If you like yogurt, you have to try this!!!

[margo49]

Yay!
The wonderful SO decided Today Is the Day to restart our search for kefir after we had tried a few e-mail addresses without a response
We have found a woman here who will send me kefir grains!! I e-mailed her and she phoned back to my mobile within an hour. A lovely older lady, born in Chile (where her Doctor father made kefir
She stipulated one condition: that I give a donation to a Cat Shelter (or conversely adopt a cat) - isn't that cool. Better than money!
She says she has sent all over the world so if it works out I can send you-all.

Really looking forward to the "new baby"...I love lactic bacteria. Oh I will be such a good mother - I will keep its jar so clean, it will have optimal temperature...

[Blueberry]

Margo-

Please do let us know how it goes I've been toying with the idea of making kefir myself - but the only culture I've been able to find locally is a 1 shot deal (from a commercial place). So...I've been buying the pre-packaged variety. And eating lots of homemade yogurt (I've also discovered Fage Greek yogurt - YUM!).

CA

[margo49]

Oh no!
Don't even think about it!
It's not the Real Thing at all!
Real kefir is a Living Entity. The whole *point* is to keep it and nurture it and eat the kefir it gives you.
The bought kefir has an inhibitor introduced to it apparently (so as the kefir doesn't continue to develope on the shelf of the supermarket fridge thereby causing the packaging to bulge uninvitingly).
The culture to which you refer is also a commercial ploy. I mean we can't have people making their own for free (or the price of the milk)! Also because of Dairy Indusry Standards they had to remove the beneficial yeasts from the traditional cultures. (Dairy products had to contain only lactic bacteria and kefir has these yeasts and moulds etc that aren't on the Approved Lists)

It transpires that my first yoghurt - given to me at the tender age of 16 under the name "Yoghurt Bug" - was actually kefir...

Ooohhhh ....I am sooooo excited

[Pedal Wench]

....(I've also discovered Fage Greek yogurt - YUM!).

CA

Now, I told y'all about that Greek yogurt way back on page one! You could have been enjoying it for months now! I've still only tried the fat-free variety. Have you tried any of the others, or the flavored one?

[bambu101]

I love the Fage Greek yogurt! I've tried the 0%, the 2%, and the full-fat(way too much fat- 22 grams or something). Have not tried the honey or strawberry, but it's interesting the way it is packaged, with the "add-ons" off to the side.

I was also reading somewhere that Greek yogurt is great for cooking, as it does not break down and curdle as sour cream can.

[Blueberry]

Now, I told y'all about that Greek yogurt way back on page one! You could have been enjoying it for months now! I've still only tried the fat-free variety. Have you tried any of the others, or the flavored one?

Unfortunately, I tried the full fat one. To my credit, it was desert on a special occasion (or at least I can tell myself it was...)

I'm looking forward to trying the "lighter" ones, as I hear they're still yummy!

Of course, my *usually makes my own yogurt* budget isn't too happy with my recent liking of Greek yogurt. That stuff ain't cheap! Pedal Wench - It's probably a good think I *didn't* note it on the first round....

CA

[Pedal Wench]

I can't imagine how decadent the full-fat version is, because (really, I'm not lying) the fat-free tastes rich and full. Seriously, it feels like a real quilty pleasure, it's that good. Try the fat-free, and let me know what you think.

It was all I ate after a surgery that made it hard to chew -- it was so, so good, and I could justify the cost because it was all I was eating.

[ummbnb]

My ex and I used to get freshly made kefir in the afternoons at a little cafe near his parent's home in Rabat (Morocco.) They would top it with just a drizzle of caramelized sugar for a garnish. It was delish!

[smilingcat]

my partner made me buy a yogurt maker. I prefer the labor intensive method of warm oven in waterbath. I hate gadgets around the kitchen.

I make it every once in a while and for a starter use unflavored yogurt. It's the closest thing. I too like it puckery sour but my partner wants the sweet stuff.

Maybe time to make another batch some sweet and some sour... I like kefir. but for some strange reason, its hard to get myself to pour a glass of it.

smilingcat