Sunday, May 02, 2004

The Joys of Kefir

I started making Kefir a few years back. Kefir is very much like yoghurt, but it is much easier to make. There's no boiling, cooling and worrying about everything being perfect. Basically, you just dump more milk on top of the leftovers from the previous batch, cover and leave out a day or two. I enjoyed it becasue it tasted good and because it provided a hhost of probiotics including lactobacillus acidophilus, which is the main good guy responsible for making yoghurt.

If you are interested in Kefir or Kefir-making, visit Dom's Kefir in-site. He's like the J.S. Peterman or Charlie Papazian of Kefir. He balance the romance, the histiry, the art, and the science of Kefir. His site is overflowing with interesting stuff. And also how to get started.

I ignored my kefir for a couple of weeks and effectively killed it. I don't recommend that.

Here's just a blurb from Dom:

"Kefir is a refreshing cultured-milk beverage, which originated many centuries ago, in the Northern Caucasus Mountains. The word kefir is derived from the Turkish word keif, which loosely translates to good feeling or feeling good.

Kefir has a uniform creamy consistency, a slightly sour refreshing taste, with a mild aroma resembling fresh yeast. Kefir also has a slightest hint of natural effervescent zesty tang. There are an assortment of approx. 40 aromatic compounds, which contribute to the unique flavour and distinctive pleasant aroma of kefir.

Traditional authentic kefir can only be prepared by culturing fresh milk with Kefir grains. Kefir grains are not to be mistaken for cereal grains this is to say that the grain part of the name is a misnomer. Kefir grains, or kefir granules if you wish, are in fact a natural-starter or natural-mother-culture. "