If you have never heard of Kefir you can find out all about it at Dom’s Kefir site. Kefir is a milk product, somewhat similar but yet very different from yogurt. The ‘starter’ used to make kefir is called a ‘grain’. These grains are not like cereal grains but are actually living organisms that somewhat resemble small pieces of cauliflower. It is a complex mix of bacteria, yeasts and other goodies. Like sourdough starter the grains must be fed. I believe goat’s milk is the traditional ‘food’ for kefir but people have used non-diary products too. I’ve only used 2% cow’s milk from the grocery store.
In a nutshell you harvest your kefir daily, keeping back the grains. These go into a new batch of milk for tomorrow’s kefir. I’ve heard of making kefir in the fridge but I never seemed to get it to work well. The grains will grow as they are fed and these can be given away or dried and frozen for a backup. Extra kefir can be stored in the fridge and used to make cheese, in any recipe calling for milk or buttermilk, to make bread etc.
Earlier this past week I pulled out the rest of the grains I had in the freezer as I recently lost my kefir due to neglect. These grains had been frozen since Feb 2003. That is right at 2 1/2 years. Prior to freezing the grains were rinsed in filtered water and left out to dry on papertowels for about a week until quite dry. These dry grains were packed in non fat dry milk inside of a 1 cup wide mouth canning jar. The grains were completely surrounded by the dry milk for protection. The non-fat dry milk is a very dense powder, not the light and airy stuff.
Even family members who do not like whole wheat anything love my blender whole wheat pancakes. I use white wheat and the kefir gives a slightly tangy flavor and light texture to these pancakes. I’ve also used the natural yeasts present in the kefir to rise bread. The bread has a sour taste to it much like sourdough.
—
Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes
Yield: 3 Servings
1 1/2 Cup Kefir, (Sour milk or Milk with 1T Vinegar added may be substituted)
1 Tbl Sugar Or Splenda
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Wheat berries
1 Tsp Baking soda (add this last)
1 Egg
1/2 Tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 Cup Oil
handful of walnuts or almonds (optional)
Combine milk with wheat in blender. Blend on high speed for 5 minutes or until creamy. Add remaining dry ingredients except for the baking soda. Add vanilla, egg and oil. If you add the egg and oil before the other ingredients it might get too thick to blend properly. Add a bit more kefir if you added the nuts as it will probably be too thick to blend. Just before you are ready to cook add baking soda. It will bubble up when you ad it and be kind of hard to mix. Pulse it a couple of times and that should do the trick. Pour mixture from blender into frying pan. Extra pancakes can be frozen and popped in the toaster to warm.
Carb counts (without the nuts): The wheat has aprox 90 carbs per cup, the Kefir has 6 carbs per 1 1/2 cups. The recipe makes aprox 18 4-6″ pancakes. That is about 5 carbs per pancake without syrup.
—
I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Kefir in the last week. I have come across Dom’s site, as well as a Yahoo group he’s active on – the Kefir Making group. Seems the group has been going strong since Jan 2000.
Kefir seems so interesting – I have only tried what is available in my local grocery store. I do enjoy it and fancy giving it a try some time.
Still, part of me is very hesitant about ingesting a live culture which comes from a total “stranger” on the internet. Yet it seems the “real” stuff can’t be bought from commercial sources.
Tough choice to make….
I know what you mean about being a little apprehensive about getting kefir from a stranger. Some years ago I rec’d some starter from a gentleman via the web. Before hand I talked with some other people who had done the same thing and were quite pleased. When it came time for me to look for Kefir I ended up finding someone locally who was willing to share. She was still a stranger but I decided to take the risk and am happy I did. As you say you can always buy some. Just make sure it is actual grains and not a starter powder. How ever you end up doing it have fun with it.
Thanks for understanding. I would not be surprised if I ended up with some kind soul’s offer and experimented with it.
It would be neat to see a class offered at my local community college on the history, customs and products involving Kefir. Hah! Perhaps this is the incentive I needed to get involved. After a couple years I should have enough knowledge to share in an adult ed at the college.
Dear Kerry
I came across your Whole Wheat Pancake receipe today. Looks good. I have been Kefiring for a few months now and love it.
I also grow wheat grass for the enzymes.
Can you tell me if the 1 cup of wheat berries have been soaked if so how long and if not do they grind up well in the blender?
Thanks
the Cat
Hi,
What it the recipe of Kefir?
Where Can I find the kefir grain?
I live in Dallas area in Texas.
Thanks
I’m looking for Kefir grains in Dallas also. I have a source for Kombucha mushrooms if anyone wants to trade.
I have just harvested my first batch of Kefir, as I like Jesse found the idea interesting. I made my husband a shake and then chickened out on trying it.
I found a kind soul in my area to share and I am so excited for it! It feels like I found a treasure.
Now if I can just be brave enough. It smelled sour.
The kind soul in my area blends kefir with banana and frozen strawberries. Now that does sound good.
Karen,
I say take the plunge, live dangerously. You may end up finding something you really enjoy. If not, chalk it up to one more thing you can live without.
Personally as far as drinking kefir, it was always a bit too tangy/sour for me. I didn’t want to have to add the amt of sweetener required for my taste so I tended to use it mainly for cooking. In addition to the pancakes and bread, I did make some mozzarella type cheese out of it that turned out quite nicely.
If you haven’t seen it, I just yesterday wrote a post on my newest find, filmjölk. http://www.kerrysgarden.us/2008/07/20/filmjolk-aka-swedish-yogurt/ Its not nearly as sour as kefir, doesn’t have the yeast as far as I can tell and you can more regulate the amt you end up with as their aren’t grains to contend with. Also, sans the grains there is no straining required.
kefir esw un poco acido y tienenu un sabor amargoi (kefir is a little acid and tastes bitter)
The Sahara Grocery Store on Alpha between Preston and the Dallas North Tollway has Kefir yogurt and Kefir cheese, though they are often out.
There is a place in North Oklahoma City (next to Quail Springs – on the tollway service road at about May Ave). (Nunu’s deli, or something similar to that).
If anyone else knows anywhere in the DFW area that carries it, i would love to know because I buy Sahara out of it regularly.
If you don’t like the sour taste of milk Kefir consider the water Kefir, Just google water Kefir you will find a lot of info.
I have considered water kefir but have never followed up on it. Thanks for reminding me.