Alex R Casey - Hopes Kefir

Hope'sKefir

by Alex RCasey

SmashwordsEdition

Copyright2014

Revised2022

Kefir is afermented milk drink made with Kefir grains.

They are thefriendly micro-organisms that help balance one's inner ecosystemsystem, your Microbiome.

It is preparedby adding Kefir grains to cow, goat or sheep milk.

Be careful notto mix up Kefir Starter with Kefir Grains, as the starter will notbe a long term project. It will only last for six or seven times ofuse then it will become weaker until it does not work at all.

Whereas withgood care Kefir Grains can last a life time and produce lots ofbabies, that you can share and use for other applications.

This is Hope'sKefir Recipe. It is a wonderful healthy drink.

Kefir is simpleand inexpensive to make at home.

Kefir is usedto keep the inner eco-system healthy.

Kefir can beused to make cultured butter and bread.

Kefir isexcellent nourishment for the sick and elderly.

Kefir helpsmaintain ones immunity.

Kefir helpsprevent cultured foods from going bad.

Kefir is anancient food, which is thought to have started long ago, whenpeople carried milk in goat-hide bags. The interaction between thegoat-hide and the milk produced the Kefir grains.

1/ Obtain freshKefir grains locally or on the internet.

2/ Put one totwo tablespoons of fresh Kefir grain into a one quart mason jar andfill 3/4 full with 3.25 percent milk, preferably organic.

3/ If you wishthe milk to be very creamy use organic whole milk, or add organiccream.

4/ Cover thejar with a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band or the metalring from the Mason jar, it needs to breath.

5/ Place in amoderately warm area where it will culture in about 24 hours.

6/ If itcultures too much earlier than this, your area is too warm. If ittakes too much longer than 24 hours your area is too cold.

I have the bestsuccess with my particular batch of grains at around 70 degreesF.

7/ Keep yourKefir out of direct sunlight.

Your Kefir isready when you start to notice tiny, opaque, whey windows thatappear in the bottom of the jar. These look like small cracks inthe milk.

Some of thegrains will have floated to the top of the mixture and also somewill stay at the bottom of the jar in a sort of gelatinous layer.This is all normal.

The milk atthis point will be slightly thickened and the aroma will be freshand pleasant.

Separate theKefir grains from the milk by pouring through a nylon or 100percent stainless steel strainer into another clean mason jar.

You may drinkthis immediately or refrigerate. Or do a second ferment.

If per chanceyou have slightly over processed your Kefir, this is when there isa very definite separation between the whey and the solids, thismeans that your Kefir grains are starving. Sometimes this canhappen accidently and your Kefir is very forgiving and willrecover. But it should not become the norm.

It is betterfor you to strain your Kefir earlier (any time after 18 hours) thanlater.

If for somereason you think you may not be able to strain your Kefir when youthink it might be ready, put it in the fridge and do your errand orwhatever. Then bring it out again to finish its cycle.

You mayoccasionally extend the cycle this way.

If your Kefirhas over processed you will now want to again for a second timepour your strained Kefir milk through the grains in your strainer,this second pouring will wash off the milk solids that haveaccumulated on your over processed grains.

You do nototherwise need to wash your grains.

Now place yourgrains into another clean mason jar and add more fresh milk andrepeat the process on page one.

Always usefresh, good dated milk. Never use expired or old milk; it coulddamage your grains.

Cold milkstraight from the fridge is okay and insures that the milk isalways fresh.

If it isgetting close to expiry date, smell it to make sure that it stillbasically odourless. Fresh milk doesn't have much of any kind of asmell. To become familiar with how fresh milk smells, take a whiffof some very fresh milk, so that you will recognize what older milkwill smell like.

Always useglass, safe plastic or 100 % stainless steel utensils.

Also practicesmelling your Kefir, it will always smell clean, fresh and slightlytangy tart. If its aroma is otherwise (unpleasant) do notconsume.

Wash all yourutensils immediately as the residue will dry and be very hard toclean up. Actually rinsing the utensils quickly with cold waterwill easily take off the residue. Then wash in warm soapywater.

Rinse well.Soap can injure your grains.

At this pointyou may drink your Kefir milk, or let it sit for a second fermentor refrigerate.

The secondferment can be left sitting for 3 to 6 hours on the counter out ofdirect light. This increases the nutrient value of your Kefirmilk.

Yourrefrigerated Kefir milk will separate, this is also normal, justgive it a good stir before using.

You may want tobuy white storage lids to use on your refrigerated mason jars atyour local hardware store.

Enjoy yourKefir milk plain or you may flavour it before consuming, not duringthe fermenting stages.

InformationSites for Making Kefir Milk from Kefir Grains.

Dom's Kefir

Cultures forHealth

Empty theentire bag of dehydrated grains and powdered milk into a one quartmason jar.

You will beputting small amounts of milk (one cup or so) in the jar also,which you will be straining and changing daily.

Don't drinkthis milk; you can cook with it though. When the grains are plumpagain and producing milk that is pleasant smelling and agreeabletasting you may consume.

1/Add 1 cup offresh, cold, pasteurized, 3.25 % organic milk. Or if you wish youmay use non organic milk. But be aware that regular milk containsantibiotics.

2/Cover the jarwith a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band or use the metalring from the mason jar.

3/Place the jarin a warm, visible area (so you don't forget it) to culture, thetemperature should be about 70 degrees F. Keep it out ofsunlight.

4/ Check themilk often. Sometimes the grains become active in just a few hours.You will know this as they thicken the milk and separate into curdsand whey.

5/ If they havenot separated or thickened in 24 hours, strain out the grains witha very fine meshed strainer and put them into 1 cup of freshmilk.

Repeat thisstep until the milk has become thick or separates into curds andwhey at anytime within a 24 hour period.

6/ You will nowbe able to strain out the grains and put them into 1 cups of freshmilk. Again, place into a warm area to culture.

7/ Repeat dailyand once you notice the Kefir has a nice sour smell and it isthickening well, your grains are activated.

This can takefrom 3 to 7 days to achieve, and during that time, your milk mayfoam a bit and smell yeasty, this is normal as the grains are againtrying to achieve the proper yeast to flora balance.

8/ You shouldnow be establishing a routine of straining and refurbishing thegrains and milk. You can also increase the milk in the jar to 'sfull. Leave some wiggle room as the grains expand.

Note thatexcessive heat and soap suds can injure or kill your grains, sodon't put them in the oven to keep them warm. And make sure yourinse your jars well after washing with hot water and soap.

It will take6-8 weeks for your grains to start growing little baby grains,sometimes even longer. As you accumulate more grains then you canmake more Kefir milk, also you can use the grains to culture creamfor whipping or culture that same cream for making butter.

You may alsoeat the grains; they are very good for you. They can be dehydratedfor making crunchy snacks too, or as an emergency back up, shouldyou somehow lose or damage your original grains. Keep them in a jarwith a bit of powdered milk in your refrigerator. To use thesefollow the previous instructions for rehydrating Kefir grains.