tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663796893295918209.post5708450662436991645..comments2023-06-16T06:12:41.280-05:00Comments on Day by Day: Easiest Yogurt YettheMomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663796893295918209.post-34256175964903039222011-02-24T07:11:42.045-06:002011-02-24T07:11:42.045-06:00Jesse, No, the thin yogurt is not kefir, but it...Jesse, No, the thin yogurt is not kefir, but it's a similar consistency. We use kefir, also. <br /><br />They come from different micro-organism cultures. http://www.kefir.net/kefiryogurt.htm<br />The above page compares the two. As the page explains, Kefir has many, many more live cultures, which are alleged to provide a more rich probiotic experience.<br /><br />Kefir can be made with a starter powder, which can provide a handful of benefits as the linked pages states. It can also be made with what is called grains. This method provides I think I've read somewhere, like 27 micro-organisms.<br /><br />The grains are clusters of gunk, similar in looks to lumps of flour that doesn't mix well in a batter. After culturing, these lumps (grains) are strained off the kefir product and stored in a small amount of food source (milk) in the fridge until you want to culture another batch at room temp.<br /><br />The Kefir grain colony will eventually grow in size and can be shared. (Like Friendship bread starter)<br /><br />Kefir can also be used to ferment juices and sugar water, making a slightly alcoholic beverage. There are recipes for making Gluten free beer this way. If I remember right, if one lets it sit long enough, the alcohol percentage gradually increases and you use it at whatever alcohol level want. Also many people formerly of the "drink pop all day long" lifestyle, when they decide to eat healthier, replace their pop with the carbonated fruit juice kefir products.<br /><br />An interesting factoid, these Kefir grains have been used in Eastern European/Western Asian countries from time immemorial. There is no record of where they came from or how they got started. But, in modern times, nobody has figured out how to produce a similar colony from scratch. All the kefir grains we have today are offspring of the ancient ones from those countries formerly of the southwestern USSR.<br /><br />If you want to know still more about Kefir, Dom's Kefir pages is a veritable font of information.<br />http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.htmltheMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01484800094220282147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663796893295918209.post-49907347391874778482011-02-23T23:03:46.949-06:002011-02-23T23:03:46.949-06:00Is the thinner yogurt kefir? We ran across that f...Is the thinner yogurt kefir? We ran across that for the first time in Norway, where they use it on granola-type cereal, from what we saw. On returning to Wisconsin, we then began noticing it in the grocery stores, except here it's flavored and sweetened -- like most yogurt.<br /><br />Wait... does "kefir" mean "yogurt?"J. Jacobsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940336595335484605noreply@blogger.com