Spring Is Here!!
When spring finally comes to Narcisse it is always more than welcome after a long hard prairie winter. Along with all the new babies comes the flush of vitamin rich milk their dams are producing. I am sure this is the season spoke of in Proverbs 27:27 “And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens”. When we are overflowing with fabulous healthy milk for all. But all that bounty means that there is much more than what can be used fresh so we have to preserve it for when the fields aren’t green any longer.
Traditionally milk was preserved for later consumption by fermenting it. Our family makes kefir, yogurt and several cheeses out of the bounty. Along with pounds and pounds of butter. Which is very important to make in the spring and summer when the grass is full of vitamin A. Ideally a family would freeze enough of this butter and age enough of this cheese to keep them supplied in dairy while the cows rested for the winter. But that isn’t the way our modern world cycles its milk supply anymore. For these reasons and many, many more our family has found that the benefits of having our own milking animals, although a huge commitment of time and resources, is well worth it. An excellent resource to learn more about the benefits of fresh milk is Weston A Price.
When we first started making our own dairy foods I thought it couldn’t be done without a lot of special and expensive supplies. I was wrong. Usually, all I needed was right here in my own kitchen. By far the easiest and healthiest product to make is kefir. So let’s start with that.
The first thing to do is find someone with genuine kefir grains (picture below) to share with you. I found ours through Dom’s kefir making site. I have shared with people all over North America for the price of shipping so if I have extras feel free to contact us about getting some.
To make kefir you need:
- kefir grains
- strainer (nonmetalic)
- slotted spoon (nonmetalic)
- glass jars
- milk (goats milk will give a smoother kefir than cows milk)
Procedure:
Pour the milk into a quart glass canning jar. I make a gallon at a time for six of us and our livestock but for the newbie a quart should be lots. Some people have to start drinking it only a teaspoon a day. For 1 quart of milk allow 1 tbsp of grains. Then stir the milk and grains together (leave enough headspace for bubbling), place a lid loosely on the jar, and put it in a dark place for about twenty four hours.
With cows milk it helps to stir it once in awhile during this time so the grains don’t get trapped in the cream. After twenty-four hours the milk should have changed into kefir. The milk will be thick and their will be definition between the whey and solid portion of the milk. Strain the contents of the jar through a plastic strainer, catching the grains in the strainer. Using a plastic slotted spoon place the grains into a fresh jar and fill it with milk. Place this new jar out of the sun and wait for your second batch to be done. Put the finished kefir back into the fermentation jar and put it in the fridge. Drink and enjoy!
I gotta hand it to whoever wrote this, you’ve really kept me updated! Now, let’s just hope that I can come across another blog just as interesting :)
— Term Papers · Dec 18, 01:50 AM · #
I am totally agree with you. Goats Milk is really good for Health. I really admire your work.
— Term papers · Jan 4, 12:18 AM · #
Interesting Read That When you first started making your own dairy foods you thought it couldn’t be done without a lot of special and expensive supplies. you was wrong. Usually, all you needed was right here in your own kitchen. By far the easiest and healthiest product to make is kefir. So let’s start with that.
— Term papers · Feb 2, 06:27 AM · #
Good Work, thanks for sharing this is information!!!
— Term papers · May 31, 08:47 AM · #