My Love Affair with Kefir
Originally posted on 6 August 2015
I held off on making milk kefir for a long time. Making a fresh batch just about every day seemed like, well, way too much kefir. But then I acquired a copy of Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and positively devoured it. Just about every other recipe called for kefir or some other fermented dairy product. I was pregnant, concerned about my nutrition more than ever before, and on a dairy binge. Suddenly kefir made more sense than all my other fermentation projects combined. It was the perfect storm and I have no plans of turning back.
I won't lie, (especially if you live alone) it is a lot of kefir. But there are so many incredible and healthful things you can do with kefir, it will make your head spin.
Kefir grains (a.k.a. SCOBY's - symbiotic colonies of bacteria & yeast)
jam-packed full of probiotics
Step aside yogurt, kefir packs a serious wallop.
Your average yogurt has 6 or 7 different strains of beneficial bacteria and contains ~1 billion microorganisms per serving.
Store-bought kefir and kefir made using a dehydrated culture packet (rather than kefir grains) typically contains 10 to 20 different strains of beneficial bacteria and yeast and contains ~40 billion microorganisms per serving. (source)
Kefir cultured with kefir grains typically contain 35 to 50 different strains of beneficial bacteria and yeast and ~5 trillion microorganisms per serving. (source)
Also compare to your average probiotic supplement, containing only ~500 million microorganisms. (source)
easy to digest
A lot of people struggle with lactose intolerance or experience digestive discomfort after consuming milk and milk products. I can't promise kefir will be 100% digestible for everyone, but I can promise kefir is easier to digest than milk and most other dairy products. All those powerful probiotics feed on the lactose in milk and break it down into simpler compounds. They essentially do part of the digesting for us, making less work for our digestive systems.
easy to make
Unlike yogurt and other dairy ferments, kefir incubates at room temperature and requires no heating. You literally just pour milk over the grains and strain them out a day later. No fuss. No "too busy to make kefir". It doesn't get any easier than that! Learn more about how to make kefir here.
can be used to culture cream, too
Culture your grains in cream instead of milk and you can make all sorts of cream based products with the benefits of kefir: butter, sour cream, ice cream, whipped cream, frosting, pudding... what did I miss? As someone with a near-crippling sweet tooth, replacing a late night, guilt-ridden candy run with delicious homemade goodies like kefir-cultured ice cream help me feel more at peace with my sweet tooth.
soak your grains with it
You may be a bit more puzzled by this one, I realize, but trust me. Grains contain anti-nutrients that block our body from absorbing their nutrients and make them more difficult to digest. Just like lactose, the active cultures in kefir will digest and convert those anti-nutrients into a digestible form, making grains of many varieties more healthful than ever before. A few examples:
Combine oats with kefir and water and leave overnight. In the morning, cook as you would oatmeal. Not only will it be easier to digest, it will also cook up faster!
Grab your favorite buttermilk pancake recipe (or waffle, banana bread, scone, muffin, etc. recipe!) Combine flour and kefir (in place of buttermilk) and leave overnight. In the morning, add remaining ingredients and cook as normal. You may be surprised by how little your tummy aches after breakfast!
Combine cooking liquid and a dollop of kefir with rice, bulgar, barley, quinoa or whatever your dinnertime grain of choice is. After 8 or more hours, cook at normal.
make kefir cheese LINK NEEDED
After culturing, kefir can be placed in cheesecloth and strained of its whey to make a spreadable cheese, not unlike cream cheese. Line a colander with butter muslin (a very fine cheesecloth) and place the colander in a bowl or pot to catch the whey. Strain the grains out of your kefir as normal and pour the finished kefir into the lined colander. Leave on the counter and allow to drip for 12 to 24 hours, or until desired consistency is reached.
ferment with whey
When you make kefir cheese, don't let all that nutritious whey, teeming with life just go down the drain! Cultured whey like that from kefir is commonly used as a starter culture for other ferments. Its a great time to separate your kefir into cheese and whey when you're ready to make other fermented goodies like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, chutney or soda.
use in place of milk, yogurt, buttermilk & sour cream
When you've got kefir on hand, use it! It's very versatile. Live cultures may not survive the high temperatures in cooked recipes, but the work they've done can still increase the healthfulness and ease of digestion in the foods we cook. Some ideas:
Kefir smoothies
Kefir and granola
Replace yogurt with kefir in dip and dressing recipes
Use in baked good recipes in place of other dairy ingredients
ready to make kefir? here's how.
