Kefir!
That was me not too long ago.  It's like a super cousin of yogurt. Full of probiotics and active cultures. I was always a yogurt fan. I know we had some kefir discussion here in the past - I remember Susan has said she grew some when the pups were having some really bad gut issues. Then at herding class, it came up again, about a month ago. My friend Roxie had been buying it, and drinking it herself and for her dogs. So I checked it out, and stated buying it at the grocery store. Then on FB, I read that Denise Fenzi ( wonderful trainer and speaker on motivational dog training from California) was bringing some with her to the training seminar that she is putting on in MN this weekend. She asked if anyone else wanted some natural kefir grains to start growing their own...so I decided to take the plunge!! I said "yes" and I got a starter batch yesterday.  The kefir looks kind of like little white tiny cauliflower flowers. You feed it milk....then let it grow. You drain off the milk, and that is the kefir you drink, saving the "flowers", adding more milk and just keep repeating this. Here is a link with some pictures (I need pictures to really "get" stuff!) http://www.yourkefirsource.com/how-to-m ... milk-kefir So, after I read this...I got my jar, and made a breathable lid with a piece of fabric. I had about a 1/4 cup of starter.  and here it is this morning!  Yay!!! It survived the flight and sitting through the seminar, ride home and into it's new MN home! Now I just need to decide how long I want to let it grow....  |
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| Jack was Mr. Kefir! It would straighten up his GI tract instantly. Since he's been gone I haven't made any......still have the starter, guess it is time to start again. I didn't bother with the breathable lid, just sealed it up. Each batch varies a bit. I've gotten it as thick as yogurt and other times the cauliflower "nuggets." Dogs love all of it. |
SheepieBoss wrote: Jack was Mr. Kefir! It would straighten up his GI tract instantly. Since he's been gone I haven't made any......still have the starter, guess it is time to start again. I didn't bother with the breathable lid, just sealed it up. Each batch varies a bit. I've gotten it as thick as yogurt and other times the cauliflower "nuggets." Dogs love all of it. How long did you let yours grow before using it? I read anywhere from 12 hours to several days...and the taste changes as time passes. Denise also said my 1st few batches will likely not taste as good as later batches. I need to get a little strainer now...need to add it to the shopping list! |
| Sounds gross LOL I just buy pro biotic capsules at the pharmacy to have on hand if needed. |
| We make water kefir....starts with similar grains. We end up with a bubbly beverage that has probiotics in it. I usually flavor with ginger in a second ferment. We are yogurt eaters too and I have been thinking about making milk kefir sometime. |
| I'd give it 18-24 hours at room temp and then refrigerate after. (I'd giggle the top, if it didn't move I'd call it done. It is temperature sensitive. Sometimes I'd let the milk cool a bit much and it didn't work as well. Yes, you can use some as starter for the next batch.....but I found after several batches, I'd do better with fresh starter. To me it was much like yogurt....sometimes I wasn't sure it wasn't yogurt it got so thick. I'd use whole milk, the less fat just didn't work out. Never tried it with goat milk........hmmm. To aid with GI tract woes, I'd also give the "squirter" slippery elm capsules. |
SheepieBoss wrote: I'd give it 18-24 hours at room temp and then refrigerate after. (I'd giggle the top, if it didn't move I'd call it done. It is temperature sensitive. Sometimes I'd let the milk cool a bit much and it didn't work as well. Yes, you can use some as starter for the next batch.....but I found after several batches, I'd do better with fresh starter. To me it was much like yogurt....sometimes I wasn't sure it wasn't yogurt it got so thick. I'd use whole milk, the less fat just didn't work out. Never tried it with goat milk........hmmm. To aid with GI tract woes, I'd also give the "squirter" slippery elm capsules. Interesting. We are at about 18 hours now. I'll be watching it this evening  Where did you get fresh starter? I've never seen it available here. Oh, and mine has 2% milk in it, and it's really growing. It's what we have on hand. Todd drinks it, and I drink almond milk. |
Amanda P wrote: We make water kefir....starts with similar grains. We end up with a bubbly beverage that has probiotics in it. I usually flavor with ginger in a second ferment. We are yogurt eaters too and I have been thinking about making milk kefir sometime. Amanda - tell me more. Daughter LeAnne doesn't do dairy, and she was very interested in the water kefir when I told her about it this afternoon. Thanks! |
| In the natural food store, refrigerator section.... here 2 places I've found it; Vitamin Cottage or a local owned store. Comes in a box, dry granules you add to cooled milk. I must really let it either over "cook" or use too much starter because only a few times has it been runny, not like the kefir drink sold in bottles. Each dog gets a soup spoon full of the clotted yummy on their food. Then went I get near the end I use the rest as starter for a new batch. Only a few times have I had the cauliflower consistency....which makes me wonder if I'm not inadvertantly making yogurt with the kefir strain. |
| OK, we have a food coop in a town about 30 miles away. I bet they have it. Mine was distinct flowers (cauliflower shapes) when I got it. And now I have a TON of it. Probably 2 inches on the top of the thinner milk layer. 4-5 times the volume when I started already. The recipe I found says to strain it and only drink the liquid, and put all the solids back in the jar with new milk and grow again. But I would think if I did that, that I would get more and more flowers?.... Guess I better do more research. |
| yeah, you'll get more flowers. Then you share with others or give them to the dogs. Just save some for next batch. |
| Found a video. http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/pla ... =1242et97a It explained the starter can only be reused a few times, but if you have the grains (which mine are) they can be used indefinitely. OK, think I'm ready to check it out.  |
| OK, I found out I had a thinner consistency milk end product because I started with too much milk for the amount of kefir grains I had. But I got it all strained, and took about a cup and poured it in my blender with a banana and a tablespoon of chocolate chips and made a smoothie. YUM!  The chips were a bit chunky - so next time I will try either some Nestle's Quik or choc. syrup. The rest is in a water bottle jug in the fridge. And a new batch is growing!  |
| Dawn. Here was where I first read about water kefir...http://www.crunchybetty.com/water-kefir I was interested because it offered a drink with the probiotics but as an alternative to water or juice. I ordered my grains from...http://www.culturesforhealth.com/ There are many ways to flavor it but ginger in the second fermentation is my favorite and seems as easy as they come. |
| ^^^Thanks! |
| Interesting! Thanks for sharing! We've started buying Kefir as well. My son loves his "drinkable yogurt". I find it a little bit sour but I try to get some in when I can. |
| Update - The kefir production is going well. I had to thin out my grains last night...so the dogs got a spoonful each on their evening dog food. I learned that the clear layer between the grains and the milk is whey...very cool!Tonight when I "harvested", I made a banana honey smoothie out of it...oh yum! I have a picture, from left: The newly mixed batch growing, added honey and a banana, the smoothie - in a glass and more in the plastic bottle. I will have that tomorrow.  |
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