Monday, August 8, 2011

Help!

I'm calling in all my favors (what favors?) today!  I need some expert advice, and I think this may be the place to find it!  Here goes:

Does anyone know whether, if I left my villi yogurt out on the counter an extra night, and it has turned into curds and whey, can I use the curds and/or whey to culture a new batch?  I don't want to have improperly cultured yogurt, from using unsuitable starter!

Anyone?  I may be heading over to Dynomom or Common Sense Homesteading here to request help - I know both Melissa and Laurie are Villi pros.

On a more positive note, my Water Kefir grains just arrived in the mail from Cultures for Health!  I didn't allow myself to order them until I had a good yogurt-making routine down.  Little did I know that my recent chicken fatalities would throw off my morning routine long enough to sabotage my yogurt-making!

I guess today is a day of questions - if you've made water kefir or kombucha, what are your favorite juices/flavorings to add for a second ferment in the fridge?


Posted at Monday Mania at The Healthy Home Economist

7 comments:

  1. I just read this whole thing and went... huh? Danielle, I love you, but I have no idea what you are talking sometimes. ;)

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  2. Hi, Valerie,
    That's how I feel sometimes when I read about your sewing expertise... Huh? :)

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  3. You can use the curds, but not the whey, to make your next batch. Just use the same amount you usually do and it will work out just fine. If you want, you can make a large batch of yogurt in cooler weather and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then remove the cubes and put in a ziploc bag in the freezer. You will need to use it within eight or nine months, but then you don't need to remember to save some back with each batch. When my stock of ice cubes gets low, I make another before I run out. I have three different kinds of dairy starters depending on the kind of food I am making.

    If you soak grains, the whey is NOT sour and won't leave your oats or flour sour tasting. It can keep up to six months in the fridge. It also can be used to fertilize potted herbs on your windowsill and has small amounts of calcium in it for plants like tomatoes.

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  4. Oh, and favorite flavors! I started making kefir in January and my kids like vanilla (one tablespoon per quart), and whatever homemade juice I have laying around. Believe it or not, honeydew melon makes AMAZING juice and the kids like it with kefir. My kids are used to uncommon foods and adore kefir straight up even.

    My family is Mexican and we drank a very similar drink growing up (I read on Wiki that it is probably the same drink!). In Mexico it is usually citrus flavored with the peel (not the pulp. If you have lemons, oranges, or graperuit you could put a piece the size of you little finger in. My mom prefers ginger and lemon, so I put a piece of each in.

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  5. Hi, Ubermom,
    Thank you so much for coming to my rescue! I had no idea the yogurt would survive being frozen - brilliant! I will revive the yogurt using the curds, and then freeze some for next time this happens.
    The vanilla sounds fantastic with kefir - maybe I'll try that first! I think my kids will drink anything that is fizzy or flavored, but I'm hoping to convince the husband that kefir is his new favorite beverage. That will be more of a challenge! :) Thanks so much for your good advice!

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  6. We just add a handful of frozen fruit to our second ferment and let it sit capped tight for another 24 hours. The kids love strawberry!!

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  7. Hi, Megan,
    That sounds so easy and delicious! I have lots of ideas to try now! Thank you!

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