Friday, 10 October 2014

A Scoby of Kefir Milk - What the ?

A friend from the local group of women (& kits) I run with offered me a Scoby of milk kefir.

I had heard of it but until this week I had no idea what it actually was, what it did or what it looked like. Kefir is a delicious probiotic beverage.

A Scoby is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeasts !


It has opened up a whole new world to me ! 

I took her up on the offer Wednesday afternoon and I am hooked. She also shared some of her garden with me - raspberry and strawberry plants , peppermint and I have more offers of plants when my garden is ready. As she showed me around her garden and her chooks - I was most envious and ready to stick a cracker under my husband inspired to dig deep .

Now - I've joined the local Plants and Gardens Facebook group. More plant , garden and information sharing.

There is also so much to learn and the community of fermenters (not a bit like dementers) is so supportive. So what are kefir grains ?

Alex Lewin, ‘Kefir grains are combinations of yeasts and bacteria living on a substrate made up of a variety of dairy components.’ 
The live kefir grains look a bit like cottage cheese or cauliflower florets. They have a gelatinous in texture - mine was a soft blob. Don't be put off. 

credit - wki pedia.

 Milk kefir , rich in beneficial bacteria, contains phosphorus, vitamin K, biotin and folic acid - all essential nutrients to health and well-being.

The best site for information I have found - which has everything you need to know about fermenting and preserving is Cultures for Health - this is about Kefir


Another Facebook friend added me to this Australian group when I asked - PRESERVING, FERMENTING and HEALTHY EATING - Australia.


This was my first batch - last night.



 You can get Water kefir too - I didn't get any of this yet because it is much slower to grow.

My interest is the research (I admit I've only just started reading the literature ) that Cultured dairy foods potentially play a role in the prevention of cancer as they exhibit anti-tumoural effects.

Tell me have you heard of Kefir ?
Do you ferment or preserve food ?


 

Comments (10)

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I've read quite a few reports lately about how we've been underestimating the wonderful health benefits of probiotics and the like. I must admit when you hear the description it doesn't sound scrummy but it sounds like something we should all be on to. Looks a bit weird too! Symbiotic colonies eh? The things you learn x
3 replies · active 560 weeks ago
It tastes palatable ,Pinky, surprisingly not sour and apparently makes awesome smoothies (if I can hide it from the kids I will).
I watched Catalyst recently - Gut Reaction - "good diet is even more important than we thought is the discovery of the many trillions of new contributors to our health - the tiny good bacteria living in our guts."

It was more on prebiotics - "Prebiotics are fibre compounds that pass undigested through the stomach and small intestine. When prebiotics arrive in the large intestine, they promote the growth and activity of beneficial (probiotic) bacteria that reside here. Having a healthy balance of gut bacteria may benefit digestion, the absorption of minerals and immune system function.'

It can't hurt me so I'm trying it !
You've convinced me! I need to get some bugs in me. With all the fake stuff we eat, drink, breathe in and absorb it can only be a good thing. The immune system is undoubtedly the key and anything that boosts that will help to fight off things we can't even imagine.
A lot of people give the Scoby away for free and you can get started with a glass jar and unhomoginised full cream milk $3 for 1 litre ( will last me 4 days) - so cheap start up and takes <3 mins to get going (24hrs to brew).
Good for you, Trish. I think you're very brave. I'm such a baby, just the thought of it, puts me off. There is lots of research that shows the benefits of fermented foods and it's something I keep meaning to look into and have a go at. But in the meantime, I'm just addicted to sauerkraut. Does that count?!
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1 reply · active 560 weeks ago
Absolutely - it is a good choice too apparently.
I hadn't heard of kefir milk! I've heard of Kimbucha (sp?) which I think is a similar process but people make sweet fizzyish drinks? Anyway, the scoby sounds fascinating! And the research into cancer prevention does too!
BTW, just saw you've been blogging since 2005! Nearly 10 years, Trish! You are such a champion and inspiration on so many levels. I'll never forget how lovely and inviting you were when I first started out.
xoxo
1 reply · active 560 weeks ago
I have Kombucha brewing too :) my first batch.
I started with only a few posts in 2005 , the real blogging started when my boys were about 9 months old.
PS - I had a dream about you last night (friendly not creepy) lol and the first email I open this morning was a notification from you.
I've never heard of kefir. Sounds interesting though.
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1 reply · active 560 weeks ago
It tastes a big like yoghurt I drained off the whey and ate the curds on my porridge - I loved it. Not sure what to use the curds for yet. I also made smoothies the other day from the whole lot.

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