# Had my first kefir today. YUCK!



## NWgoats

Made my first batch of kefir. What is kefir supposed to taste like?
I tell you, if I am going to drink it, there better be a way to make it
taste better. (On the other hand, I am not a "sour" flavor person,
so maybe I need it in a smoothie. )


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## Bernice

I love kefir.....it should have the consistency of liquid yogurt, kind of thick milk, I add honey and bananas to mine and blend.


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## Guest

Try this
one cup kefir
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 fruit of your choice, strawberries
1/2 cup milk (goat of course)
sugar or honey to taste... 
So so good... put all in blender... until smooth.... best smoothie ever....


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## Cotton Eyed Does

I didn't like Kefir either. I'll just eat the yogurt.


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## buckrun

Kefir is a great foil for fruit- the tartness really blends well with persimmon and other things that are just too sweet.
What kind of culture did you use? 
Lee


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## NWgoats

I will most definitely start trying recipes with it. I thought it ought to make a
good smoothie. We had an overabundance of berries this year, so will try that.

Lee, I used kefir grains that I got from LoriT on here. (Thanks Lori)


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## lorit

Hi Michele,

Yep - add the fruit.  I use frozen fruit straight from the freezer so I don't add ice. I also prefer agave for my sweetener - it doesn't glob up in the cold like honey does.

Hope you get the hang of it. It really is good for you.


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## NWgoats

Thanks Lori. I do want to use it somehow. Just not sure if drinking it
straight is for me. Lots of pucker power there. 

Has anyone tried stevia in it? How do I make it thicker next time?


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## Trysta

:laughcry haha, I know it's not PC but I hate that stuff, too. I'm sticking with yoghurt (which I love) and I'll leave the Kefir to others. Yuck indeed!


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## K-Ro

yep that is some nasty stuff in my book, we make smoothies with it too. Much better that way.


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## NWgoats

Phew, thanks everyone. I am so glad I am not the only one. Anyone make cheese with it?
How did it turn out?


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## happyhedgehog

Totally had the same reaction to my first kefir. I should have known when most of the kefir information was about how good it was _for you_ instead of how good _it_ was. It made a great drained cheese tho'! Kind of like sour cream only more depth to the flavor.


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## buckrun

That is why I asked what she cultured with. We also dislike the kefir made with grains but love the product from a mother culture started with a purchased powder culture that originates from lactobacillus blends not from those beery things that smell like alkeehal  Age it longer in the fridge -up to 2 weeks-and it will not be as sharp but will mellow in flavor. The longer we use a mother culture the less 'sharp' the flavor and the more complex and interesting even disguised with fruit. Using the 'grains' seems to result in the same product each time whereas a mother culture changes over time. At least mine does and this may be a lack of precision in handling but it does end up a nicer product with use over time. I believe our culture was made of dried milk that had been cultured with blended lactobacillus strains. So it is actually more like yogurt.
Below find a list of the bacteria involved in complex kefir cultures as opposed to ....well...that other stuff :biggrin
A blend will be more balanced nutritionally and even tho it is really popular you do not have to use those creepy nodules that make beer out of milk :rofl
Don't get me wrong- I have nothing against beer...just don't want my milk to smell like it! 
Lee

1) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
2) Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
3) Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis
4) Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp.cremoris
5) Lactobacillus acidophilus
6) Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp bulgaricus
7) Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp lactis
8) Lactobacillus rhamnosus
9) Lactobacillus casei
10) Bifidobacterium lactis
11) Streptococcus thermophilus


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## buckrun

Here is the blend from Redwood Hills from their website.
It really does make a nicer product to have more things digesting the milk.
I was told there are over 400 organisms that will digest milk!

QUOTE !
Redwood Hill Farm's Goat Milk Kefir has 10 live and active cultures that help produce a wide array of health benefits. Our custom blend of probiotics include: L. bulgaricus, L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. rhamnosus, L. lactis, L. diacetylactis, S. thermophilus, L. cremoris, Leuconostoc cremoris and B. bifidum.


PS- our kefir becomes 'the champagne of milk' making effervescence without the ethanol fumes after several re-cultures.
It takes time to get a good thing going :biggrin
Lee


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## NubianSoaps.com

Yes but if you read the list of benefits of real kefir it contains much more than the more kefir starter grains that are dehydrated. It is so good for you, in all the years of selling goat milk I have more stories of health benefits from kefir, more than raw milk or yogurt combined. It is definitely an acquired taste and it is vomit to me...I mix mine into a smoothy in the morning with frozen fruit and my local honey, I drink it out at the barn in the morning. In the smoothy I can now hide about 1/2 a cup of kefir and it is also the only milk I drink.

Haven't tried kombacha but I have had a customer bring me water kefir that you put sugar into the water to activate it, she was using pear nectar and other juices with natural sugar...it definantly tastes like an alcoholic beverage.


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## Island Creek Farm

I use a spoonful of cane sugar and a splash of carmel syrup (DaVinci). Has to be sweet, or I can't stand it either!


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