Thursday, April 4, 2013

You Say kee-fur, I Say kuh-feer

Can we just meet in the middle and share a common love for kefir? 

Recently, I had been researching yogurt making and just couldn't take the plunge to start doing it. Working full-time makes my life crazy and I don't have time to add another "need to monitor" project to my list. Some days I wonder how I get what I do done, so monitoring the temperature it takes to make yogurt just seemed too much for me. I considered a yogurt maker, which would certainly simplify the process, but that's another appliance to buy, store and maintain.


So, when a friend offered me some kefir grains in exchange for a jar of honey, I started doing some research.  You can find a multitude of websites that discuss kefir, but by far the most informative website I've found is this one:  http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html#washing-grains

Kefir is SOOOO easy to make.  You put some milk in a clean sterilized jar, add the grains to the milk, cover the jar, leave it on the counter for 24-48 hours, strain the grains from the milk, and you're done.  It's tart, creamy, full of good for you stuff, and very versatile.  And the longer you let it sit, the tarter and thicker it gets, and if you let it sit long enough, the curds will separate from the whey, and you have the perfect opportunity to make a variety of products.  I've stopped buying yogurt, sour cream and cream cheese from the store, and whenever I can eliminate another store bought item off my list, I'm a happy camper.  It means I'm less dependent on the food industry and more self-sufficient.  Unless I do something to kill the culture, my kefir will live indefinitely.

I started out putting it in smoothies, which is fabulous, but the more research I did, the more I realized how versatile it is.  If you drain the whey from the curds, you get a product ranging from a mock sour cream to a soft spreadable cheese.

I recently took a cheese-making class and during the class I started wondering if I could use kefir to make something other than the soft spreadable cheese I had been making.  The teacher led me to this website:  http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir_cheese.html.  You'll note it is from the same person as above.  I'm looking forward to trying some of the hard cheese recipes.  What I love about these cheese recipes is that the kefir works as the coagulant and you don't have to use rennet.   

I've used kefir in the place of 1/2 of the milk in my favorite pancake recipe.  It gives the pancakes a sour dough flavor and makes them very light and airy.  I now use it in the place of the sour cream called for in my ranch dressing recipe.  I've also made this pudding, subbing coconut milk for the milk:  http://www.runningtothekitchen.com/2012/02/orange-kefir-chia-pudding/.  This was my first experience with chia seeds, and they do remind me of tapioca like the post suggests.  It turned out yummy. 

My most surprising use for kefir is using the whey to tenderize venison cube steak.  I always have venison cube steak in my freezer.  It's my least favorite cut, and though I have tried every recipe and technique known to man, I could never get it to tenderize.  Therefore, the cube steak packages would get relegated to the bottom of the freezer.  In the back of my mind, I had remembered reading that whey is a good tenderizer, but I had never tried it since I never had whey on hand.  One day, I had some leftover kefir whey, so I decided to give it a whirl with some cube steak.  I let the cube steak sit in the whey for a few days because I put off cooking it thinking I was doomed for failure.  Man, am I glad I took the risk.  That cube steak was the most tender I've ever eaten, fork tender I'm telling you.  Even Nate commented on it.  Now, I don't have to fear the cube steak! 

Here are some other recipes to consider, though I haven't tried any of these yet:

Kefir Eggnog

Apple Pie Kefir Ice Cream

Kefir Butter

Kefir Cottage Cheese

Kefir Avocado Soup

Kefir Cheese in Olive Oil

Whey Lemonade

By the way, the chickens love whey, but for all of you dairy farmers and cheese makers out there, you probably already knew that. 

Happy kefir making,

Candace

4 comments:

  1. Wow, you've opened up a whole new world of kefir uses for me! I have always preferred yogurt but hubby likes kefir better so we have both in the refrigerator. Looks as though I'd better get on the stick and start getting more creative with the kefir. And you're certainly right, I have to use my yogurt maker to make good yogurt, but kefir is so easily made just sitting on the counter. (Doesn't use much energy for that!) Thanks for sharing this post.

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    1. Thanks, Mama Pea. I would love to hear about what you do.

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  2. I love my kefir! Actually, I think I'm addicted to it, LOL. I got my start from Dom's site too. And who knew about the whey as a tenderizer? I need to add that to my list! I need to explore some of the recipe links you have too.

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    1. They whey is a fabulous tenderizer. Let me know if you try it.

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