[Penninehillbilly]

Hi
Not sure where else to ask this -
Just been reading a bit about KEFIR and wondered if anyone had tried it and what they thought about it?
And does it work ok with fresh goat milk or does it have to be pastuerised?
 
Looking foward to peoples thoughts and advice, (and if positive, the best place to get some?)

[ladyK]

hi
I use it all the time - Have had my kefir jars going for over 3 years now.
I love it. I use it instead of yoghurt for lots of things, over cereal, in recipies, in breadmaking, also making a kind of  fresh cheese by simply straining it (it's curdled already through the fermentation process).
OH thinks it's a bit too tart, so we have a yoghurt maker as well, but I porefer it that way. The tartness actually depends on how long you leave it, I usually leave it a tad too long (3 days). However if you have a lactose intolerance leaving it long enough will reduce the lactose to almost nothing making it a 'safe' dairy option.

I don't have my own milk (yet) so I use shop-bought full fat milk, but I don't see why fresh goats milk would be a problem. The fermentation process is stronger and more 'live' than in yoghurt - I never boil my milk and it works perfectly well. Apparently the fermenting bacteria have a conserving function as well: the milk doesn't really ever go off, I never really rinse the kefir grains, I just strain and add new milk (In regions where kefir is traditionally eaten, flasks are simply refilled with milk when empty.)

If you are after some starter grains I'll happily send you some if you pm me - I bought my grains on Ebay.
After a while you always have too much off it as it multiplies like mad - the dog eats some sometimes, and the chickens love any surplus kefir too 

[Anke]

Yes we have a kefir jug going, been over a year now.... I think. Use fresh, home-produced goatsmilk, not pasteurised or anything.

[Greenerlife]

I love this place!


Never even heard of Kefir before and now know via Mr Google, a great deal.  Want to have a go now...

[benandjerry]

Kefir is great!  We love it, it becomes a baby and when you go away you have to train people on how to look after it (if you are not taking it away with you).  I killed many kefirs, before I got the hang of it and my friend who was the supplier used to laugh and say I'd have to wait until she had enough to give me before I could get some.  Now we babysit each other's kirfir.  Be brave and go for it, the cheese is great.  I use kilner jars 

[Penninehillbilly]

Thanks all
I just happened to notice someone was asking for some on freecycle, so googled it, with a surplus of milk but not enough for cheese making and not impressed with my yogurt attempts, it sounds interesting.
Thanks LadyK, I'll PM you, probably tomorrow as I'm having difficulty keeping my eyes open now. 
 

[Greenerlife]

LadyK - when you bought yours on eBay, were they dried?  Do you rehydrate in water or milk? 

[ladyK]

They were 'fresh', they came in a little sachet with milk, about a tablespoon full. Haven't tried the dried stuff, but I would put them in milk straight away and change it daily, as you not only need to rehydrate but also to feed 'it' to revive it.

[Ina]

Not made my own yet, but buy it occasionally - you can get it in Polish shops if you can't find it in your local supermarket...

[RUSTYME]

Been thinking about keeping a milk kefir culture going for a time now , along with a water one , kombucha and the ginger beer culture .
It seems they all have excellent health properties , plus once you have a culture , they produce free , or very cheap food  .
At present i go through 2 450g onken yogurt tubs per week , £2.80 , ouch !
£3 on milk and £3 on cheese , so once i get the goats , i can save a lot of money as well as eating healthier , by having these cultures going .
Would empty 200g coffee jars be ok to make the kefir in ?

[ladyK]

I think most containers would be OK, but they say to be careful with metal containers (stainless steel should be OK, but other metal might be affected by the lactic acid and you wouldn't want to eat that). Glass is better, I think.
The more the culture grows the bigger a container you need, or the more containers to divide the culture up in.

[Anke]

Ours grows in a Kilner jar, top left loosely open.

[Ina]

Do you keep it at room temperature - and how long can you keep it without fridge?

[ladyK]

It needs room temperature to 'come to life', if you put it in the fridge it goes to 'sleep' (so that's where to keep it if you are away for a few days and can't feed it = change the milk). It's a bit ike sourdough.

[Ina]

Not having a fridge, it would probably go wild on me in summer... At least half the year we have fridge temperatures outside anyway, and my clay pot cooler helps a bit. Was thinking it might be a cheaper option than buying yoghurt all the time.