How to prepare a tibicos culture

How to prepare a tibicos culture? Here's what I found out from those with more experience:

First, you have to find tibicos mushroom. This can be the tricky part, depending on where you live or who you know.

Once you have the tibicos mushroom, add it to pure water, inside a glass container. Note that: a) the water you use should as pure as possible, clear of any pollutants such as chlorine; b) the container you use should be very clean, but clear of any leftover residues of soap (which create a hostile environment for the probiotics).

As you now have a container with the tibicos and water, place sugar inside (sugar types are relevant, you may wish to do some research or experimentation on that matter). One spoon of sugar per three of tibicos.

Hence the names of water kefir or sugar kefir grains.

Tibicos needs to breathe, like any living organism. This creates a situation when it comes to covering it. Use a cloth that covers but still allows air to go through. This protects from impurities but still allows for breathing.

Then, leave everything alone for one or two days.

As for drinking instructions, the same applies as what we have discussed with kephir. Use a plastic strainer to avoid metal residues and interactions, and store in the refrigerator.

Kephir, Kombucha and Tibicos really are amazing gifts... from Nature to us, and from us to others :)

Kefir Culture

Food sustains our bodies and minds, and it can bring us health and well-being. For this reason, everyone should know more about what different kinds of nutritious goodies are out there. So, time for some interesting tidbits on matters related to food and kefir culture! Ready for it? Today we're going to begin a quick and small glossary on healthy food, to be further developed individually.


Kombucha: Kombucha is a kind of fermented tea, dating back to the nineteenth century in Russia. It is often used with medicinal purposes, and like kephir it is prepared by letting a kombucha culture ferment.

Tibicos: Tibicos are also known as water kefir grains or sugar kephir. Tibico grains ferment in any liquid that contains sugar (including water), and thus are a good alternative for anyone that wishes to avoid dairy products.

Whole Foods: Foods that have none or little processing or refinement, making them as natural as possible. Different from organic food.

Greek Yogurt: Greek yogurt has a very high quantity of calcium and fat, giving it the ability to withstand high temperatures. Thus, it can be used for cooking. Yogurt is made through bacterial fermentation as well, and this is the kind that has seen the greatest boom in popularity, in recent years.

Tips on how to make kefir - Part 1

As you learn how to make kefir, there are a few loose pointers to be aware of. Off the top of my head, there are many others - hence the title -, so this'll be a quick post. Kind of like a Kephir Frequently Asked Questions :)

- Kephir falls in the category of whole foods
- Milk Kefir Grains (Royal Kephir) are different from Water Kefir Grains

- Use stainless steel or plastic sifters, never aluminum ones
- As kephir is acidic it may help decompose metals, they are to be avoided
- Use glass or plastic containers

- The milk you use for kephir can be of most kinds, but always of animal origin
- Non-animal milk does not contain lactose, fundamental to the process
- The fermentation process takes about a day & a half
- The more kefir grains you use, less time it takes to ferment (and vice-versa)

- Kephir is a living organism; avoid storing it in very high temperatures
- In hot climates, the kephir tends to ferment faster (tropical = x2)
- If it over-ferments, it will taste more acid, but is still good for consumption
- After prepared, kephir can be consumed, or keep in the refrigerator
- Refrigerated kephir can last for many months

- Kefir can be mixed with other foods to improve flavour, like cereals or fruit

Ok, these are things I remember for now on how to make kefir. More as we go along :)

Oh, by the way, you'll notice I use the terms Kefir and Kephir interchangeably, but it's just out of habit, no difference there... both terms are correct, are ok to use, and mean the same :)

How to start a Milk Kefir Culture

Preparing your first kefir culture is easy.

For this, you need only four things: a recipient, a sifter (plastic or stainless steel), milk, and Milk Kefir Grains (also referred to as "the mother"). If you don't have any, we will look at obtaining the kefir grains at a later time.

For the initial kefir culture, add enough kefir grains to fill a soup spoon into a quarter litre of milk... then just leave it be, to run its fermentation process.

At a later time, when it is ready to consume, pass the combination through the sifter, to safely gather your kefir culture while obtaining the resulting liquid at the same time. Drink your milk kefir, and store the kefir grains again in a new solution, to be consumed at another time.

The milk you use can be either be the commercial kind or raw. The fermentation obtained by the grains assists in destroying the harmful bacteria that raw milk can contain. If you want to consume the resulting kephir milk in a more liquid state, increase the amount of milk a bit. If you prefer it thicker, closer to yogurt, reduce the quantity of milk.

As time goes by, you will notice that the kefir culture is growing, as the living being that it is. Bit by bit, you will be able to increase the quantity of milk added. I tend to think of this as a symbiotic relationship between a person and the kephir... two friends, feeding and providing health benefits to each other, growing.