Milk – The Most Important Part Of Milk Kefir
1108 days agoIn the beginning, I did not believe it. I mean, milk is just milk right? No matter where you get your milk from, it is still going to be milk. Unless you are talking about sheep’s milk or goat’s milk, the taste should be the same. But trust me, it isn’t. Different cow’s from different regions do produce a different quality of milk. In fact, how the cow is fed and how healthy or happy the cows are, will make a huge difference. Just go and try different brands of fresh unflavoured milk. They can taste absolutely different. I was very surprised. Even organic milk taste different from non-organic ones. I had used organic milk before and the taste and the flavour is fuller than compared to just regular Australian milk. Perhaps it is just all in the mind, but I really doubt it.
When I make Milk Kefir, I normally use UHT milk for the convenience and the ease of storage. I mean if you use fresh milk, you will have to refrigerate it and they last for only a few days. However for UHT milk, you can buy and store for a few months and you don’t need any refrigeration at all. They can be kept at room temperature in places where it is cool and which does not have direct sunlight. That’s the main reason why I buy UHT milk. Sometimes I don’t have time to go to the supermarket to buy fresh milk and when you make Kefir, you need to feed the Kefir grains milk every day. In fact, you will see the grains growing fast if you do it.My Kefir grains has grown more than triple in amount since I got the grains from someone in Germany. So, remember feed your grains! Do not let your grains starve! They might die if you do so.The Kefir grains are living organisms, so like all living organisms, you will have to give them food in order for them to thrive. Milk (or lactose) is their primary source of nutrition. Feed them well and they will be healthy and produce good Kefir for you for life!
I also realized that in making UHT milk, it requires a very high heating process. And different manufacturers heat their milk differently with different results. So you might find the fresh milk and the UHT milk from the same manufacturer taste different. And not all UHT milk are the same. Some might be tastless while some might feel a little watery. The most important step is to find a milk which you like. And use this milk to make your Kefir. I believe that the resulting Kefir you will most likely enjoy as well. Isn’t that what making Kefir is all about? Experimenting with different milk and tasting the result! If you ask me a few months back, I would never believe that trying out different milk would be so interesting. Nowadays I spent a good amount of time in the supermarkets looking for the best valued and best tasting milk!
I am also rather keen to have a try on Sugar Water Kefir. I read that you can make Sugar Water Kefir from Milk Kefir grains! Just like making Milk Kefir, you simply add Kefir grains to a water and sugar mixture and let it ferment for about 3-4 days. And after that, you will get Water Kefir! So fun!
