Kefir Success!

Of course, I walk into my local Walmart Neighborhood Market the other day and what do I see? Plain kefir. Same brand I bought at the natural foods co-op. And after my struggles getting it started, the premade bottle looked tempting. However, a small bottle (a quart maybe?) cost almost five dollars, while a half gallon of organic, non-ultra pasteurized milk cost about $3.50. It's worth keeping on...

And then... Finally!!

Two days in a row. Perfect, beautiful, creamy NOT FIZZY kefir.

So what did I change? I used the very minimum amount of milk. Put it in the cabinet at night; and in the morning, I give it a swish and put it in the water heater closet. I take it out in the evening and look. LOOK!

It's gorgeous. And it's pretty firm:

But a little swish loosens it up. It's thick, but not separated.

And it strained very, very easily. 

Whew! Two days in a row. Hopefully this keeps up. I'd imagine that as the grains grow and mature and as the weather warms up, I won't have to move it to the closet. But until then, this is perfect. 

I have totally replaced Andre's store-bought probiotics with this, and we'll see how he does. It's cheap and easy if it continues to be successful.

I'm sold.