Off Topic - Kefir Making

[Suz]

FYI - kayak related as you can take this on trips with you and it requires no refridgeration.

I have started making homemade kefir recently. It is a healthy probiotic drink sorta like drinking yogurt. It is high in protein, B vitamins and just generally good for you. If anyone wants to give it a try, I have extra grains to spare.

For a bit of info, here are a few websites:

http://www.kefirlady.com/

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html

You can buy it commercially made in some grocery stores. Trader Joe's also sells it both plain and flavored in lowfat. I would buy one of each and use a little of the flavored in the plain to make it tastier. The plain tastes a bit like buttermilk.

The process once started needs to be kept going. Basically just need to put the grains with milk on the counter and 24 hours later just strain off and start over with the grains pulled from the previous mix. My homemade kefir is much thinner than the commercial, perhaps because I use skim milk.

Mine is also more tart than the commercial and I make it into smoothies with a fresh banana and frozen fruit - just mix all in a blender and then refridgerate for up to three days.

Suz

[PeterB]

FYI - kayak related as you can take this on trips with you and it requires no refridgeration.

I have started making homemade kefir recently. It is a healthy probiotic drink sorta like drinking yogurt. It is high in protein, B vitamins and just generally good for you. If anyone wants to give it a try, I have extra grains to spare.

Ms. Hutchinson is perfecting a culinary art steeped in history.

Kefir was a diet staple of the Mongols and nomadic tribes of the Central Asian steppes; it was a key source of nutrition and energy that could be carried on long uninterrupted journeys on horseback, as it would not spoil. These same attributes make it a great choice for kayak nomads.

[Suz]

FYI - kayak related as you can take this on trips with you and it requires no refridgeration.

I have started making homemade kefir recently. It is a healthy probiotic drink sorta like drinking yogurt. It is high in protein, B vitamins and just generally good for you. If anyone wants to give it a try, I have extra grains to spare.

Ms. Hutchinson is perfecting a culinary art steeped in history.

Kefir was a diet staple of the Mongols and nomadic tribes of the Central Asian steppes; it was a key source of nutrition and energy that could be carried on long uninterrupted journeys on horseback, as it would not spoil. These same attributes make it a great choice for kayak nomads.

Peter is correct.

I would love someone else to make it too because if I inadvertently kill off my grain supply it would be nice to have a local source to borrow back from. Grains are usually given from one person to another locally. There are sharing websites but no one local responded when I was looking for it. So I bought it from the Kefir Lady who ships it priority mail in little 2 ounce plastic containers. Once you receive it you send her $20 in cash - paper money. No checks accepted.

It's actually not a hard or costly project to try. Just requires a few mason jars and milk.

Suz

[EEL]

So do you consider this stuff great for that craving for something fresh you get after a few days? While it does not need to be kept cool, once you add fruit or whatever you would, correct? But you could mix it with fruit for a serving? Have you tried it with other foods besides fruit for smoothie type drinks? Is it used in cooking?

Ed Lawson

[Suz]

So do you consider this stuff great for that craving for something fresh you get after a few days? While it does not need to be kept cool, once you add fruit or whatever you would, correct? But you could mix it with fruit for a serving? Have you tried it with other foods besides fruit for smoothie type drinks? Is it used in cooking?

Ed Lawson

Probably not!

Actually if you brought kefir already made with you, it will continue to ferment and get more effervescent than normal. The colder you can keep it the less it ferments. If you brought the grains with you, you would need to continue to supply them with fresh milk to keep them fed. UHT or long life milk is supposedly not well received by the kefir.

I have some that I first cultered for 24 hours and then fermented for 10 hours more and it is quite tasty.

Haven't used it in cooking yet but did make a coffee cake with it substituting the kefir for buttermilk. Supposedly you can culture cream to make a cream freche. Russian Borscht soup was originally made with kefir according to one website.

As for fresh food while out camping my first rule of thumb is no prepackaged dried foods. Just shop from the grocery store and include things that keep well. Here are the veggies I bring:

carrots, potatoes, onion, peppers, broccoli, garlic, corn if in season for the first couple of days

fruits: apples, oranges, kiwi, avocado, mango, pineapple, blueberries, bananas

We usually gather mussles while camping in Maine and have been known to buy a lobster or two along with bringing frozen fish for the beginning of a trip.

One trip while paddling the bigger than life Cetus, I packed the day hatch FULL with fresh dug steamers from Ipswich and we had two nights with fresh steamers. I rode a bit low in the water until we unloaded but they were delicious.

Suz

[FPSIII]

Suz,

I've done some home brewing of beer.

Do you use some sort of jug or other container with an air lock?

Frank

[FPSIII]

Suz,

Have you had any noticeable health improvements from drinking Kefir?

I think I read it was supposed to help with digestion in general and help digest fats.

If Kefir is placed in an open container is not there a chance of wild yeast or bacteria infecting the batch?

If you or any one reading this have some spare grains I will go buy a gallon "growler"/ jug of Ipswich Ale clean it out properly and put an airlock on it and see how it works.

This might be a better way to culture on the fly as it would keep bugs and stuff out of your kefir. If some one went to a Liquor store that carried Ipswich ale they could probably find one empty in the return room and just pay the deposit fee (50 cents I think).

I've read that you can only go 7 generations re using the Kefir grains but some one else wrote that it can go on forever as long as you keep making continous batches.

If it tastes like Yogurt Kefir might be tasty in a Curry dish.

Frank

[Suz]

Suz,

Have you had any noticeable health improvements from drinking Kefir?

I think I read it was supposed to help with digestion in general and help digest fats.

If Kefir is placed in an open container is not there a chance of wild yeast or bacteria infecting the batch?

If you or any one reading this have some spare grains I will go buy a gallon "growler"/ jug of Ipswich Ale clean it out properly and put an airlock on it and see how it works.

This might be a better way to culture on the fly as it would keep bugs and stuff out of your kefir. If some one went to a Liquor store that carried Ipswich ale they could probably find one empty in the return room and just pay the deposit fee (50 cents I think).

I've read that you can only go 7 generations re using the Kefir grains but some one else wrote that it can go on forever as long as you keep making continous batches.

If it tastes like Yogurt Kefir might be tasty in a Curry dish.

Frank

I use a 1/2 gallon glass mason jar that I leave partially open on the counter. I thought about that with the wild yeast cultures and stuff. As I remember from making yogurt that you start with milk that you heat up then cool down. I believe that was to prevent any straings from growing that shouldn't. I think that you can't have it growing in a totally sealed container although a container with an escape valve would probably work. But it doesn't seem to need it.

And as for the 7 generation thing - that is from culture, not grains. What that means is if you have live kefir, you can make more from that as you do from yogurt. But unlike yogurt, you can only do this 7 times or 7 generations as the culture isn't as active as the grains.

I suppose one difference with this is that it is a cultured and a fermented product.

As for personal health benefits, I am healthy and don't have digestive troubles. I started eating kefir when I became a vegetarian as the protein content is much higher than in milk. 1 cup kefir has 14 grams and 1 cup of skim milk has 14. I think it will be a great drink to take with me on day paddles. If you make a banana and fruit smoothie with it, you could pack in 2 servings of fruit with one cup of kefir and it would be a fine meal replacement for breakfast or lunch or a healthy supplement.

E-mail me separately if you are interested in some grains and I could pass some off to you.

Suz

[cushman]

hehe funny how there's a discussion on kefir on a paddler's forums

kefir is really awesome, i make some myself too...

@Frank-you usually cover the container you're making kefir in. just not airtight with a cloth or a lid. and don't worry too much about bacteria going into the kefir and contaminating it. the good bacteria in kefir will kick the crap out of the bad ones. hehe

now back to paddling! anyone here have any exciting kefir recipes just for trips?

[jdkilroy]

Suz,

if you have a dehydrator, try dehydrating Kefir as you would to make fruit roll-ups.

Laura and I did this recently for our Downeast trip and it was great. I used strawberry kefir and the flavor became more intense. It was like a top quality strawberry taffy. Roll it up and cut into short lengths while still warm. Cool and pack in zip locks.

I gave PeterB a piece that was three weeks old last weekend and since he posted yesterday, he must still be alive.

Jon

[Suz]

Suz,

if you have a dehydrator, try dehydrating Kefir as you would to make fruit roll-ups.

Laura and I did this recently for our Downeast trip and it was great. I used strawberry kefir and the flavor became more intense. It was like a top quality strawberry taffy. Roll it up and cut into short lengths while still warm. Cool and pack in zip locks.

I gave PeterB a piece that was three weeks old last weekend and since he posted yesterday, he must still be alive.

Jon

Very interesting. What did you put on the dehydrator tray to keep it on the tray?

Suz

[Michael_Crouse]

They sell trays to go into a dehydrator so you can dehydrate liquids. We've done tomato sauce, salsa, veggie jambalaya, yogurt, and sour cream. Don't try to dehydrate tofu, you get rocks, just buy the boxed stuff. Stuff like sour cream you can pulverize into a powder and semi-rehydrate, it's not a good as the fresh stuff but to have sour cream on a burrito when you're out on your fifth night is pretty sweet!

[EEL]

veggie jambalaya, yogurt, and sour cream....Stuff like sour cream you can pulverize into a powder and semi-rehydrate, it's not a good as the fresh stuff but to have sour cream on a burrito when you're out on your fifth night is pretty sweet!

Veggie jambalaya? Willing to share recipe? Idea of drying yogurt and sour cream intrigues.

BTW, why is this off topic?

Ed Lawson

[Michael_Crouse]

Off topic because it's not 100% kayak related.

I just used a jar of the Trader Joes stuff, then you can add rice and chicken, tofu, etc... to it.

note: lasagna does not rehydrate well

[bob budd]

kefir...requires no refridgeration.

Being neither an expert nor a mongol I can only say that many hits on kefir say it must be refrigerated. It would appear it could be "started" on Friday of a weekend and consumed safely through said weekend. Your results, and gastronomical distress, may vary.

[Suz]

kefir...requires no refridgeration.

Being neither an expert nor a mongol I can only say that many hits on kefir say it must be refrigerated. It would appear it could be "started" on Friday of a weekend and consumed safely through said weekend. Your results, and gastronomical distress, may vary.

If you could keep feeding the kefir grains more milk, it wouldn't need refrigeration. I keep a jar on the counter most days but take out the finished product and put THAT in the fridge every 24 hours. When I need to slow down production, I put the kefir grains in the fridge with loads of milk and hold it as long as I need to.

If you were to drink the liquid instead of chilling it, you wouldn't need to refrigerate it. I much prefer it cold and made into a smoothie though rather than drinking it off the counter.

Suz

[lmkilroy]

Bisides making Kefir taffy (perfect for nawing on those long kayak expeditions) but Kefir popsicles are awesome. Jon eats at least a 4 pac a day as long as I keep refilling the popsicle containers.

Laura K

[Pintail]

My very dear friend Suzanne (yes, that one!) is sometimes given -- ever-so-slightly -- to literary licence:

<I have started making homemade kefir recently> No, actually, she has been doing this for quite a while and I myself have been a beneficiary of her generosity in this nutritional area.

<It is a healthy probiotic drink sorta like drinking yogurt> No, it is <exactly> like drinking yoghurt!

Somewhere else she writes that it is richer in protein than milk; but (dearheart) -- you then quote 14g. of protein in kefir and <the same figure> for milk...that one I do not "get".

Please, everyone: this stuff is not called "kea-fer", as I hear it called in the shops: it is an Arabic word and is pronounced "k-firr" (rolling that -r like mad -- or like an Arab or an Israeli)

[Suz]

My very dear friend Suzanne (yes, that one!) is sometimes given -- ever-so-slightly -- to literary licence:

<I have started making homemade kefir recently> No, actually, she has been doing this for quite a while and I myself have been a beneficiary of her generosity in this nutritional area.

<It is a healthy probiotic drink sorta like drinking yogurt> No, it is <exactly> like drinking yoghurt!

Somewhere else she writes that it is richer in protein than milk; but (dearheart) -- you then quote 14g. of protein in kefir and <the same figure> for milk...that one I do not "get".

Please, everyone: this stuff is not called "kea-fer", as I hear it called in the shops: it is an Arabic word and is pronounced "k-firr" (rolling that -r like mad -- or like an Arab or an Israeli)

Here some links... I guess I miswrote before...

ttp://www.cassclay.com/milk_nut.html - skim 8 g protein

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/I....cfm/Id/1798007 low fat "k-firr" - 14 g

Basically - more protein in "k-firr" than in regular old milk...

AND I am starting to eat the grains as I need to give some away if anyone would like some. I just can't bring myself to throw away the little buggers so when I start making too much, I put them in the blender with the liquid to make a smoothie out of.

Suz