Homemade and commercial kefirs
I want to produce kefir at home for personal consumption but I don't know where to find kefir grains. Any ideas?
Some of my friends buy commercial kefirs. Do commercial kefirs in the market have the same quality as the ones produced at home?
Best Answer
Kefir grains are like sourdough starters - just not as common. It's kind of cheating to buy them- you get them from other people that are throwing away their extra.
I got mine many years ago by finding a community mailing list and sending emails to a bunch of people asking to share. Unfortunately I have since lost the community that I used.
This page:
http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html#Kefirmaking
Has some info including links to a couple Yahoo newsgroups where you could ask for grains.
Alternatively- if you find yourself near Austin Tx. send me a note and I'll save some for you. It requires advanced notice to save the extra grains.
If all else fails you can buy them on ebay as well.
As for your quality question. It's difficult to compare homemade and commercial kefir. The commercial kefir that I have access to is very mild and sweet. I like my homemade kefir much more tart and yeasty.
All in all it's a lot like making yogurt or homemade buttermilk. You can't necessarily get better than the good commercial products but
- You have control over all the ingredients
- It is a TON cheaper. Just the cost of milk.
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Is homemade kefir better than shop bought?
Kefir is a healthy, fermented probiotic drink that has a thicker consistency in comparison to yogurt and comes with endless health benefits! Homemade kefir is not only better for your overall health, but for your financial health too. It's easy to make at home and it arguably tastes better than store bought kefir.How do you make commercial kefir?
Commercial kefir is produced by two methods: The \u201cRussian method\u201d and the pure cultures. In the \u201cRussian method\u201d kefir is produced on a larger scale, using a series fermentation process, beginning with the fermentation of the grains and using the percolate.Does homemade kefir have more probiotics?
Homemade kefir contains a higher number of cultures and probiotics than store-bought, which is typically made with a starter culture powder instead of the grains. For example, the Lifeway brand of kefir is advertised as including 12 live and active cultures and 7 billion to 10 billion probiotic strains.What are the dangers of kefir?
Kefir can cause side effects like bloating, nausea, intestinal cramping, and constipation, especially when first started. These side effects usually stop with continued use.More answers regarding homemade and commercial kefirs
Answer 2
Here is a source for organic kefir grains.
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