grapes adds the natural sugar that will start the second fermentation process. It makes the drink less sugary too, which is very appreciable to my not-so-sweet tongue
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If you intend on giving grains away and send them through the Post, make sure you strain them well, and let them sit in the fridge for a few days to slow their metabolism, be careful to send them at the beginning of a week to make sure they do not suffer from staying stuck somewhere hot over a week-end. If you give them directly to someone, simply put a small culture in a small glass jar with at least a tablespoon of cane sugar, water and a cover that lets them breathe (a light fabric), or if you cover them with a lid, make sure to let them breathe as often as possible…
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Share and spread the kefir love as much as you can, kefir is cool and I got nicely surprised at all the goodness it gave me
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Well, that is it for now, I hope you get a lot of pleasure from making your own if you do so, and if you are in Belgium or come by Liège and would like some grains, I have some to give away for free, almost on a permanent basis, simply get in touch and we’ll work out something !
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Nice day to you !
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Lots of kefir love
Angie
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Extra info & links of interest :
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- Wikipedia : kefir [EN] : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kefir
- Wikipedia : kéfir [FR] : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kéfir
- Wikipedia : water kefir [EN] : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicos
- Wikipedia : kéfir de fruits [FR] – not much but links : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kéfir_de_fruits
- Dom’s kefir making site : kefir d’acqua [EN] : http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html#Kefir-d-acqua
- Raw goddess Ani Phyo talks about kefir [EN] : http://aniphyo.com/blog/archives/1272
- Kéfir de fruit à l’eau [FR] : http://www.cfaitmaison.com/kefir_fruits/cuisine.html