Kefir questions

[Invincible]

I bought some kefir grains and am a bit confused how to make the yoghurt/milk.

I've got raw goats milk handy.

Also, once made, can the kefir milk/yoghurt be heated/cooked?

Thanks in advance

[shelley]

Once made, you can do anything you like to the Kefir, but you lose the health benefits of the microbes if you cook it. The whole point of making Kefir is getting those friendly microbes into your system so they can kill of H. Pylori and other baddies!

Here's a page on making kefir, it was recommended to me as being the best resource on the Web:

http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html

[Invincible]

Thanks for the link Shelley, I've seen that before but somehow forgotten about it.

[Invincible]

After a week of trying this and that, my kefir seems to be coming along nicely! Today, it actually tasted nice ... before, it just tasted of milk gone off! Now, it has a nice tangy taste to it. I find that leaving the kefir grains for 48 hours in a warm room is the best way to make it taste/look like yoghurt. 24 hours isn't long enough for it to thicken. Maybe it's because I still only have half a tablespoon of grains .. and growing.

Once I remove the kefir grains from the pot, how long will the yoghurt keep in the fridge?

[chickpea]

Hi Invinc,
Glad your kefir is coming along nicely! I forgot to say that you need to throw away the first few batches as the kefir grains get used to their new home. That's why the taste improves with time.
Have you still got a copy of those notes I sent you? I think it says on there how long it will keep for in the fridge ...for a while if I remember rightly....well at least a week but you probably would have eaten it by then!
When making it temperature definitely makes a difference. At this cold time of year, the kefir will take longer to ferment.
When I was making it last summer, the kefir would be done by the morning, after just 12 hours!! It helped that my flat gets warm during the night as the storage heaters come on.
Anne

[chickpea]

Invinc, forgot to tell you about the yahoo group........Real_Kefir_Making

[chickpea]

That is
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Real_Kefir_Making/

[Invincible]

Thanks for all that Anne

I did lose the notes you sent me that time .. so I forgot that I was meant to throw the first few batches away, silly me! It all seems to be going well now though and I am only managing to make around 3 oz every 2 days at the moment. I guess in a few weeks I may get a whole cup a day.

Thanks for the links