Kefir cheese and wholemeal bread

[JaneV2.0]

I'd probably drink kombucha by the gallon if it weren't for its sugar content, so having a half gallon or so around isn't a problem. I really like its tangy, sweet/sour, slight effervescence. To me, it's what beer would be if beer tasted good.

[frugal-one]

Beautiful bread and curd....

I've been making kefir for 15-years (from the original grains) and I use kefir as a substitute for buttermilk, cream cheese, sour cream, and plain yogurt. You can drain the curd to the thickness you want, or shake it, breaking up the curd, to make a liquid. The curd is much smaller than yogurt curd, so it is easier to digest - especially for children.

I use the drained whey for fermenting, to make homemade buckwheat noodles, and in the summer we make whey lemonade, a great thirst quencher. Add chia seeds to the whey lemonade and you will stay hydrated longer. If I happen to have some coconut water, I'll add that to the whey lemonade. Leave that garbage Gatorade in the store!

We add kefir to our morning smoothie with a small amount of 100% fruit juice and some add-ins (hi-maize starch, protein powder and gelatin - Great Lakes Collagen Hydrolystate in the green box - milled flax seed and chia seed, and powdered supplement we take. The smoothie is essentially a delivery system for the add-ins. I also use kefir grains to make coconut milk kefir - yummy stuff - and best served as a dessert kefir, or with granola on the top for breakfast.

Kefir is much easier to make than yogurt and it's also better for you than yogurt.

Interested to know what powdered supplement you take? Thanks F-O

[lessisbest]

yes, Lessisbest, kefir is really amazing, but I love yogurt too.... I am curious about the whey lemonade? Do you make it like homemade fermented ginger beer?

It's not fermented, it's just whey, water, lemon juice and sweetener (I use stevia), nearly like you would make homemade lemonade. Or you can make Chia Fresca (Mexican Lemonade) and use whey for part of the water or coconut water (recipes vary).

I agree, homemade kefir is NOTHING like the bottled stuff from the grocery store - which you mentioned being "dead". It's more like plain yogurt in flavor and texture. When I get extra kefir grains I'll use them to make fermented grape juice occasionally. The grains don't thrive in grape juice, but they certainly make it tasty.

I just purchased some water kefir grains from Cultures for Health so I can make an assortment of fermented beverages, including kefir soda and fruit drinks. We'll see.... I have a lot of white sugar in our home food storage, but I don't cook or bake with white sugar, so I thought this was a good choice to use it mixed with palm sugar.

[lessisbest]

Interested to know what powdered supplement you take? Thanks F-O

I'd really rather not say since it's a multi-level marketing company. I don't want to be seen as trying to recruit anyone, but thanks for asking.