The DIY Probiotics Thread page 3

[JBailey]

We have live kefir going since last summer. Got the grains from someone on craigslist who had the grains going from someone from 'the old country'.
I've read that many storebought kefir strains don't have the full cootie count. In any case, we use milk from the dairy 3 miles away. Grassfed? Duh. We use the kefir in morning smoothies - 1/2 banana. frozen berries (homegrown), protein powder. Great antioxidants, filling, fermented.

Before going to kefir, we used to make our own yogurt, easy as pie. Get a wide-mouthed thermos, preheat with hot water, heat milk to fairly hot but not boiling, stir in tablespoon of yogurt (storebought or homemade), pour into preheated thermos, close up and leave overnight. Drain off whey (use for lacto-fermenting) and dump yogurt into container and refigerate.

Kraut-chi a la Sandor Katz...gallon glass jar, salt, cabbage, carrots, onions, etc. Beets will turn it all pink, kohrabi will make it stinky. Shred all the veg, stuff some into the jar, beat with fist or blunt object until juice flows, sprinkle salt on top, add another layer. Repeat until jar is full. Keep the veg solids submerged under juice/brine. Taste after a few days. When it's strong enough put in fridge.

[TornadoGirl]

I'm wondering if something like this could be a good sub for wine for me:

I bought a gallon of pomegranate juice, just pressed. I added some Rapadura (dehydrated can juice) for added sugar and some kefir grains. I let it sit for 2 days and tasted it last night. I was concerned that the juice did not have enough sugar in itself for a good ferment. That was probably not true, but the added sugar is making this stuff a bit fizzy. I had some before bed last night and could feel the alcohol warming my stomach as I drifted of to sleep. The alcohol content is not that high, but it sure seems strong. And all those vitamins! I'm letting it sit for another day or two because it is still higher in sugar than I need.

My kefir grains look like blackberries. I'm sure they will recover, but they are spares anyway, so no worries.

I just got my kefir grains...it took me awhile to figure out the different between the starter purchased from the HFS and real grains but now I'm on track...I also got a couple of kombucha mushrooms today. I'm excited to try some green tea kombucha with ginger.

[richard]

This is the most awesome site for kefir:

Dom's About Kefir in-site

There are two types of kefir grains, water (feeds on sugary water) and dairy (feeds on dairy milks but can temporarily feed on coconut milk or nut milk).

Anyway, I make all sorts of fermentations also, a lot of kimchee and fermented root vegetables and lots of water kefir and some dairy kefir. It's all very good and lots of fun. Probably very healthy too.

[primal_alex]

Not really a probiotic, but I am back to homebrewing, these days it is gingerbeer and cider.

I also found a commercial kombucha at the supermarket and said "let's give it a try". I put the 0.5L bottle into a 1L jar with additional water and sugar, let's see if the fermentation starts --- however I am quite skeptic...

[meloroaster]

Not really a probiotic, but I am back to homebrewing, these days it is gingerbeer and cider.
...

i was JUSt looking up ginger beer recipes...can you post/fwd one? My dad is from Antigua and used to make this all the time so i'm psyched to get going on it! There are some recipes online but was curious about sugar content...is it similar to kombucha?

[happy1]

Health benefit from kombucha - I had a painful shoulder for about a year (painful when pouring tea, when lifting my arm to paint or clean any surface about shoulder level or higher, etc.).

After about two weeks of drinking about 1/2 cup of kombucha each morning I noticed the pain was completely gone - and has stayed gone for over a month! I wasn't anticipating this nice side effect from ingesting the fermented goodies.

I thought my problem was the rotator cuff, now I'm wondering if it was arthritis as kombucha is reported to help with arthritis pain.