Do you have a small jug in your fridge, standing a little aloof from the yoghurts, swathed in muslin like a diminutive Miss Havisham, quietly fermenting away? No? Well, you probably will soon.
My simple plastic jug, containing its precious grains, is quite new to me, too, but has quickly become quite the obsession. Four months ago, I started making my own kefir from grains given to me by my daughter — and I was instantly hooked.
Kefir (pronounced ‘kuh-fear’ or ‘keef-uh’, as you wish) is produced from fermented milk and looks like thin, drinkable yoghurt. To make it, you add fresh whole, or even pasteurised, milk to natural kefir grains (more on those later) and, 12 to 24 hours later, your super-powered drink is ready.
The end result is a natural probiotic, meaning it is packed with ‘friendly’ bacteria and yeasts. It nourishes your digestive system, which, in turn, is great for your skin; it is loaded with minerals; it reduces bloating — and it makes you feel wonderful.
Natural probiotic Kefir has been known to improve the digestive system and can be easily grown at home (file image)
The benefit that immediately manifests itself is its super-efficient gut-cleansing abilities. The gut is often referred to as the ‘second brain’, with digestive disorders thought to be responsible for myriad mental health and mood issues.
Kefir’s name originates from the Turkish word keyif, meaning ‘good feeling’. But the origins of the kefir grains themselves — gelatinous white curds, which look a little like cauliflower cheese before it goes in the oven — are more mysterious.
Legend has it that they were a gift from the Prophet Muhammad to the people of the Caucasus Mountains near the Black Sea, who were forbidden to share their secrets.
Today, it is thought that the grains formed spontaneously when milk stored in leather bags took on natural bacteria and yeasts and began fermenting — rather like how a sourdough ‘starter’, used to make bread, forms if flour and water are left to collect wild yeasts. The grains were cultivated and passed down the generations.
To make your own kefir drink, leave the grains and milk to ferment for 12 hours at room temperature, where the mixture seems most productive, or in the fridge if you want to slow the process.
Each day, you strain it, drink the liquid, and then add fresh milk to the grains.
Bear in mind that it’s slightly sour and fizzy, and better cold than at room temperature.
‘Liquid Stilton!’ said one friend, making a face. Just knock it back and think of the goodness.
In my fridge, the kefir grains grow daily plumper, so that the original dessertspoonful quickly swells to a cupful. Soon, I find myself oversupplied.
When the grains start bursting out of their jackets like Tom Kitten, I put a card up in the deli where I work in Petworth, West Sussex: ‘Kefir Grains Free to Good Home’.
The pH value of kefir must be measured to ensure it’s below 4.5 before eating. Products are also available online and in supermarkets (file image)
It never takes long for a customer to sidle in and ask for Lucy in a casual undertone, as though I might be a drug dealer, peddling my wares among the local pickles and fresh pasta.
The next day, I bring in a small plastic box and slide it across the counter to them, possibly under cover of an artisan loaf. I’m far from the only fan of this latest must-eat — kefir has been catapulted to the top of the list of superfoods, which includes oily fish, broccoli, kale and blueberries.
It’s recommended by celebrity personal trainers; kefir products are sold on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website and science journalist Dr Michael Mosley has described it as ‘yoghurt on steroids’.
Meanwhile, Shann Jones, a former journalist and radio chat show host, claims a mixture of kefir and essential oils helped clear her husband of MRSA in just three weeks.
Fuelled by enthusiasm, they started their business, Chuckling Goat, in south-west Wales in 2014, selling goat’s milk kefir and kefir-based skin products.
Shann says: ‘It’s not about wiping out all the bad bacteria — we’ve tried that with antibiotics — but taking on board enough good ones to maintain a balance.’ Shann is firm with her customers when they ask for a taster of kefir: ‘I tell them “no!” because they’re not going to like it!’ But such are the success stories that people beat a path to her door.
You can buy kefir online or pick up a variety of brands from your local supermarket. But increasing numbers of devotees, like me, make their own.
Contact between the acidic grains and metal will interfere with the fermenting process, so use a china or glass jug, a wooden spoon and a plastic sieve. The liquid needs partial cover, something like muslin cloth, while it ferments.
There are risks, for these are live organisms. It is important to measure the pH value of kefir to ensure it’s below 4.5 (the level below which many harmful bacteria cannot survive) using a pen-type pH meter, which you can buy online. Contaminated grains can suffer from viruses, so it is a good idea, every so often, to have your kefir tested at a public health laboratory.
Your council’s Environmental Health office will collect samples and send them to a laboratory for a fee (usually £30-40).
This may sound like a lot of work, but kefir was so prized in the former Soviet Union that it was used to treat cancer.
Recent studies suggest it stimulates our immune systems, as well as inhibiting tumours and inflammatory diseases.
The one drawback? You will need to make holiday plans. The grains will be quite happy left in the fridge for a couple of days, with a small amount of milk, or rinsed and clean, but any longer than that and the kefir needs to be looked after, perhaps by the same person who is caring for your dog, so that they can refresh it daily with milk.
I once delivered my terrier and my kefir to spend a week with my friend, Tessa. Her husband mistook the jug for cream the next morning and poured it onto his porridge. When rubbery, alien-looking lumps fell into the bowl, he dropped the jug and ran away. Next time, I’ll label it.