Milk Kefir

[skilletlicker]

Presently straining my third ferment. Named the culture Scoby. Like naming your dog Dog. Scoby arrived here via seven-day transport courtesy of USPS in mid-ninety degree whether. They weren't at their best. Perked up quite a bit since then. A lot more potent and at least tripled their volume. Working out ferment times and straining times and temperatures for milk, cheese, or both from a single batch. Haven't gotten it all figured out by any means but posting this minor update so nobody relies on the times posted from the first attempt.

 

[skilletlicker]

"The Food Programme - The Fermentation Revival"

Thought the whole radio program was interesting and entertaining but 13:55 to 16:55 sheds particular light on this thread.

 

[skilletlicker]

Another, maybe final update

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not too interested in kefir milk. In it for the cheese mostly. Thought I'd show how it's sort of worked itself out. I've been making a batch most every day. About three cups of milk, fermented about 24 hours, then drained for 12-24 yields roughly a cup and a half each of cheese and whey. It's ~15-minute chore whilst drinking my first cup of coffee and listening to the news. Being a household of just one old man, I won't need to do this every day from now on. Instead of leaving each new batch at room temperature, I'll put it in the fridge for a couple/few/several/many days until I'm ready for more milk or cheese.

 

[pepperhead212]

I thought I'd bumb this up, since I finally got around to making some milk kefir, for the first time. I've researched it a lot more this time, and found a lot about the kefir made with grains, and about that with the powder culture - like some yogurt is started. I ended up getting 12 packs of culture, for $8 something, and I made a 8 qt jar of it - took about 42 hours to get slightly firm. I put it in the fridge this morning, then tried it tonight - much milder than yogurt, and has sort of a buttery flavor. I'm thinking I should have let it get a little stronger, and more acid, so it will last longer, like the yogurt. I looked into maybe curing it at higher temps was not good, so this explains why it is not made in warm regions, and is more popular in cold regions.

Soon, I'll see how it works to start another batch with a small amount of the last batch, instead of another amount of powder, or the usual grains. I'll post my results.