Kefir, making your own

[Muse]

Traditionally, kefir is made from kefir grains. You save some from the last batch (I guess) and start your next batch with the kefir grains. Not having seen any or done this, I'm in the dark about the specifics. I've dabbled in a LOT of DIY kitchen stuff including sourdough culturing, tempeh, breadmaking, some other stuff. I don't have a source for kefir grains. Living where I do, I'm sure that some people do have them and use them, but I haven't encountered a source.

I have for years occasionally made "kefir" from freeze-dried kefir starter that I have bought online. I know you can buy kefir in the markets but making your own from freeze dried starter is easy, it's cheaper and you can do it whenever you want to. And I like the result. I started a quart yesterday and it was ready today. I make mine from non-fat dry milk powder. I pour one small packet of starter in a quart jar of reconstituted NFDM and put it in my oven. The pilot light keeps it 80-85 degrees, depending on the temperature in the kitchen and it incubates nicely.

Now, I stopped making it for quite a while. I tried making a bottle a few weeks ago and it didn't go off. The starter was WAY past the expiration date. When I went to pour it in the bottle I found that it had congealed into a solid mass. I should have known it wouldn't go off, but tried anyway.

Yesterday's batch was made with a packet that hadn't congealed. It seemed like new, nice and powdery. It went off wonderfully and the result tastes great with a characteristic flavorful sourness.

But get this: The expiration date on the box of starter is Dec. 2005! I have kept the boxes in the refrigerator, figuring they would keep better. Maybe that helped. I assume that the starter contains bacterial cultures. Isn't that right? Do they "live" indefinitely in a dry state?

I assume that the previous packet had developed a hole that let in moisture, causing the mass to congeal and go bad.

Now, once I have a good batch (like I do now), I can start the next batch with a couple of tablespoons of the current good batch. I only need to use the powdered starter when I have left off making kefir for maybe a couple weeks. The kefir I make this way only stays good a week or two max.

 

[amd6502]

There's not much to making probiotic fuzzy ciders.

There are two fundamentals you have to adhere to religiously.

1. Keep things sterile and watch for any sign of contaminants. When adding water, juice, probiotics, etc don't breathe while the cap is open, or wear a surgical mask.

2. Don't use glass when doing a pressurized ferment. Use plastic. Getting careless with this could cause an explosion (they can be quite powerful) and you could get permanently injured (eg loss of eyesight).

These two steps are pretty much just like homebrew beermaking.

Now assume that you have a good batch of fizzy probiotic in a 1l or 2l plastic bottle. You should enjoy it until it's about 1/3 full, then add enough apple juice so that the mixture of a full bottle is about 10% juice (1.5oz to a few ounces only), then top the bottle off with sterile water.

Then cap and screw cap tight to do a pressurized fermentation. It typically takes a day (sometimes two in early batches or low sugar conditions) to ferment. You should be able to squeeze the plastic bottle to verify that it's pressurized; this gives you an idea of the amount of pressure in the bottle. At this point you can put the cider in the fridge. Keep it in the fridge at least two hours before serving.

For juices other than apple, adjust the ratios used above so that the sugar concentration would be roughly identical to the ratios above for apple juice. Always use pasteurized juice; be sure that it is free of contaminant strains.

Now the first batch is going to be the most crucial. The first batch is the most sensitive to contamination, so I recommend that you use a fresh bottle of bottled mineral water for the base, and a fresh bottle of pasteurized apple juice for juice. Use real juice; be sure there isn't sodium benzoate (or other benzoates) added. For the first batch you also want to have an extra sugar rich ratio (2x to 3x normal); so around 25% apple juice + 75% water.

So starting with a fresh 1 gal plastic bottle of mineral water, pour out ~25% (saving this to make coffee or whatever), open two or three capsules of powdered probiotics and carefully open and send the contents down onto the surface of the water, and then promptly top the bottle off with a fresh batch of pasteurized apple juice. Close bottle tightly and shake for 30 sec to 1 min. Then let sit overnight, horizontally for max surface area. As starter, I recommend something like this: https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swanson-probiotics-lactobacillus-gasseri-3-billon-cfu-60-veg-drcaps

Now the 1st batch takes the longest, it may take 3 to 5 days typically. (One added pill of folic acid might be able to expedite this by a day or two). Check for pressure buildup daily. 1 gallon water bottle containers aren't meant to contain pressure. On the first day that you feel the slightest bit of pressure, twist the top so that the bottle is able to vent. The colony now is in exponential growth and they have established the necessary enzymes and vitamins for this state. With the cap loose like this (but not too loose to risk contaminants entering), let the bottle ferment another night. Briefly unscrew to probe if pressure is an issue. If yes, refrigerate an hour or two. Now rebottle 1l of the first batch into a sterile plastic bottle that is designed to withstand pressure. (Eg. cola bottle or carbonated water bottle). Top off the 1 gallon starter batch with water. This lowers the sugar content to about the ideal 10%.

Repeat this last step a few times, except adding a tiny bit of juice so that the starter has enough grams of sugar. Any of these smaller offshoots bottled in the smaller pressurizable bottles can be propagated simply by adding a few ounces of juice and topping off with water, after drinking contents down to 30% level. After the pressurized ferment, be sure to refrigerate before opening bottle (the reason is water closer to 3C can hold much more dissolved CO2 than water at room temperature).

After a few iterations, and assuming you've observed no contaminants or unusual growth, I recommend that all or some of these batches now be converted from monostrain to multistrain. As multistrain you might add kefir grains; https://www.ebay.com/itm/3-TBSP-NON...586095?hash=item33f6e5c7af:g:1jEAAOSwhgtbv5G4
or, something like https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-p...illion-cfu-per-serving-60-vegetarian-capsules

One downside of multistrain is that one has little control or knowledge over which strains grow faster. Rhamosus will eventually likely become the dominant strain. Also, batches risk contamination every time you open the cap. For both these reasons I will stop and restart with a fresh starter batch everytime I notice anything funny, or after a few months.

 

[Zanovar]

i'll have to look into making my own.I usually drink the stuff for a few days after a drink/drug binge.It helps with gut ache/bubbling,and shitting pints of molten lava seems to cease