kefi, whey and smoothie questions...

[Guest guest]

A friend generously gave me some kefir grains on Friday, with brief instructions

on what to do with them. I have never had kefir, let alone make any before, this

is all so new. I added some fresh milk when I got home, and let it sit out

through out the day. I could certainly see it separate. I couldn't decide if I

wanted to leave the top on so it would be fizzy, or take it off?! So I left it

on loosely.

So, yesterday morning, on the top was thick curdish looking stuff, on the bottom

was whey looking liquid. I strained it and scooped out the kefir grains, pouring

the kefir into a glass jar. I think it is too tart for me to drink as is, I'm

not sure my husband will ever touch it...something about fizzy milk!

Anyway, the kefir grains are in the fridge with a little raw milk to store (OK?)

The kefir had separated in the fridge, white liquid on bottom, whey liquid on

top. I wasn't sure if I should mix it up, or pour off the whey, so I poured it

off (OK?). I added it to a jar of whey I made with yogurt (OK?)

Then I made a smoothie using kefir, yogurt, banana, pineapple, coconut oil,

maple syrup and a dash of vanilla. I thought it was delicious, my husband still

couldn't get past the whole fizzy milk thing and my daughter liked it I think,

but because of my husband's reaction...she may have been jaded, but she did ask

for more!

So, any responses/advice would be great, plus, recipes for smoothies that you

make.

[Guest guest]

and Bart,

If you agitate the kefir jar several times throughout, the whey

and the curds won't separate as much. Also, agitating makes the

grains grow better. The longer you brew your kefir the more tart

or sour it becomes. You may wish to brew for a shorter time for

a less tart taste and before the whey and curds separate. It seems

to be somewhat thicker before separation occurs. It depends on

how warm it is in your kitchen. Around 77 degrees F is perfect.

You can get rid of most of the carbonation by shaking the kefir

a little bit at a time in a tight jar, loosening the lid between shakes

so the kefir can offgas the CO2. Use caution when dealing with

lots of pressure in tight jars that have been fermenting for an

unknown amount of time.

You don't have to pour off the whey. Whey is very good for you,

and has lots of uses. If you decide you still want to pour off the

whey to make a thicker kefir, go ahead and use the whey for

other things like soaking grains, baking, cooking, to help ferment

vegetables, as a sourdough starter, as a refreshing drink, as a hair

conditioner, etc. The curds can be used to make cheeses.

You can see a Kefir FAQ at the Kefir_making group.

Darrell

[Guest guest]

what you describe your kefir as doing is exactly what mine

does. The person who gave them to you must have been using them

right up until he gave them. Stored grains behave differently.

> Anyway, the kefir grains are in the fridge with a little raw milk

to store (OK?)

Fine, but it will take awhile to normalize them should you want to

use them again--better is to take them back out now and add milk up

to the point where you added it before. If you liked the smoothies,

you can use it for them. Kefir itself will store for a long time.

> The kefir had separated in the fridge, white liquid on bottom, whey

liquid on top. I wasn't sure if I should mix it up, or pour off the

whey, so I poured it off (OK?).

Either whey. ;-) It will make your smoothies thicker and give you

whey to culture things with.

I added it to a jar of whey I made with yogurt (OK?)

I don't know if there are differences in whey or not, but I can't

imagine it will hurt.

> Then I made a smoothie using kefir, yogurt, banana, pineapple,

coconut oil, maple syrup and a dash of vanilla. I thought it was

delicious, my husband still couldn't get past the whole fizzy milk

thing and my daughter liked it I think, but because of my husband's

reaction...she may have been jaded, but she did ask for more!

>

> So, any responses/advice would be great, plus, recipes for

smoothies that you make.

Here's my basic blueprint recipe:

I fill the blender about 5/8 the way full with frozen organic berries

(sometimes mixed; sometimes not) and/or frozen organic tropical fruit

(mango, pineapple); once in awhile frozen organic peaches. I put in

kefir, sometimes with whey, sometimes not, to the point where

it " fills in the cracks " but doesn't cover the fruit. I pulse it

until it's pretty well blended. The kefir added at this point keeps

the frozen berries from splattering up the sides.

Then I add 2-3 organic bananas, depending on their size, until the

blender is nearly full. I blend it on a pretty high speed, but

briefly, until the bananas are mixed in well.

Then I add a good 1/3 c. coconut oil and 2-3 eggs. I blend on the

highest speed, but only just until the eggs make it to the bottom

(they can't take the heat from the friction).

Sometimes if I've added too little kefir or the kefir is too thick, I

add raw milk. For awhile I added kombucha, until my son got used to

drinking kombucha straight.

So this varies from a sort of bananaberry thing (banana strawberry,

raspberry, or blueberry, or many berries) to a strictly tropical

thing, to a sort of tropical thing with berry overtones. Peach Melba

(raspberry) is good, too. It's a bit different every time.

My son, 7, loves it. My daughter, 5, likes it as long as it doesn't

have too much banana in it (she dislikes banana).

HTH,

Tracey

Tracey Rollison

Educational Consultant

Usborne Books at Home

(317)894-7040

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