Kefir!

About two weeks ago, our friend Julie (who also lives on the 7th floor - see their blog on the right side of this page, entitled: "Our New Territories") offered us some "Kefir" starter. I had to google the word, as I had never heard of it before. My search yielded results that were initially quite disgusting. I think I got squeamish when I saw the words "ferment," "effervescent," and "bacteria" used to describe this beverage.

"Kefir" is a drink that is made by adding a "start" (similar to a sourdough "start") to milk and allowing that milk to sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Here's what the "start" (or "grains") of kefir look like:


Although they look like cheese curds, they have a more grainy consistency. According to wikipedia (which we all know is an authoritative source on everything), they're made up of a combination of bacteria and yeasts.

Here's some finished kefir that we drank this morning (If you click on the picture, it will open much larger in a separate page and you can see the separation that occurs during the fermentation process):


After the kefir sits for 24 hours, you can strain off the grains and add them to a fresh batch of milk which will, in turn, become kefir as well.

The finished product tastes a bit sour, not unlike yogurt, although with a slightly carbonated quality. We like to make it into smoothies. So far, we've added peaches, mangoes, and banana. Here's a glass of peach kefir:

I (Brad) am easily wooed by gimmicky things. Emily is the level-headed one in our family. Kefir appeals to both of us. Emily enjoys kefir because she loves the consistency of yogurt, custard, pudding, and smoothies. Kefir appeals to me because I can't resist a trendy new food. For the time being, one beverage satisfies both of our fickle palates.