homemade kefir

[absley]

Does/ has anyone made their own? I've just started and am trying to work out so many things, mostly on the logistics of not ending up with too much!

[Disco]

I did about 20 years ago…!

Not sure I can remember that much except I was constantly baking with it.

[absley]

Oh, I definitely don't want to get lured into endless extra baking.

Everything I read seems to say that a regular c24hr ferment with 1l of milk is what works best, I would prefer a slower ferment (which I can obv only control to a limited extent, as the fridge is too cold) or a smaller amount (maybe I just halve and store my extra grains and see how I get on).

[Edith Bacon]

Hello, fellow fermenter! I have been successfully making my own kefir since January using one pint of whole milk per daily ferment and have yet to use any kefir in baking

You can slow the ferment right down by using a smaller amount of grains and the spares seem perfectly happy in the fridge. I have also put some grains in the freezer to see how they fare. You can leave it fermenting for longer than 24 hours too - up to 48 has been fine for me.

Good luck with keeping it in check It stores really well in the fridge though; if I seem to be building up a bit too much I use a load as a curry sauce base/marinade, which obviously kills off the probiotics but tastes lush.

[absley]

Edith, hello!

Thank you for the reassurance about experimenting with smaller batches, as well as storing extra grains. I did a 48hr ferment yesterday, by mistake as I was busy - fizzy!

Are you fermenting anything else?

[Edith Bacon]

Oooh, fizzy is delicious! Did you like it?

I sometimes add a few smushed up blueberries to a glass of kefir and leave it in the fridge for a few days to get some good, fruity fizz going.

It’s interesting to see how the flavour is impacted by different situations; mine has lost a lot of sharpness since we switched the heating off last week.


Nothing else fermenting here, although I really want to have a go at kimchi.

How about you? Are you brewing other things?

[Disco]

I had to do lots of baking because I don’t like milky drinks. I realised after 50,000 muffins that kefir wasn’t for me.

[Edith Bacon]

I love baked goods but don’t have a lot of time to make them at the moment.

I keep reading that some people make a sort of cream cheese from kefir but I can’t find a way of doing it that works for me. I will keep trying though because I bet it would be tasty.

[absley]

I made this roasted cauli with turmeric kefir today which was nice and used up a decent amount! I can see such dishes being v helpful. I also have my eye on some oladi, aka fluffy Russian pancakes.

Am undecided about the fizz, Edith. It is interesting seeing the variation, although atm I'm assuming it's mostly down to length of ferment, plus I've been experimenting with different milks to see how much I can affect the thickness of the end product.

I'm going to try your berry additions, too, thanks for the tip.

[absley]

It's really interesting (to me) seeing how my grains are now making a thicker kefir, plus it tastes better. I want to try straining it to remove more of the whey and see if I can get a Greek yoghurt texture.

Also, in case it's interesting to anyone, I've started making my own version of the zoe gut shots, plus on days when I'm feeling extra woo I also add in some of mushroom powders that I've been trying - they're incredibly intense and bitter, which the kefir really helps reduce. I'm using inulin as my prebiotic, which is good for bones and helping address type 2 diabetes, but I'm going to switch to a mix with flax seeds, which are also prebiotic but help with inflammation.