Guest guest Posted February 21, 2002 Report Share Posted February 21, 2002 Becky- >My husband doesn't digest lactose, so when I make yogurt, I culture >it for 24 hours so all the lactose is gone. When I start making >kefir, I'll need to culture it longer too, but will this affect the >taste? (Will it get more tart?) I'm told that if you culture the kefir with the grains for 24 hours, then strain the kefir into a glass and let it culture without the grains for another 24 hours, the lactose will be effectively gone. That's what I do -- in fact, I stick the glass of kefir in the fridge overnight -- and I've had zero problems with lactose. I've tried culturing the kefir with the grains for a longer period, but I find the taste gets a bit foul, kind of sour and bad-cheesey. >And what does kefir taste like? Is it more or less tart than >yogurt? Does it need much sweetner/flavorings to make it tasty? It depends on how you culture it. For me it was variable when I first started, but then it settled into something nice. Similar to yoghurt, but with a slight vinegar tang from the acetobacteria. I add a little saccharine (Necta-Sweet -- it has no sugar, just saccharine and sodium bicarbonate) and a spoonful of berry syrup (per NT, but without any added sweetener) in both my kefir and my yoghurt, and they taste great. >PS. Anyone have any extra kefir grains to sell?? Can't help you there (yet), sorry! <g> - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 21, 2002 Report Share Posted February 21, 2002 One other advantage of kefir over yogurt is it is so easy. Kefir is all I make now. I could give you some kefir grains for the cost of postage, but I do not want to sell them. I like the kefir with a little honey and some vanilla, but the kids don't so I usually have to add a little more honey and some fruit. Strawberry Bananna is their favorite. We all think it tastes a lot better than yo-j from the store! Even the kids. Kefir cheese is great too. I make that every other day. I am trying to find more uses for it though, I am making so much kefir right now. Grace, a Augustine I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye. --anonymous ----- Original Message ----- From: beckymauldin2001 Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 7:31 PM Subject: Kefir questions Well, I think I'll have to try out some kefir soon, but I have a couple of questions... My husband doesn't digest lactose, so when I make yogurt, I culture it for 24 hours so all the lactose is gone. When I start making kefir, I'll need to culture it longer too, but will this affect the taste? (Will it get more tart?) And what does kefir taste like? Is it more or less tart than yogurt? Does it need much sweetner/flavorings to make it tasty? Becky PS. Anyone have any extra kefir grains to sell?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 --- In , " alsr930 " <alsr930@y...> wrote: > I have 3 questions regarding kefir... > > 1. What is the difference, in terms of end product, of > raw milk that has been left out to sour and kefir made > from adding raw milk to kefir grains? Soured raw milk and kefir taste entirely different to me, so I'd assume they're entirely different cultures. > 2. Can I make kefir by adding some already made kefir to > fresh milk or does it have to be made using the grains? Yes, but you don't want to keep doing it for multiple generations because the balance of different organisms will not remain stable outside the protective grains. I like to add a bit of finished kefir to sour raw milk to kefirize it. > 3. How are you supposed to cover the container while the > kefir is incubating, tightly or loosely? I have 2 different > sets of directions and they conflict. Do the good bacteria > need oxygen in order to proliferate? Then, to age the kefir, > you are supposed to put on a tight lid, right? Why is that? I always keep the lid on tight the whole time. By locking in the CO2, the kefir is slightly effervescent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 28, 2004 Report Share Posted February 28, 2004 Hi Adele, You can find more detailed answers to all these questions and more at <http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html>, but I've given some quick replies below. @@@@@@@ --- In , " alsr930 " <alsr930@y...> wrote: > I have 3 questions regarding kefir... > > 1. What is the difference, in terms of end product, of raw milk that > has been left out to sour and kefir made from adding raw milk to > kefir grains? @@@@@@@@@@ Huge difference. The first case (clabber) is the fermentation of the milk via the bacteria naturally present in the milk--exact species will vary under different conditions but are predominantly LAB (lactic acid bacteria). Kefir, on the other hand is the fermentation of the milk via the complex of microorganisms supplied by the kefir SCOBY ( " grains " ); this complex includes LAB (mostly lactococcus, lactobacillus, and leuconostoc species), yeasts, and sometimes AAB (acetic acid bacteria) and molds. So kefir generally has a wider variety of microorganisms, and of course different species of critters give the unique and distinctive flavors and textures to different fermented milks, from LAB ferments like clabber and modern yogurt, to LAB + yeast ferments like kefir and koumiss, to LAB + mold ferments like viili. Because in practical contexts it's difficult to control the exact group of microflora, the boundaries between all these are very fuzzy and overlap. @@@@@@@ > 2. Can I make kefir by adding some already made kefir to fresh milk > or does it have to be made using the grains? @@@@@@@ There is some semantic imprecision to " kefir " revealed by this question, but the best answer is definitely " no " , because the result of culturing milk with kefir instead of kefir grains will simply be a different fermented milk product with a different microfloral population. It would be a perfectly nice product, but it's hard to imagine any situation where a person would be compelled to do this, since it would not be a self-sustainable practice like using kefir grains. Without the symbiotic microbial population of the grains, you'd eventually wind up with something like yogurt or another variation on fermented milk. There are studies showing significant differences to the results of these two methods of fermenting milk. So use grains!! @@@@@@@ > 3. How are you supposed to cover the container while the kefir is > incubating, tightly or loosely? I have 2 different sets of > directions and they conflict. Do the good bacteria need oxygen in > order to proliferate? Then, to age the kefir, you are supposed to > put on a tight lid, right? Why is that? @@@@@@@@@ It will work fine covered or uncovered. The primary considerations are 1) whether you like a strong fizz; if so cover it tightly during both phases or at least during the optional post-grain phase; and 2) whether there's a concern about the jar exploding; I use mason jars and cover them tightly the whole time, and have never experienced anything close to a risky situation with gas buildup, but I leave plenty of space. There are stories " out there " of jars exploding and such, so it's not something to completely ignore; if you're making water kefir or adding extra sugar to your milk kefir, then it's something to seriously think about (see Dom's site and the kefir lists). So loose or tight--your pick, for both the grain phase and optional post-grain phase. Mike SE Pennsylvania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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