Manna from Heaven

On Friday, I did something that I don't think I've ever done before. I took a crisp, new $20 bill and put it in an envelope and mailed it to Ohio, to a woman I've never met and to whom I've never even spoken.

Don't send a check, she had written. She doesn't deal with banks.

It sounds kind of shady, doesn't it? And it was all to acquire some of the substance shown above. Looks kind of shady, doesn't it?

Well, in case you're not already familiar, gentle reader, I'd like to take this opportunity to acquaint you with kefir grains. Kefir grains are used to produce kefir, a fermented dairy product, which can be made from any kind of milk.

Kefir is sort of like either a thick milk or a thin yogurt in consistency, with a somewhat tangy and refreshing taste, and which is filled with nurtition including more probiotic cultures than yogurt. Consumed regularly, it helps to reestablish the good flora - the good bacteria - that live in your gastrointestinal tract. The good flora then help you digest the rest of what you consume.

Kefir originated in the Caucasus Mountain region. It is thousands of years old. One story of its origin is that it could have been the manna described in the Biblical story of the Exodus - the white stuff that fell in the desert each day to feed the wandering Israelites. A miracle food. Another story is that the Prophet Muhammed gifted it to the shepherds on a trip through the Caucasus Mountains. In which case, it would also be a miracle food.

The word kefir comes from a Turkish word that means "good feeling." It provides complete proteins, minerals, and is particularly rich in the B-complex vitamins. It has been used to help treat people living with AIDS, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, ADHD, and all sorts of intestinal disorders. If allowed to ferment long enough, the grains will breakdown all of the lactose in the milk, making kefir the ideal dairy product for the lactose intolerant. People who have consumed it regularly as part of their traditional diet are reported commonly to live to be 100 or more years old.

You can make Kefir at home. All you need is some milk - skim or fat, raw or pasterized, cow, goat or sheep - any kind will do; a clean jar; and some kefir grains. Put the kefir grains in the jar, pour the milk over them, and let them set out on your counter, unrefrigerated, for between 24 and 48 hours. Strain it, start the next batch of milk using the grains, and voila! You can drink your first batch of kefir now or put it in the fridge to slow the fermentation and drink it later. You keep using the grains and over time they multiply. Be forewarned, next year, all my friends and relatives will be getting free kefir grains. And you, too, can become kefir grain farmers.


Of course, you can also buy kefir in some stores - natural food stores and health food stores, including Whole Foods, where I have gotten mine. Once you've acquired the taste, you can really use it in many ways interchangeably with milk or yogurt - in smoothies, shakes, on cereal. You can bake with it. You can even make cheese with it, which is on my list of things to do. The SuperFood fans among you should know that kefir and yogurt are the only two dairy products on The List.

Today, my 1/4 cup of live kefir grains was shipped by priority mail. Within the next two days, it should arrive along with one page of instructions - I don't expect to encounter any surprises - and 6 pages of kefir recipes, fun and trivia. I'm so excited, I can hardy wait. By the end of the week I should be able to report on my first homemade batch of kefir. In the meantime, it's off to the store for more kefir to keep me feeling good until then.