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The kefir grains or grains of the prophet and the process of making kefir were guarded very closely and were regarded as the family s or tribe s wealth. And since the kefir grains could be retrieved and reused indefinitely after each batch of culturing milk these were passed on from generation to generation.
Kefir is the mixture of milk and kefir grains aka kefir culture that undergoes fermentation.
History of kefir grains. The kefir grains were taken to the moscow dairy and in september 1908 the first bottles of kefir drink were offered for sale in moscow. Small quantities of kefir were produced in several small towns in the area where there was a ready market for it. Kefir or kephir kəˈfɪər kə feer is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt that is made from kefir grains a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture.
The drink originated in the north caucasus eastern europe and russia where it is prepared by inoculating cow goat or sheep milk with kefir grains. The way in which the kefir grains were obtained is more of a romantic story. The kefir grains were obtained through a ruling passed by the tsar for bek mirza.
A woman called irina had been sent by one of the blandov brothers to seduce the young caucaus prince and convince him to gift her the kefir grains. The prince out of fear of breaking a religious law refused to give her the kefir grains. When she was returning to her home she was captured by the prince s guards and was ordered.
Kefir the name comes from the word kefi which in the caucasus means choice best quality was made from fresh cow sheep or goat s milk which was poured into a leather bag called bourdiouk and ferment kefir grains was added. The bag was tied with a rope and left for 1 2 days at a temperature of 20 23 c the bag was shaken from time to time. The story of this milk based beverage begins in the caucasus mountains where the nomadic ossetians first experimented with kefir grains.
Kefir grains aren t like rice wheat or barley but rather are a gelatinous polysaccharides culture of bacteria and yeast called kefiran. These grains are at the heart of all kefir. In 1908 she brought the first kefir grains to moscow.
Kefir became and remains to this day a popular drink in russia. In 1973 at age 85 irina sakharova was formally recognized by the soviet ministry of health for her role in bringing kefir to the russian people. The precious kefir grains were taken back to the moscow dairy and the first bottles of kefir ever manufactured commercially were offered for sale in moscow in september 1908.
By the 1930s kefir was made and sold on a larger scale and the rest is history. Kefir is the mixture of milk and kefir grains aka kefir culture that undergoes fermentation. Kefir grains look like pieces of coral or small clumps of cauliflower containing a mixture of beneficial bacteria and yeasts.
It is said to be a gift from god and is to be shared not to be sold. You would save a lot of money by culturing kefir grains. The kefir grains or grains of the prophet and the process of making kefir were guarded very closely and were regarded as the family s or tribe s wealth.
And since the kefir grains could be retrieved and reused indefinitely after each batch of culturing milk these were passed on from generation to generation. Another take on the origin of kefir grains is that it is actually manna on milk. What has been established however is that kefir grains originated from the northern caucasus mountain region of the former ussr.
Most likely they evolved into being over a very long time. A gift from the gods. The local people of the caucasus mountains are said to have discovered kefir a thousand years ago.