Clearing Webs

Kefir

The problem with me and making homemade kefir is that I can't resist the hot goat's milk! Those of you who haven't tried making kefir, or haven't heard of it for that matter, go for it. It's like yogurt only in liquid form and has even more beneficial probiotics than yogurt! It's very easy to make (and you don't have to use goat's milk if you don't care for it). Kefir's cool for drinking plain or for adding fruit to sweeten it up in smoothie form.

You can find kefir starter at the same types of places you buy yogurt starter. It should be about two to three dollars for enough starter to make about eight quarts of kefir. You can save some of the initial batch and make around six or seven more batches using that as starter but I'm not to the point of experimenting with that yet. I'm still working on getting my initial batch perfected. Making kefir is as simple as heating the milk to 180 degrees F (or to barely boiling if you don't have an appropriate thermometer) pouring a little milk into a separate cup, mixing the starter with that then combining the starter milk with the rest of the milk in a clean container. Cover and let stand at room temp for about twenty-four hours until a little thicker than milk (somewhere between milk and yogurt) then store in the refrigerator. The standing temperature and the time it stands are the two components one plays with to vary the kefir taste. The longer the kefir stands the more bitter it will taste.

Go for it, guys. It's so easy, so tasty and so good for you!

Note: Commercial kefir starters are more easily attainable but not exactly the same as "real" kefir curds which can be attained at G.E.M. Cultures or Dom's Kefir In-Site. I haven't worked with actual kefir curds.