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.

History of Kefir

As with many others, the discovery of kefir was rather fortuitous. Like other healthy and natural products, its origins are traditional and agricultural.

This story begins in the Caucasus region, in the border between Europe and Asia.

Everyday, the shepherds tended to their flocks, in the vast fields of the Caucasus mountain. They would gather the milk they could from the animals, in leather pouches. However, soon they discovered that sometimes the contents of the pouches fermented into an effervescent drink. White grains would form in these pouches, helping to create this beverage. Kephir was probably named after the turkish words keyif or köpür, meaning "pleasure" and "milk froth".

From then on, they gathered the grains that originated the drink. They would mix them with milk from cows, goats or sheep, storing the mixture in skin bags that they would hang from the doors. The reason for this was so that when anyone passed by they were expected to gently nudge them, to guarantee that the liquid and the grains would blend properly.

Some say that there are written references to kephir as far back as the 12th century, from the records of Marco Polo's travels. For how long this drink and method have been around, passed on traditionally through the generations, it is uncertain. Kephir is an integral part of many cultures.

What is Kefir (Kephir)?

Kefir (or kephir) is a fermented milk beverage, still unknown to many, but treasured by many others. Even though it is usually prepared with milk, it can also be prepared using other beverages, giving rise to variations such as Water Kephir or Tea Kephir (best known as Kombucha).

To prepare kephir, whatever the variant, you need kefir grains. In the picture above, you can see what they look like. Kefir grains resemble a cauliflower.

The two main types are Milk Kefir Grains and Water Kefir Grains.

Even though kefir grains are not readily available everywhere, if you can find anyone who has them it is a tradition to share with others. If you get just a few, you can usually then grow your own and later on share as well.

Nowadays, different recipes abound, whether using milk, water, or other drinks, and mixing it with various foods in order to create different flavour experiences. And all of this with the benefits it entails, to your health. Later on, we'll be discussing these, along with many other useful informations on kefir and kefir grains.

For the kephir afficionados, know also that there is a growing offer out there for other kefir related products, such as bath gels and similar items. Haven't tried them yet, so I can't really comment, though... more on that to come.