I normally make my own kefir from grains, but I saw this kefir in a specialty store (Trader Joe's) here and wondered if I could use it as starter for a cheese. Has anyone done this? There is certainly a varied assortment of cultures in this particular kefir.
Can anyone tell me what I could expect? Say I were to let this sit out overnight to "develop". In the morning I would heat the milk up to 86 degrees F, add the "overnight sensation" (kefir) and calcium chloride, let it cure for 20 minutes, add the rennet and let it coagulate, and proceed...washed curd?...cooked curds?...?
Sailor - You're the microbiologist here. What's your informed opinion? What could I expect?
Would I just end up with dairy soup? :P :(
-Boofer-
Yes, you can make a cheese from kefir. The starter culture is more complex than a standard meso. Leaving the culture overnight may develop too much acidity, perhaps even enough for the curds to precipitate. But the rest is no different.
There are some commercial cheeses made with kefir. I think there's a farm in NY that raises dexters and makes a kefir cheese from the milk.
You will not end up with dairy soup. Think about this from the components. One, you are adding a starter for acidification and flavor. Two, you are adding rennet. The rennet alone will give you a curd set. The starter will contribute to texture, flavor, aroma, etc.
Boofer, member Christy posted a link to a website here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2088.0.html) with several Kefir based cheese making recipes.
I'm not looking to make labneh or kefir "cheese". I'm looking to use the richly cultured kefir I found to make real cheese.
I think I'll try a small bit of kefir and a small bit of milk and see what happens. Seems like I should do washed curd to reduce the amount of acid I'll no doubt have from the get-go. Unfortunately, I do not have a pH meter yet, so I may be winging it. The key may be for a short cure period. I said initially 20 minutes. Perhaps 15 minutes is better. One of the cultures in the kefir is referenced to Mesophilic so 86 degrees is the right temp point.
Ahhh, the great Unknown! ::) 8)
-Boofer-
One of the fun parts of this cheese making thing is you can crate all kinds of things.
Boofer, if you scroll down that long webpage link (http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefir_cheese.html) from Christy you will see methods for progressivly harder kefir as starter culture cheeses: Cottage > Blue & Camembert > Cheddar.
Boofer, the link John posted would be a great start for you.
Kefir is a complex blend of Lactobacillus thermophilic and mesophilic microorganisms along with Heterofermentative Lactococcus &
Leuconostoc, yeast and Acetic acid bacteria.
Lb.kefiranofaciens
Lb.casei, Lb.hefirgranum
Lb. brevis, Lb. Kefir
Lb.parakefir
Lb.acidophilus Lb.rhamnosus
Lactococcus lactis subsp.lactis
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
biovar diacetylactis
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
subsp.dextranicum
Saccharomyces sereviasiae
Kluveromyces marxianus var.
Marxianus Candida kefir
Acetobacter aceti
Because of the variables acosiated with brewing it, I question the ability of kefir to act as a culture in normal cheese making procedures.
However I don't want you to be too discouraged from trying it. If you have enough time, milk and an curiosity go for it :)
Christy
John & Christy, thanks for the steerage. I'm still on the bubble about the kefir cheese project. Today I opted to make an Alpine Cheese. That link you gave me does show that it IS possible. I guess I'm a little apprehensive about what all those cultural buddies would do or end up as "down the road"...say, a 6 months to a year from now. What might be fine for the shelf life of a kefir might not translate too well if allowed to carry on month after month. Still...it is intriguing. ::)
-Boofer-
Linuxboy - you are correct that their is a Dexter (cow) dairy that makes Kefir cheese. I came across them when I used to raise Dexters http://www.fingerlakesdextercreamery.com/microdairy.html (http://www.fingerlakesdextercreamery.com/microdairy.html)
I still have 4 Dexters but we dont milk them - we only milk our goats as they are much easier to handle.
Their site is at http://www.fingerlakesdextercreamery.com/microdairy.html (http://www.fingerlakesdextercreamery.com/microdairy.html)
Siegfriedw - that link underscores the possibilities for kefir cheese.
I am in the process of fashioning my own smaller cheese forms with an eye towards making kefir cheese. Looks like the trolley is back on the tracks. Pictures and process to come.
-Boofer-
Good luck boofer!
That kefir cheese looks fantastic!! Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.
Christy
I know this thread is old.. but I was thrilled to find it. I make Kefir every day using kefir grains and it is wonderful. I had never considered using Kefir as a Culture for my cream cheese.. what a great idea.
So I conducted some homemade cream cheese experiments using my kefir. I thought I would share this with you all. My cream is local in New Mexico so I know it is not ultra pasteurized.
1. I followed the recipe in the cream cheese video that is posted on the web site..
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Cream
1/3 cup kefir - (instead of using packaged kefir mix as my starter I used actual kefir that I brew every day(1/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon of rennet
2. I followed this recipe:
1 Cup Milk
1 Cup Cream
1/3 Cup Kefir
3. I followed this recipe
2 Cups Cream
3Tablespoons kefir grains
They all gave me wonderful cream cheese. (On the third I strained the kefir grains before hanging the cheese)
what a great thing. I did not need to add rennet in the last 2 and they still turned out great.
Congrats, mom!
Here are some pics of the kefir cheese I ended up making. I just couldn't stop myself from making cheese with the kefir I found. The kefir I make doesn't have near the complexity that the store-bought had.
Good luck...and, welcome to the forum. :D
-Boofer-
Boofer they look great! What did you end up with for a recipe? How long have they aged and how do they taste?
I used three of Dom's recipes so far and have not been very happy. They are just way too strong for my taste.
Those two cheeses were very small and very limited because I wasn't sure how it would turn out. They were here but for a brief stay...and then they were eaten with crackers, wine...the usual. They weren't bad. The texture, salt content, and overall appeal were very acceptable. They had a very slight...unusual taste character because of the complex culture mix.
I was satisfied with them as an experiment but decided to stick with more conventional culture mixes in the future. I felt there were just too many variables at work.
Since that time I have proceeded to develop my techniques and improve the quality of my cheeses following excellent guidance from some good folks here: linuxboy and Sailor, to name a couple. That and paying attention to everything that's going on when I'm engaged in the make has helped me fine-tune everything. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I think I see a clearing ahead.
A more recent cheese that I tried, Beaufort, has a culture mix that promises to be most interesting this time next year when I get to taste it. Check it out (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,3556.0.html).
-Boofer-
Are you still making cheese? Are you on any other threads?