RE: Ammonia Smell in Kefir & Fij Mjolk

[Guest guest]

Deciding to use a pouch or a container, which was previously used

for sprouting seeds, grains or legumes etc. [if these utensils are not

sterilized before hand, may produce an unusual ammonia-like odour in the

kefir, possibly due to Bacillus subtilis contamination]

I ran across this at Dom's site and thought I would pass it on since Suze

mentioned ammonia-smell ...

------------->thanks heidi. i don't use a pouch, but i do get lazy and

sometimes don't wash the kefir bowls between batches. it only seemed to be

one batch that had the ammonia smell, but sadly, i DO seem to have lost my

gooey kefiran strands.

==============

On a related issue (kefir contamination):

I too have tried Fij Mjolk. I liked it. One warning though: after I got it,

it seemed to have innoculated my kefir! My kefir is now much thicker and

less sour than it was -- which is fine by me. And I'm not totally sure that

this is what happened or the kefir just " aged " or it changed from being in

the fridge -- but it certainly changed and it sure looks and tastes a lot

like Fij Mjolk. So I ended up giving up on Fij Mjolk: I THINK I've got the

best of both worlds (thick kefir, not at all sour). But if your kefir is

not really thick and is sour and you like it that way: KEEP IT AWAY from

the Fij Mjolk (and wash your jars with really hot water, or use separate

jars).

--------------------------->now you're talking! this fij mjolk sounds mighty

good! did you get it from gem? Does it keep growing like kefir grains do?

i'm ready to branch out into new cultures. how do you like the villi? would

you recommend either one over the other? do we know what bacteria they

contain? i would like to get some bacteria into my parents, but think they

would find my kefir too sour for their taste. but i bet they'd like thick

and sweet fij mjolk (how do you pronounce that??). if they like it, then i

can make them some regularly, as they live next door.

Suze Fisher

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg/

mailto:s.fisher22@...

[Guest guest]

At 07:09 AM 8/27/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>--------------------------->now you're talking! this fij mjolk sounds mighty

>good! did you get it from gem? Does it keep growing like kefir grains do?

>i'm ready to branch out into new cultures. how do you like the villi? would

>you recommend either one over the other? do we know what bacteria they

>contain? i would like to get some bacteria into my parents, but think they

>would find my kefir too sour for their taste. but i bet they'd like thick

>and sweet fij mjolk (how do you pronounce that??). if they like it, then i

>can make them some regularly, as they live next door.

I tried all three. The Villi just seemed like homemade yogurt, but easier.

The Fij Mjolk was good, and not sour, which is why I got it (my kefir

was way too sour when I got it, and I was disappointed). But the Fij Mjolk

has a consistency like Gak (kid's goo, very kefiranish), which my husband

really thought was weird. I mean, it's so thick that you can't pour it,

it just kind of " plops " into the bowl. You start one batch of either FM or

Villi

by adding some of the last batch: goes on forver. I got both from GEM.

Then the FM and my kefir seem to have got mixed, and my kefir is no

longer sour, and very strandish, and grows a lot faster. I kind of think

it is the " best of all worlds " . The texture is still weird, but we put it

in the blender with some fruit, ice and flax seeds and it is great.

Heidi

[Guest guest]

>>> But the Fij Mjolk

has a consistency like Gak (kid's goo, very kefiranish), which my husband

really thought was weird. I mean, it's so thick that you can't pour it,

it just kind of " plops " into the bowl.

------->oh heidi, i've been feeling lost since my kefir lost it's kefiran

gooey strands! so the fil mjolk (saw this spelling on gem's web site) sounds

like just the thing for someone who's pining away for goo i think i'll go

ahead and order that and the villi from gem. the WAPF chapter leader in my

area just dropped off a couple of kombucha mushrooms this morning, so i'll

get that going today as well. I wonder if there's any such thing as *too

much* fermented stuff!?? I just love these things though and want to try

them all.

i'm going to take a crack at pronunciation... " Feel Meeyolk " ???? (feel me

yolk! LOL) anyone here speak swedish?

Suze Fisher

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg/

mailto:s.fisher22@...

[Guest guest]

> i'm going to take a crack at pronunciation... " Feel Meeyolk " ????

> (feel me yolk! LOL) anyone here speak swedish?

My memory is failing a bit on the pronunciation, but the word is

actually spelled fil mjölk or filmjölk. The pronunciation would be

close to your guess, it would either be " feel meeyelk " (with the e in

yelk being like the e in the french le " or " feel meeyulk " (with the u

in yulk being like the german schön).

It simply means sour milk.

For the record, I don't and have never been able to speak swedish,

but I used to be able to haltingly read Curious in Swedish and

successfully retrieve the correct food when requested in swedish. :-)

Mmmm...lingonbär med kräm och socker! ;-)

[Guest guest]

At 12:34 PM 8/27/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>------->oh heidi, i've been feeling lost since my kefir lost it's kefiran

>gooey strands! so the fil mjolk (saw this spelling on gem's web site) sounds

>like just the thing for someone who's pining away for goo i think i'll go

>ahead and order that and the villi from gem. the WAPF chapter leader in my

>area just dropped off a couple of kombucha mushrooms this morning, so i'll

>get that going today as well. I wonder if there's any such thing as *too

>much* fermented stuff!?? I just love these things though and want to try

>them all.

What is life without kefir goo ??? :-) It'll be an interesting experiment.

Did you ever try putting it in the fridge to see what that would do?

I don't know if FM produces " real " kefiran or another polysaccharide,

but my kefir grains are growing much faster than they used to (I get

hundreds of little babies in every batch).

I don't think you can get too much fermented stuff unless it is of

the alcholic variety. The Koreans live off kimchi, pretty much, and

didn't someone say the Masai drink 8 quarts of fermented milk

a day?

Do share your results! These lists are my only link to " fermenation

reality " (outside the Matrix! ).

Heidi

[Guest guest]

I was wondering if the lack of 'sour' was the a lack of l.acid in the

kefir ? I like that " bite'' but my husband does not, I am

considering ordering fil mjolk but I don't want to destroy the benefits

of the kefir. I have been trying to find more info on this, but

not having much luck since I don't speak, read, understand Swedish. What

is the nutritional benefits fil mjolk, is it similar to

kefir? Thanks for your help, ine in WA

-----Original Message-----

From: Heidi Schuppenhauer [mailto:heidis@...]

Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 9:13 PM

Subject: Ammonia Smell in Kefir & Fij Mjolk

· Deciding to use a pouch or a container, which was previously

used

for sprouting seeds, grains or legumes etc. [if these utensils are not

sterilized before hand, may produce an unusual ammonia-like odour in the

kefir, possibly due to Bacillus subtilis contamination]

I ran across this at Dom's site and thought I would pass it on since

Suze

mentioned ammonia-smell ...

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html#slippery-kefir

==============

On a related issue (kefir contamination):

I too have tried Fij Mjolk. I liked it. One warning though: after I got

it,

it seemed to have innoculated my kefir! My kefir is now much thicker and

less sour than it was -- which is fine by me. And I'm not totally sure

that

this is what happened or the kefir just " aged " or it changed from being

in

the fridge -- but it certainly changed and it sure looks and tastes a

lot

like Fij Mjolk. So I ended up giving up on Fij Mjolk: I THINK I've got

the

best of both worlds (thick kefir, not at all sour). But if your kefir

is

not really thick and is sour and you like it that way: KEEP IT AWAY from

the Fij Mjolk (and wash your jars with really hot water, or use separate

jars).

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

Hi ine,

Kefir contains a number of different types of friendly bacteria and live

yeast.

Fil Mjolk is just friendly bacteria. Can't find the names of the bacteria,

maybe someone else has them? So it is still a probiotic, but doesn't have

the yeast, and the taste is less sour and won't have the " champagne " bubbles

of kefir, nor the slight alcoholic content.

There are many articles and ancient stories about the health benefits of

kefir, maybe because it was such a well guarded secret until the turn of the

century. As far as I know, Fil Mjolk has a reputation as a healthy drink

among us Swedes, but no stories like the kefir.

Kat

http://www.katking.com

----- Original Message -----

From: " , ine " <pthompson@...>

< >

Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2002 3:37 PM

Subject: RE: Ammonia Smell in Kefir & Fij Mjolk

I was wondering if the lack of 'sour' was the a lack of l.acid in the

kefir ? I like that " bite'' but my husband does not, I am

considering ordering fil mjolk but I don't want to destroy the benefits

of the kefir. I have been trying to find more info on this, but

not having much luck since I don't speak, read, understand Swedish. What

is the nutritional benefits fil mjolk, is it similar to

kefir? Thanks for your help, ine in WA

-----Original Message-----

From: Heidi Schuppenhauer [mailto:heidis@...]

Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 9:13 PM

Subject: Ammonia Smell in Kefir & Fij Mjolk

· Deciding to use a pouch or a container, which was previously

used

for sprouting seeds, grains or legumes etc. [if these utensils are not

sterilized before hand, may produce an unusual ammonia-like odour in the

kefir, possibly due to Bacillus subtilis contamination]

I ran across this at Dom's site and thought I would pass it on since

Suze

mentioned ammonia-smell ...

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir-faq.html#slippery-kefir

==============

On a related issue (kefir contamination):

I too have tried Fij Mjolk. I liked it. One warning though: after I got

it,

it seemed to have innoculated my kefir! My kefir is now much thicker and

less sour than it was -- which is fine by me. And I'm not totally sure

that

this is what happened or the kefir just " aged " or it changed from being

in

the fridge -- but it certainly changed and it sure looks and tastes a

lot

like Fij Mjolk. So I ended up giving up on Fij Mjolk: I THINK I've got

the

best of both worlds (thick kefir, not at all sour). But if your kefir

is

not really thick and is sour and you like it that way: KEEP IT AWAY from

the Fij Mjolk (and wash your jars with really hot water, or use separate

jars).

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

At 05:37 PM 8/28/2002 -0500, you wrote:

>I was wondering if the lack of 'sour' was the a lack of l.acid in the

>kefir ? I like that " bite'' but my husband does not, I am

>considering ordering fil mjolk but I don't want to destroy the benefits

>of the kefir. I have been trying to find more info on this, but

>not having much luck since I don't speak, read, understand Swedish. What

>is the nutritional benefits fil mjolk, is it similar to

>kefir? Thanks for your help, ine in WA

If anyone is curious, I'd be happy to share some of my " thick and sweet " kefir

grains (I can only do 1 or 2 right now, I'm lower on grains, but the

propagate quick).

It is very much a cross

between to two. You can't really " drink " fij Mjolk, and it is very

mucilagenous which

turns people off. You can spoon it over fruit and stir it (like mayo).

My FM Kefir I can't drink either (it doesn't " pour " , is sort of " oozes " )

but it's good in smoothies (nice thick shake). I figure it has the less-sour

taste, plus the bacterial goodies of kefir. It also propagates faster (I

get hundreds

of tiny kefirites in each batch, which is another reason I put it through the

blender).

FM might have some health benefits because it has more polysaccharides

than lactic acid. The bacteria can make either from lactose: if you let FM

set awhile it gets thin and sour as the polysaccharides turn into lactic

acid. Kefiran is a polysaccharide, and it is noted as an anti-cancer agent.

Heidi Schuppenhauer

Cabrita Software

heidis@...