I recently received Kefir from my brother and his wife who has been taking it for over a month. He wanted the rest of the family to try it, too. Why would he want us to try it?
Water Kefir (what I received) looks like a crystal with a jelly-like texture. I was told that it is good to drink it's water or eat it as is. I tried some Kefir grains, and it was tasteless.
Kefir is a bacteria that eats sugar, and is good to have after consuming high sugar foods. I had to do some research, and found out that Kefir was recommended in The 17 Day Diet, which has been widely received by millions of people. So, It must be good.
There are two types of Kefir: Water Kefir and Milk Kefir.
Water Kefir can taste carbonated and bubbly, and be modified in various ways.
Milk Kefir is sour and can be used like yogurt.
Kefir is a probiotic. It's a healthy yeast & bacteria combination which helps the body digest foods and extract calories. There are many health benefits associated with having an increased supply of healthy bacteria. Good for digestive and intestinal health. Other types of probiotics are yogurt, miso, and tempeth.
What's great about Kefir is that it is a probiotic that you can manufacture yourself, as long as you take care of it. Kefir is a living organism, so you must be careful not to kill it. If you do things right, your Kefir will last a long time, and you will have plenty more that will grow from the first batch.
One of the things you need to be careful of is to not use metal utensils or bowls with the Kefir. Best to use plastic or glass. Also, don't use chlorinated water or filtered or distilled water, as they do not have the minerals that the Kefir needs. If you do use filtered water, you must add minerals back by adding more ingredients (molasses, egg shell, baking soda, unrefined sugar).
Unrefined sugar is best to use with Kefir so that it will grow. It also makes the liquid more fizzy and carbonated when done (compared with refined sugar). Do not use honey as it has antibacterial properties which will inhibit growth. There are a lot of YouTube Videos on how to prepare Kefir. What you add to the Kefir depends upon what you want the final outcome to be.
The basic recipe was easy to do. Here is one way: Put in Kefir grains (approx. ¼ to 1/3 cup) in a large glass jar. Add approx. 1/3 cups of (unrefined is best) sugar, and fill up the jar with approx. 3 cups of water. You could also add dry unsulfured fruit for extra taste if you want. Stir with a plastic spoon, and cover with a paper towel, secured with a rubber band. Be sure to store it away from direct sunlight. After about 2 -3 days you will see the Kefir grains start to float towards the top of the jar, and growing bigger. The water will be cloudier, too. That means that the water is ready to consume.
Use a plastic colander/strainer and drain the kefir water from the jar into another container. You can drink this while a new batch is fermenting. Rinse the Kefir grains, and put Kefir grains back into a rinsed jar to repeat the process over again.
The Kefir water could be used as is, or fermentedagain for a bubblier, carbonated drink. To do the 2nd fermentation you need to get a bottle that closes tightly. Pour Kefir liquid in the bottle, and add fruit or 100% fruit juice. Use approximately ½ cup of juice per 1 quart of Kefir liquid. Seal bottle, and shake. Leave on counter for 24 hours to ferment. After that, you can drink it over ice or put it in the refrigerator to have later (be sure to discard fresh fruit after 24 hours). Refrigeration helps to create bubbles, and protects the Kefir from over fermenting.
My favorite way to have Kefir is to make a Smoothie.
Here's the recipe I use:
Kefir Smoothie
Makes One Serving
1 cup Kefir liquid
1 cup frozen and/or fresh fruit (mixed berries)
1 Tablespoon olive oil or flaxseed oil
1 Tablespoon sugar
Mix in blender until smooth. Pour into a tall glass, drink with straw to prevent "brain freeze". Enjoy!
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