Health Food: Kefir

Have you ever made kefir? Last spring a friend of mine gave me some kefir grains. They look like cauliflower, but are floppy and rubbery. You store them in filtered water in the fridge when not in use.

I learned to make kefir from milk first. You put these funny grains in the milk, cover the jar with a clean cloth and let it sit on your counter for 24 hours, or I put mine inside a stock pot and set a heating pad on low in beside it. The first time I tried it, I kept expecting to smell sour milk, so I kept going over and sniffing it.

When it was done, it was thick and tasted like buttermilk. I've been doing kefir off and on since last spring. I decided for the fun of it, I'd see if it would culture soy milk. I had read that the only safe soy products are fermented ones. It works! It tasts good too.

I understand you can order kefir grains off the web. I have not done this. But I bet if you Google it, you'll find some.