i did know kefir by name, i knew you could buy it in the supermarket, but never have tried it myself. it is a fermented Milk drink, which is produced with the help of Milk Kefir grains. originally is probably comes from the caucasus region or tibet – but that can’t be exactly proven. fact is, kefir slowly made its way from asia to europe and now is getting more and more known around here. you don’t really need to do much to make kefir yourself, the kefir grains are doing all the work. you only need time and patience. the small, white grains remind of cauliflower and are quite gummy. mine were about a cenitmeter big, but can also get bigger. they proliferate themselves, so you can also give some to your friends. in a fermentation vessel together with milk – you can use any kind – the kefir grains are doing their magic and within 24 – 48 hours they produce milk kefir. during the fermentation the milk sugar (lactose) is transformed, so you get the typical taste (also contains 0,2 – 2 % of alcohol). the ready drink is therefore also suitable for lactose intolerant people. depending on if you store the jar at room temperature or in the fridge, you get a different tasting product. if you decide on the former, the lactic fermentation is working and the taste reminds of a slightly sour yoghurt. storing it chilled yeast dominates the process and the taste then reminded me of cheese.

it was really fun watching the whole fermentation process. first you couldn’t see much, after 24 hours i could see that some of the grains started to float and after 48 hours the top half was made up of the grains.

now you’re probably asking yourself: what am i using kefir for? (at least that’s what i did) of course you can drink it as is or use it like milk/yoghurt so e.g. with muesli, fruits or as a tasty shake e.g. with raspberries and vanilla.

my second thought was: why should i produce it myself in the future and have these huge jars standing around my kitchen, when i can just conveniently go to the supermarket and by the ready product. simple: the kefir you can buy, hasn’t much in common with the traditional one. industrially produced they aren’t using kefir grains, but a mixture of yeasts and bacteria which imitate the grains, but can’t fully mimic them. that’s why they are using the wording “kefir, mild”. besides it still contains lactose.

natural kefir drinks supplied me with the a complet starter set for milk kefir. it contains:

• read milk kefir drink with milk kefir grains
• 1 glass jar incl. lid
• 2 glass bottles
• 1 plastic spoon (kefir must not get into contact with metal)
• 1 plastic sieve
• 1 plastic funnel
• 1 extensive, easy to understand instruction set

with this kit you are ready to start immediatly, just add milk and the fermentation process can start. i was very satisfied with the products. especially important for me: everything was delivered in certified organic quality! the instructions also were very helpful. i really liked that first there was a quick guide on how to produce kefir and on the following sides you got detailled information on each step.

if you now can’t wait to try the production of kefir & co yourself, use the code “surfingthekitchen” to get a 10 % discount on your order until 10.12.2016.

in the next months i will also tell you about water kefir (my favorit) and kombucha. so check back, there will also be a sweepstake.

Filed under: misc, vegetarian Tagged: kefir, milk kefir, misc, review, vegetarian