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Understanding Yogurt & Kefir Labels

2/16/2015

I have been more aware of what is on labels especially on yogurt and kefir. It's all a bit confusing when you are reading the labels trying to compare products, to make sure you are getting the best value. I wanted to pass on the information I have discovered in the process. First there is no government standard on the use of the word yogurt or kefir, so the labels are very misleading. There are only industry organizations which are trying to standardize what actually is yogurt or kefir..

My first question was what was the difference between the terms live cultures and active cultures. Some products have live cultures listed on their labels and others have active cultures and some use both terms on their labels. From what I have discovered is the terms are used interchangeably and it means there are live cultures in the product at the time of manufacturing. All yogurt must be made with the bacterial cultures from Lactobacillu bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilis. These are the living organisms that turn pasteurized milk into yogurt during a fermentation process.

There are some yogurts that heat treat the product after manufacturing. In heat treated yogurt, these cultures are killed when the yogurt is heated after fermentation. Manufacturers heat treat yogurt products to give them a longer shelf life or to lessen the tart taste of the yogurt. Check the label carefully to make sure the product you are selecting is not heat treated because that's why you are buying yogurt, you want the live cultures to aid in your digestion.

My next question, what was the difference between live cultures and probiotic cultures? Some of the yogurts and kefir claim to have probiotic cultures along with live cultures. It seems that probiotics are a type of live culture. Probiotics are stronger cultures, which are resistant to stomach acid and bile and able to attach to the intestinal wall and colonize the intestinal tract. Live cultures live only in the stomach and never reach the intestines since they are not as strong.

In conclusion look at the label to make sure it has live cultures and probiotic cultures when buying yogurt and kefir. Make sure the product has not been heat treated in order to get the health benefits from it. You will notice most products have only a few live cultures and probiotics listed on their labels. The best option is to make your own kefir if you are interested in getting large quantities of probiotics in your body. You can't bottle real kefir it's alive with active cultures and probiotics, it will explode if it's bottled. Makes you wonder how active are the cultures in yogurt or store bought kefir?

Below is typically what is found in real milk kefir you make yourself

Microbial Composition Of Kefir At The End Of Fermentation [colony forming units/ml]
Lactococci : 1,000,000,000
Leuconostocs : 100,000,000
Lactobacilli : 5,000,000
Yeast : 1,000,000
Acetobacter : 100,000

More information found at Dom's Kefir

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Lacto-Fermentation

2/16/2015

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Lacto-Fermentation
Fermented foods have been important in the past as a way to preserve ones garden produce, meat, and even milk since there was no refrigeration. Today's diets don't incorporate fermented foods often, which is a shame they are tasty and very healthy.

Fermentation for most people brings to mind beer or wine, certain yeasts convert the sugars in the grape juice or grains into the fermented product, alcohol. With lacto-fermentation it's bacteria that is responsible for the process. The “lacto” term refers to a specific species of bacteria, called Lactobacillus. You may be familiar with "Lactobacillus acidophilus" which is commonly used in the process of making yogurt. The Lactobacillus strain of bacteria converts the sugar in the substance, to lactic acid.

Health Benefits
Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits the growth of harmful, bacteria. This allowed people to preserve foods for extended periods of time. Lactic acid also promotes the growth of healthy bacteria in the intestinal tract. That is why lacto-fermented foods are considered probiotic foods.

Beyond preservation advantages, lacto-fermentation also increases the vitamin and enzyme levels, as well as digestibility, of the fermented food. In addition, lactobacillus organisms produce antibiotic and anti- carcinogenic substances that may contribute to good health. That is another reason to have an abundant amount of lactobacilli residing in your intestinal tract.

Fermentation
The diets of every traditional society have included some kind of lacto-fermentated food. In Europe they have been primarily dairy, sauerkraut, grape leaves, herbs, and root vegetables. the Alaskan Inuit, ferment fish and sea mammals. The orient is known for pickled vegetables and kimchi in particular.

Here in America pickles and relishes are part of our food tradition. But the kind of pickles and sauerkraut that can be purchased in most grocery stores today are not at all the same products our ancestors knew. Most pickling is done with vinegar, which offers more predictable results, but no lactic acid. However, with just a little patience, instruction, and minimal supplies, it's possible to learn the time-honored art of lacto-fermentation.

How It Works
Lacto-fermentation really is more art than science. The science part is simple: lactobacillus (from a prepared culture, fresh whey, or just naturally occurring) plus sugar (naturally present in vegetables and fruits), plus a little salt, minus oxygen (anaerobic process), plus time, equals lactic acid fermentation.

The length of fermentation can vary from a few hours to two months or more. The ideal temperature is around 72°F, but warmer or cooler temperature will still work. (Some strains of bacteria require specific temperature ranges.) The length of time is dependent more on the flavor you prefer than anything else and since the flavor level of lacto-fermented vegetables increases with time you will want to sample often until you are experienced enough to know what works for your tastes. You don’t want to introduce a lot of oxygen to the fermentation process as this increases the chance of spoilage. Lacto-fermentation is generally done in an airtight container or a crock with a water seal that prevents air from contaminating the culture. If you have a reliable recipe to follow, you can make minor adjustments as you see fit.

The important thing is not to be intimidated by lacto-fermentation. You are not going to make your family sick by giving them home-fermented foods. Unless it smells unmistakably putrid (in which case common sense says throw it away), fermented foods are some of the safest foods you can eat. They are easy for even a beginner to prepare and it doesn’t take long to gain enough confidence to venture beyond basic yogurt or sauerkraut to an endless variety of vegetable and/or fruit combinations.

Sources:
Culturesforhealth.com

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Ginger Ale

2/2/2015

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Ginger Ale
You will be adding your Ginger Bug to the "wort" or base. You may use any type of base as long as it has sugar, the sugar is for the enzymes. You have to add real sugar not any type of artificial sweetener it seems like a lot of sugar but there is only 2-3% left after the enzymes convert it to carbonation. For your wort you could use sweetened tea, fruit juices, herbs or any combination you like. The recipe below is for Ginger Ale, you could cut the recipe in half if you like.

The WORT = the base
Bring to a boil:

1/2 gallon of water
3-6 inches of fresh grated ginger root peel and all

simmer 20 minutes, add water to taste (let it cool down a bit first!). While still warm, add
1 1/2 cup of sugar
Pour the whole thing into a gallon container. Let it cool to room temp, add the juice of two lemons (or oranges), which will slow down the fermentation.
Then add 1/2 cup of your prepared ginger bug (either with or without the sediment – keep some sediment for making more bug). You can cut this recipe in half if you would like. The ginger bug is always added to the wort in the ratio of 1/4 cup ginger bug per quart of sweetened wort.

Keep the jar on the counter, with cheesecloth, and stir twice a day. Keep it warm (room temperature) and keep an eye on it. It could take from 3 days to to 1-2 weeks (again, depending on the temperature) to get ready. Taste it once in a while. If the bubbles rising up at the edge, it’s usually ready.

Replace the water in your ginger bug and add your equal amount of grated ginger and sugar and set it on the counter to ferment for a day or two before putting back into the fridge to rest for the next use. The ratio of ginger and sugar to water are always 1/4 cup water add 1 - 1 1/2 T. each of grated ginger and sugar. So for this recipe you added 1/2 cup ginger bug you will replace 1/2 cup water in your ginger bug jar and add 2 - 3 T. grated ginger and sugar.

BOTTLE: CARBONATION

Bottle the beer. Leave the bottles out for 1-2 more days.

Keep an eye on them! It's alive so when you put the liquid in the corked or capped bottle it will be building up pressure. Corking is better, for the beginner, than capping. If the fermentation runs out of room in the bottle, it will blow out the cork, or it will explode a capped bottle. Both are messy, but the latter is more so, and dangerous. If you add fruits (and thus more sugar, i.e., food for the bacteria), then cut the fermentation and carbonation times in half and watch them even more closely.

When the yeast ferments the sugars (which it will keep doing unless it gets too cold), it produces CO2. Closing off the container at this point will force that CO2 into the liquid instead of letting it escape, thus carbonating your soda, or making it fizzy.

After several days, put the bottles in the fridge to stop the fermentation. It is ready to drink.

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How To Make A Ginger Bug

2/2/2015

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I was looking thru my Bon Appetite magazine this month and came upon an article about making mixed drinks using the Ginger Bug. I had no idea what the Ginger Bug was, so after investigating I started one using the instructions below.

How to create a ginger bug to use as the beneficial culture to make healthy fermented homemade sodas like old fashioned ginger ale or root beer.
Author: Wellness Mama Recipe type: Cultured – Beverage Ingredients

1-2 fresh ginger roots
½ cup white sugar (important for starting the culture. Honey, stevia or other sweeteners will not work)
2 cups of water
Quart size mason jar

Instructions

Cut a piece of ginger root about 1.5 inches long to make 2-3 tablespoons of grated ginger. You can also finely chop instead of grating. There is some debate about if it is better to peel the root or not. My genera rule is that non-organic ginger gets peeled and organic just gets rinsed before grating.
Place the ginger in a quart size mason jar and add an equal amount of white sugar (2-3 tablespoons). Nourishing Traditions insists that white sugar is needed to create the bug and I’ve had the best success with this, but a local friend claims that unrefined sugar or sugar with 1 tsp of molasses added works better. Try what you have and adapt as needed. ( I did add the molasses to my mix)
Add 2 cups of filtered water to the mason jar. Make sure that the water has been filtered so that it does not contain chlorine which can affect the culturing process.
Stir with a non-metal spoon and lightly cover. I cover with a coffee filter and rubber band.
Each day for the next five days, stir the mixture at least once and add 1 tablespoon of grated ginger root and 1 tablespoon of sugar. (note: depending on temperature, it may take up to eight days of adding sugar and ginger to create the desired culture).
You can tell if culture is active if there are bubbles forming around the top of the mixture, it “fizzes” when stirred and it takes on a sweet and mildly yeasty smell. It will also become somewhat cloudy and opaque. If mold appears on the top, scrape it off if it can be removed. It this happens more than once, you will need to start again. If the mixture hasn’t taken on these characteristics by the 7-8th day, you need to discard it and start again.
Keep the culture away from other cultures like sauerkraut, kombucha or kefir it can cross culture.
Once the ginger bug has cultured, it can be used to create fermented sodas and drinks at the ratio of ¼ cup ginger bug starter per quart of sweetened herbal mixtures (for ginger ale or root beer) or diluted fruit juice (for fruit flavored sodas).

Notes: To keep the bug alive and continue growing it, you will need to feed it regularly. Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger and 1 teaspoon sugar per day if kept at room temperature. You can also “rest” it in the fridge and feed it 1 tablespoon each of ginger and sugar once a week. To reactivate it, remove and let it reach room temperature and begin feeding it again.

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Kefir Grains

2/2/2015

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Q. What is kefir? A. Kefir is a health promoting fermented dairy drink, similar to yogurt but slightly tangier. While yogurt usually contains only two or three strains of bacteria, kefir contains a much wider variety of friendly micro organisms, including beneficial yeasts, some of which can break down lactose [milk sugar].

Q. What is *real* kefir? A. *Real* kefir is kefir prepared in the traditional fashion, starting off with kefir grains. Store bought kefir, on the other hand, is produced by culturing pasteurized milk with a limited number and species of organisms, which are strategically selected to imitate the flavor and texture of the real thing, but with limited properties. In particular, commercial kefir cannot be used to make new kefir on a continuous basis, because the culture inevitably loses viability. Kefir grains, instead, can continue to produce fresh kefir on an indefinite basis. Also, distinctive scientifically proved therapeutic properties of the actual kefir grains, when ingested, which enhance health, are not possible with the use of commercial kefir or a kefir prepared with commercial starter-cultures.

Q. Why should I drink Kefir? Is it healthy? Kefir has many health promoting benefits. In a nutshell, these benefits could be divided in two groups:

1. Kefir grains contain a vast amount of micro-organisms from 4 genus groups, including lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. The distinctive micro flora of kefir is compatible with the needs of our body. Kefir micro-organisms are able to stabilize or balance the Gastro Intestinal tract, as well as ensuring better digestion and fight off harmful bacteria, yeasts [including those which cause stomach ulcers, diarrhea, and yeast infection] and viruses. The consumption of kefir has proven to stimulate the immune system, which can also assist the cells of the body to increase the production of interferon [virus controlling agent] due to a unique lipid [sphingomyelin] found in kefir.

2. Kefir may provide other benefits: the friendly micro-organisms breakdown substances such as lactose in milk and from, this synthesize favorable substances, including lactic acid and "Kefiran", a health promoting polysaccharide unique to kefir grains and to kefir. Kefiran has proven to reduce the size of certain cancers, including having anti-inflammatory properties. Certain organisms of kefir produce lactase, an enzyme which breaks down lactose [milk sugar], which provides the body the ability, to further breakdown any milk-sugar [lactose] in the diet, while taking kefir with that meal.

For More information Dom’s Kefir in-site

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Kefir_making/
If you bought kefir grains from me here are the instructions...Read More

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Kefir Instructions

2/2/2015

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Directions
Once you have your grains you are on your way to a great daily kefir treat. The Kefir grains consist of
mother grains (larger grains) and baby grains. You will need to feed the grains every day to grow new grains. (it's a pet that will take good care of you).
Supplies needed
* 2 mason jars, quarts or half gallons depending on the amount of kefir made daily
* Strainer, plastic is best but metal will work fine.
* Dark closet works fine to grow your kefir.

We find a ratio of 20-1 works best, but you can experiment with your taste buds. The less kefir grains to milk ratio the faster the grain growth and the longer it will take to “kefir”. The longer it takes to “kefir” will also produce a more tart or pungent tasting kefir. To determine your taste and consistency of product, we suggest you start with a ratio of 1 gram kefir grains to about 20 ml of milk. So for example you have 25 grams of kefir grains you will need to add 500 ml or about 2 cups of milk. You can adjust the ratio from 10-1 to as much as 30-1 to suit your taste and time frame.

Once you add milk to your kefir grains you have two options:

1) A Tight fitting lid on the brewing jar, leaving at least 25% of air space at the top. To produce an effervescent kefir (note the grains will grow more slowly but is often a preferred mouth feel).

2) Instead of a lid, put a breathable cloth over the jar secured by a rubber band to produce a non-effervescent kefir which you will get more grain growth.

The above “grain brewing” jar you will place it in a dark place and leave it 10-24 hours. 10-12 hours works best for our tastes, you will see the kefir start to break (curds & whey), it will be thick and the whey will be separating out. At that time we put it in the fridge for 13 hours to several days to “Ripen” its flavor until you strain the grains out.

Our schedule for example
- 6PM Strain kefir grains from kefir. Pour kefir into jar and refrigerate for your consumption the next day. Add fresh milk to another jar and gently stir in the reserved kefir grains. leave in closet over night.

- 6AM Check the kefir “grain brewing” jar it will be ready in the morning to put in the refrigerator to deter the brewing process further. You will strain it at 6PM that evening or leave it several days to “ripen”. We ripen ours 5 days or so.

Note: The kefir grains brew between 61-85 F degrees, at refrigerator temperature the brewing process almost stops completely. The perfect Kefir temperature is 77 F degrees.

People that prefer more tart kefir brew for 24-36 hours and usually never refrigerate their kefir. The grains will grow more prolifically with a tarter taste and are often used to make soft “cheese” (called “Quark”)

Hints that seem to have worked for us
- The larger grains are easier to strain, however, an equal amount of grains by weight of smaller grains will produce a more thoroughly “kefirred” product throughout the “brewing jar”.
-Always put some of the kefir milk in with the fresh milk to help it get going
-The extra baby grains put thru the strainer and consume with your daily kefir milk
-Our kefir was not thick at first it took a couple of weeks to get the hang of it and now it is thick and pretty good.
-Use Dom’s web site it has good information
-Can use as a suitable substitute for buttermilk in waffles, pancakes, bread or in anything buttermilk is used.
-What to do with extra grains, pets love it, eat them, dry them and roll them in sugar as deserts.
-You can make water Kefir from your milk grains read how on Don’s web site.
-Go to U-Tube and watch other make kefir will give you an idea what other folks do

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Understanding Yogurt & Kefir Labels

Lacto-Fermentation

Ginger Ale

How To Make A Ginger Bug

Kefir Grains

Kefir Instructions

Health & Nutrition

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