Good Morning friends! I hope this finds you all well and that you had a lovely weekend.
We are all well here, the big girls are on their last day of School holidays and have mixed feelings as always about it, they miss seeing their friends all the time but they are not looking forward to routine mornings again with no sleep-ins (I don’t blame them!) How about you? Are your kids back at school today? Are you doing a happy dance or do you wish the holidays were longer?
How have you been going with the cultured food posts I have shared the past few weeks? Have you made anything yet? Or all of them!? Have you any new favourites? I would love to hear!
I am thrilled today to bring you a guest post from my friend Sarah who is the “Clevercook” sharing today with us some information on KEFIR!
Sarah!
Hi, My name is Sarah and I live to eat, not eat to live. I love cooking and eating and always have! In recent years I have discovered the Paleo philosophy of avoiding grains and sugar, and feel better for it, so I aim to cook with natural unprocessed ingredients, good fats, fruit and vegetables. Keen to demonstrate that a Primal lifestyle is not limiting in any way, I love the challenge of developing recipes within the criteria and “Paleo-fying” everyday foods. Especially naughty ones! I live in Brisbane and have a wonderful husband and 2 (almost grown-up) sons. Fortunately, they love to eat and suffer my endless experiments and new recipes without complaint (much)! To help me I have my trusty Thermomix, whose inclusion in my life has opened my world of capabilities. I never envisaged being able to mill my own flour, make my own almond milk & coconut cream, less make my own chocolate!!
Let’s talk KEFIR! Kefir is a combination of “good” bacteria and yeasts in a symbiotic matrix of proteins, lipids, and sugars, that resemble tiny cauliflower. The grains can be grown in milk or water but have a subtle difference of composition in their bacterial make up. Milk kefir must be grown in milk and depend on a higher protein & lactose mix than water kefir which is grown in sweetened water. Milk kefir grains range in colour from white to yellow, whilst water kefir grains are translucent and may be white or clear. They range from the size of a pea to a walnut.I was very lucky to be given some fresh water kefir grains recently and now I have a new passion: water kefir! Water kefir is known around the world and is also known as tibicos, tibi, Japanese water crystals and California bees. It tastes GREAT and can be altered by adding different fruits and flavourings.
The basic preparation method is to add the grains to a sugary liquid and allow it to ferment for 24 to 48 hours. It is important to use ingredients that will not inhibit the fermentation, such as chlorine in tap water or preservatives in dried fruit (sulphites). For this reason I boil my water and let it cool down and use organic fruit. With kombucha production you have to be extra vigilant about hygiene and sterilisation but I am told this is completely unnecessary when making kefir from a hygiene perspective as the bacteria is so robust that it can kill any “bad” bacteria.
It is important that the kefir culture is treated as gently as a live organism, just like a kombucha scoby. The grains need to avoid extreme heat or cold and have plenty of “food” (sugar) to feed off. When storing them, you need to keep them “alive” by regularly feeding them.
Experiment with how much time you ferment for as this varies depending on the ambient temperature. Experiment with different dried fruit and flavourings. I have heard that sultanas and vanilla are good.
The use of metal implements should be avoided, as they can damage the culture, but I haven’t experienced this. Yet. I bottle my kefir in glass and have learnt that after bottling, fermentation continues thus producing more carbonation —so don’t make too much ahead of time or you may have explosions happening in your fridge! Give it a try, its sooo much fun and would be a great science lesson on carbonation for the kids which will benefit them in more ways than one!
1/2 cup water kefir grains
9 cups water, boiled & cooled to room temperature
1/3 cup raw sugar, dissolved in 1 cup boiled water, cooled
1 dried fig, organic & unsulphured, cut in half
1 slice of lemon, including rind
1 knob ginger (optional, sometimes I use fresh turmeric)
Unfiltered fruit juice – I use apple, but any will do.
Make sure that everything is room temperature and mix together in a large jar or bottle. Secure a clean nut milk bag or muslin on top with a rubber band to keep the fruit flies out.
Have a taste and keep in mind how sweet it is.
The kefir grains will sink to the bottom as will the fig. The lemon and ginger will float on the surface.
Leave for 24 hours at room temperature and taste. If it tastes less sweet than the day before, the kefir is active and eating the sugar.
You will see small bubbles forming around the grains and some may float to the top, that’s normal.
Leave for another day – a little scum may form on the surface which is tiny yeast bubbles, that’s normal too.
Taste – it will be less sweet again and then prepare to bottle. It will not be fizzy but will produce more carbonation after being sealed.
Make sure your bottles are clean and sterile*. I use recycled beer bottles that I cap with a brewing capper but swing top bottles are easier to use and widely available.
If you are using big bottles, pour an inch of fruit juice in the bottom and top up with kefir and seal. I pour in a half-inch of juice in small beer bottles. This gives the bacteria in the kefir some more food to produce carbonation.Leave at room temperature for one more day and then refrigerate to slow down the fermentation process. Drink and enjoy the amazing benefits of probiotics!**
Thank you for allowing me to introduce myself and to share this Kefir information with you! I would love for you to visit my site and join me having fun cooking, eating & sharing! Please don’t hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions! Thanks! Sarah x
I would like to say a MASSIVE Thank you to Sarah for sharing this information with us all! Sarah has a FULL blog with loads more information on Kefir HERE … for more helpful information make sure you check it out … also please make sure you pop over to Sarahs pages and say HI! It is a lovely way to say THANK YOU for her time and information and to show support.
Wishing you a wonderful day,
Take Care of You,
Collette x
Kefir!
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