A Delightful True Story
This story reads like a fairy tale, but it is authentic. My friend Marie who sometimes posts on the forum sent it to me.
I make homemade kefir now. Santhan and Marie both encouraged me, and Marie gave me the culture. Kefir is a hundred times easier to make than yogurt, for you don’t have to heat the milk at all!
Here is the story:
Kefir has been credited with healing powers since the early eighteenth century. Kefir grains were considered a gift from Allah [God] among the tribes-people of the Northern Caucasus Mountains. The grains were passed down from generation to generation. The folks of this particular region considered kefir grains a source of family and tribal wealth, and the secret process of kefir was closely guarded to the extend of protecting the art and the kefir grain mother-culture with their very lives!
In the early 1900s, the All-Russian Physicians' Society contacted two Blandovs brothers, who owned a cheese factory in the northern Caucasus Mountains, asking the brothers for their help to obtain the kefir culture. The brothers decided to take on the challenge, and planned to use one of their employees, a beautiful young woman named Irina Sakharova, to coax a Caucasian Prince, Bek-Mirza Barchorov into giving her some kefir grains. Irina indeed dazzled the Prince with her beauty, but the Prince refused to give her any of his precious probiotic-jewels.
However, the beauty-dazzled Prince wasn't willing to giving up Irina, so he instructed some of his men to kidnap her as she returned home. Against her will, the men brought Irina back to the Prince's courtyard, where the Prince, hoping to win her love, proposed her hand in marriage. Irina refused. The Blandovs brothers eventually rescued Irina from the clutches of the Prince. Then, backed by the two brothers, Irina brought her case against the Prince to the Czar's court. The Prince offered Irina gold and jewels as reparation for the crimes done against her, but she refused his offer. Instead, as a settlement of her suit against Prince Bek-Mirza Barchorov, Irina demanded, and received, probiotic jewels [kefir grains] instead.
In late 1908, Irina Sakharova brought the first kefir to Moscow, where it was used medicinally in lung sanatoriums as part-treatment for tuberculosis with great success.
In 1973, a the age of 85, Irina received a letter from the Minister of the Food Industry of the former USSR, expressing grateful acknowledgment of her primary role in bringing kefir to the Russian people.
http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html#Kefir-history
Isn’t that a wonderful story?
Santhan and Marie also introduced me to water kefir, using special crystals and adding such fresh flavorings as ginger, tumeric, and sassafras. I swear these water kefirs taste better than champagne! And they're healthy too!
Comments
I just looked Kefir up on the internet and it is available here I will try some culture and see if I like it. I might spice it up with Chillies though Thank you Gloria, You are not only a beautiful face but clever as well. You must give some more cooking classes on here Love you and Thanks again Jack
Gloria, I have been planning on making kefir or other cultured milk products with goats milk this spring. Would really appreciate any recipes or directions or tips from you or anyone else who does this.
Beloved Jack, kefir is very versatile. Certainly you could add chillies to it and make something spicy and wonderful! You can also have something sweet like strawberries and kefir. You've got to know that the kefir you can buy doesn't compare to the kefir you make.
Best to make from raw unpasteurized milk if you can get it.
Charles, to make kefir from raw goat milk is divine! I will bow to Santhan and Marie on giving you good directions. Santhan once sent me complete directions, but I can't seem to find them. I will tell you the little I know.
You have to have "the little creatures" in order to make kefir. Marie gave some to me. They multiply so as time goes on, you will have some you can give away.The culture looks like a sort of cottage cheese that is firm and sticks together.
All I do is take a bowl or crock of some kind. Drop in the culture gently. Add the milk just as it is. Cover the bowl. Leave it out. I do believe Marie told me to stir at some point, but I've been forgetting to do that.
It takes about 24 hours. I'm guessing it will be less in the summer. You know it's done because it thickens somewhat and is sort of lumpy.
When it's done, remove the "babies," put them in a jar and cover with some milk or kefir itself and refrigerate. The culture needs the milk or kefir to feed on while it's waiting in the fridge to make more kefir for you.
You want to make new kefir within a week. You wouldn't keep the culture waiting longer in the refrigerator.
To make the kefir waters, or beer as Santhan calls them, you need some special crystals. I believe it's just as easy.
Be sure to let us know how it goes for you!
I'll make sure Marie sees your question, Charles, and I know Santhan will see it.
What fun and how healthy, Gloria...now I'm on a quest to find the probiotic jewels. The story was delightful, thank you!
Cover the wide mouth bowl with a cloth, so that the gases that are formed during the kefiring process can escape. If you cover with a lid or plate, you may have a rather fizzy product. No problem, if you like it that way.
Sometimes it takes up to 36 hours to finish the kefiring process.
MIlk Kefir doesn't like to be too warm. In the hot Iowa summer months, I do the kefiring in the basement.And don't warm the milk before adding the grains. Just add them directly to the milk from the frig.
You can find the re-usable kefir grains by doing a seach online. As Gloria says, they will grow and may be divided after some weeks of use.
Have a wonderful time.
When I was in university (or rather not in university), I had a love affair with the local beer. I "studied" in the Dominican Republic surrounded by the most relaxed life and society of island style and siestas. During the Caribbean perpetual summer, a cold Presidente would form crystals within when pulled out of the fridge of the local Colmada. The beer was thick, rich and of very high quality. Ah, just to write about it brings back memories of that first delightful swig!
Who would think that it could better! I didn't until I discovered Kefir Beer! Every batch is unique with it's own character and each brew promises a mystery waiting to be revealed in the first sip. I remember one brew that thickened and formed a slightly syrupy beer, which was delicious! Try as I may, I have not been able to replicate the syrupiness, but have tasted many more wonders over the year or so that I have been brewing. The kefir crystals will eventually qualify you into a brewmaster should you treat them well.
I love that one can drink them and really feel like one is drinking an elxir. It's alive! A living drink.
The recipe for basic Kefir beer can be found on the internet, so I will instead share here some of the things that kefir babies have taught me.
They like mineral rich water. Not distilled. Fresh spring water has to be the best, however I have never tried that. As an alternative to spring water one may augment filtered water with a mineral compound powder and a pinch of bentonite clay powder along with some baking soda. For a gallon jar, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 of mineral formula (optional) and 1/4 of bentonite clay added to your ingredients.
The Kefir babies love ginger! Fresh ginger root. I use it in all my brews. The juice must be squeezed out of the ginger root.
The culture will brew in sugar, jaggery/gour, honey, raw cane juice (very yummy) and other kinds of natural nutritive sweeteners. One may use organic sugar, honey or jaggery and combinations of them and just enough to keep the babies happy. Then after harvesting, one may adjust the sweetness using stevia powder extract.
I found that a double brewing process works well and keeps the babies happy. Marie gave me this idea. The beer may be first brewed with the basic ingredients (water + sugar + kefir babies). A half of lemon, ginger juice and a few dried figs may be added to the basic brew. In South African summer (20-35 degrees celcius) 24-36 hours are sufficient to do the first harvest. Once the figs and lemon have been removed, the kefir beer is strained through a plastic colander to separate from the babies.
The second part of the process is adding pieces of fresh fruit, portions of fresh fruit juice, medicinal infusions, or teas and combinations of them to create your own unique flavour. This can be left to brew for another 12 hours in summer. Any undissolved particles of fruit/herbs/leaves may be filtered out.
One has to use an airtight container to get the gaseous fizzy effect. Never use an airtight glass container as this can be dangerous if left for too long. I use a gallon jar with a screw top lid. I pour the filtered and flavoured beer into old 2litre cola plastic bottles that I collect from friends so that they can safely build up some gas and then I leave them in the fridge.
Kefir brewing is so much of fun. Sharing it is just as awesome as brewing it. Your body will love it!
Senora, I look forward to brewing some kefir beer for you. You wrote once that you were drinking kefir many years ago!
Oceans of Love
Beloved One,
I love how you describe your life! Your descriptions put me right there! Of course, the time will come when I will really be there while you brew all these wonderful elixirs.
Yes, I had forgotten that years ago I used to make water kefir, but that's all I remember -- that I used to. I have no recollection of what it tasted like. Somewhere along the line I stopped. I wouldn't do that again!
Now, the water kefirs aren't alcoholic, are they?!! That isn't why I enjoy them so much, is it!!!
What great replies! I got very busy and only now got back to check. Took me a while to find the entry because kefir wasn't in the title. I especially like these replies because they give the basic method rather than a rigid recipe and leave all kinds of room for experimentation and creativity. Thanks to all!!!
I just finished my first batch of kefir. I think I let it culture a little too long. It was very thick. I think it will make a good smoothie if I chill it and blend it with some strawberries. Next batch I will watch closer and not let it get quite so thick.
Beloved Sally, I don't think you could have let it culture too long. I believe 24 hours is about the minimum. My experience is when I forget and let it go longer than I mean to, it gets more liquified. A smoothie with strawberries sounds great! Enjoy!