Fermentation as a Means of Food Preservation: Part III
Also Read – Fermentation as a Means of Food Preservation: Part One and Part Two.
FERMENTED MILK PRODUCTS
Kefir
Kefir is fermented milk that tastes like tangy yogurt. To make kefir you will need some kefir grains, which really aren’t grains. They are a starter culture. They look like a spoonful of cottage cheese. I bought my kefir grains on Ebay for $5.99. They arrived in the mail a few days later packaged in a sandwich-sized Ziplock bag. I was not at all impressed by the squished white stuff. But I followed the directions that arrived with the grains.
I filled a clean jar with half a cup of milk and added the mushy white stuff. (They did not look like grains at all.) The next day I poured the milk through a fine-mesh strainer and dumped the milk down the drain. I did this for three days while the “grains” grew and acclimated themselves to my kitchen. On day four I strained the liquid and reserved the grains, as I had the three previous days. But on this day I made my husband try the liquid. He said it tasted like buttermilk. It has been about two weeks now and my kefir grains have more than doubled in size. I am making a quart of kefir a day.
So here’s how you make kefir. Order some kefir grains and follow the instructions, just as I described above. After a few days, the grains will acclimate to your kitchen and you can begin making kefir in earnest. Pour 1 Tbs. kefir grains into a quart of milk. Kefir was traditionally made with goat milk. Raw cow milk can’t be sold in the state of Florida. So I use regular whole milk from the grocery store. Just add the kefir grains to a quart of milk and set aside for 12-24 hours.
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