This puts a whole new spin on "Drink your milk!" Have you ever tried kefir?
Think of kefir as milk meets yogurt with a shot of fizz. It's made by adding a special kefir culture, nubby little "grains" like those pictured above, to a batch of milk. Those grains contain a mix of beneficial bacteria and some yeasts, similar to the scoby used to make kombucha. Within a day or two, the grains ferment the milk into pleasantly tangy and effervescent drink.
This is considered a healthful probiotic beverage that helps balance the flora and fauna in our bodies. It's also been said to help digestion, bolster the immune system, and aid in reducing blood pressure. Whether or not you believe these health benefits, kefir certainly contains a good dose of calcium, various amino acids, and vitamins A and D.
Kefir might be new to you, but also like kombucha, it's a drink with a very long history. According to Anne Mendelson, author of Milk, it was originally a way of preserving fresh milk in the days before refrigeration and was drunk throughout the Caucacus region in eastern Europe. It's still a popular beverage in Russia.
And kefir doesn't have to be made with strictly with cow milk! Goat milk can be used, as well as non-dairy milks like almond milk and soy milk. Another strain of "water kefir" grains can also be used to make kefir from coconut water, fruit juice, or even simple sugar water.
What's more, it's easy to make yourself once you get your hands on some kefir grains. The grains are self-propagating, so your initial batch will last you as long as you continue to make kefir. Here are a few sources:
• Milk and Water Kefir Grains from Cultures for Health, $16.99 each
• Reculturable Kefir from The New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, $5.95
What do you think of this beverage?
Related: Milk and Booze! How to Make Sweet Milk Liquor
(Images: Flickr members Ginny and John and tarikgore licensed under Creative Commons)
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We drink a lot of Kefir, but I don't think of it as fizzy...it seems like watery yogurt to me.
Clover brand (in Northern California) is amazing though difficult to find and it only comes in large family sized bottles.
I've never thought of it as fizzy either ... sort of just like a smoothie. My kids love it and it's a great breakfast on the go.
I like it, but never thought of it as fizzy.
Yesterday I tried a fermented non alcoholic fruit soda, not sure if I liked that.
I've tried kefir. It wasn't fizzy at all and definitely more of a (too) thick smoothie. Not opposed to it, but not a big fan.
I love kefir instead of yogurt on my muesli.
Also I really like KeVita - a kefir/kombucha drink that is coconut water based...one of those products at wholefoods that is a splurgy indulgence.
I used to make kefir...I got some grains from a friend. It is a truly fascinating process! Unfortunately I neglected my darling little grains too long and they died, but I enjoyed using the kefir in smoothies. It was always too tart to eat plain (mine was never runny like a beverage, more like regular yogurt). And I have no idea how it would become fizzy unless you bottled it tightly and let it continue to ferment. I've never tried the store stuff.
I've been drinking kefir since I was a kid (Eastern European family) and went totally crazy with it when I lived in Russia- I adore it! I'd be a little concerned if it were fizzy, though- that would be a red flag to me, at least with the brands that I buy.
yum! i love how tangy kefir is, and before i was dairy free i used to drink it all the time. peach is/was my favorite.
i tried kefir for the first time a month or so ago. i enjoyed it! it's a great base for a fruit smoothie, it's nice and tart. it also lasts a long time, which is good for me - my hubs is lactose intolerant, so i'm the only milk drinker in the house. i have to agree with the other commenters though, i would never think of it as fizzy or effervescent.
Wow! So many descriptions I read described kefir as fizzy and effervescent. A little bummed to find that hasn't been most people's experience. I wonder if there's a difference between store-bought kefir and homemade?
For reference, here are a few of the sources that described kefir as fizzy:
Cultures for Health
Seeds of Health
Wikipedia: Kefir
Boston Globe - What is Kefir?
Does it work like buttermilk in baking? Because this looks like it could be a cheaper/healthier alternative to having lots of buttermilk around every time I want pancakes/biscuits/soda bread.
I've heard good things about kefir. Good for your health and regularity. Haven't tried it yet.
Jaime L. -- for what it's worth, powdered buttermilk has a very long shelf life and works very well in baked goods. Plain kefir does make a good substitute for the fresh stuff, though!
Add me to the list of people who never had "fizzy" kefir. To me it just tastes like thin yoghurt, which is fine but I'd rather just have the yoghurt. (To be clear, I don't make it myself but I do buy a good brand produced in smaller than industrial quantities).
I have never had any kefir product that was fizzy, store bought or homemade, cow's milk, goat's milk, or coconut milk. It usually tastes like thinner, more sour yogurt when unsweented and like a yogurt based drink when flavored and sweetened.
I think it is odd that OP posted on an easily obtained product that she hasn't ever tried. It is not like it is sheep's milk yogurt imported via yak from the Ukraine. Pretty sure Wal Mart carries kefir...
After I've learnt that store bought kefir doesn't have the same beneficial effects as homemade ones, I started making my own three months ago. Store bought kefir needs to always taste the same, which isn't the case in a natural setting (considering temperature, light, time ...) and have a much longer shelf live than home made one.
The pros about home made one is that you can play around with the type of milk you use, you have it right when you need it and it's cheaper.
What I like less about it is the rather runny concistency (I like thick and creamy) and fact that it's much more fizzy than the bought one.
Does anybody know how to make my kefir thicker?
This sounds like "doogh" which is a popular fizzy, yogurt drink from Iran. I've had this ever since I was a kid and I had no idea it was packaged and marketed in this country. You can easily make this yourself at home with water, yogurt, salt, herbs, and carbonated soda. For a recipe, check out this link:
http://www.thespicespoon.com/blog/doogh/
I've bought the Lifeway brand and, while it's not "fizzy" like a soda, it definitely has a sort of "zingy" feeling on my tongue.
It's so easy to make keifr at home. I find it is kinda fizzy when I make it, but when it's made up, I find it's just watery yogurt as others have said.
Kefir is so SO sick. We had a bunch for free at our TV station near Sonoma COunty dairies. GROSS. Unless you like ingesting things that are phlehm textured. Remember the last time you were sick and coughed up a fat lougie? Yeah, Kefir is that, strawberry flavored.
wait - Emma (author), did you not try Kefir while writing this article?
LOVE kefir! Its definitely not fizzy, but is like a pourable yogurt. I love it on muesli & granola instead of yogurt, because i want it a bit runnier and not as thick. Plus it comes in a bottle, so i can have as much or little as i want.
Love water kefir more than milk kefir. And it is very easy to make!
@Home Fancy. It is not sick. Maybe you had a bad batch, but that doesn't mean all of it is the same consistency or flavour. Think cheeses, or breads...same varieties vary hugely from manufacturer to manufacturer. And yes some people do have texture issues, but that by no means that the product is "sick".
I grew up in Eastern Europe and kefir was a normal part of the day. Sometimes it did have mild globule separation with more liquid, but flavour wise it still reminds me a lot of buttermilk. Since 10 years ago there was no kefir on the market in our location, we just switched to cultured buttermilk. It's very much in between yogurt and buttermilk.
@mcb1223 I guess not. Rather disappointing.
When I first tried commercial kefir (Lifeway), I loved the creaminess and the taste. However, because I'm lactose-intolerant, I was very gassy and bloated, despite the "99% lactose free" label on the product. I eventually found out that commercial brands are nothing like the real thing. Real kefir has "grains" (pearly substances like cottage cheese) in them, that people have been fishing out and culturing in a new batch of milk for centuries. Commercial kefir uses powdered grains that only last for one use. Real kefir can be mild to very fizzy -- depending on many factors. Finally, the taste of real kefir is an acquired taste. For some people, it is creamy; for me it was more of a cheese soda.
Every grain out there is different, and depending on the milk you use and the season, there are way too many factors involved in getting it to be the right taste and texture. But commercial kefir is nothing like the real thing. I would never touch commercial brands again, only because I am lactose intolerant.