Kefir and home-made feta-type cheese

Kefir
We are growing our kefir on at astonishing rates at the moment. I have sourced unpasteurised milk from Hook and Son (thanks for that link, Janie Turner of Thermomix) and now I am happily slurping 6-8 ozs of gorgeous creamy kefir each morning.
The kefir cheese is just an amazing success. I am so proud of myself! After several revolting and probably health-risking attempts at making a probiotic cheese, I have perfected the method.

You need a large bowlful of kefir - whole milk is best but the raw milk people seem to only sell semi-skimmed, so we are making do with that. Put the whole bowlful in a cheesecloth (this is best done by simply lining a large bowl with cloth and then filling it with kefir. When it is all settled, gather up the corners of the cloth and pin them together and lift gently, hanging the whole thing just above the bowl to drain. After 24-36 hours, you will have a bowl of thin whey and a cloth full of what looks like Philadelphia cheese. The whey is great added to fresh fruit and veggie juices or used in bread making or to make the crackers mentioned below. It is also fab for enzyme-rich pickles- more about that another day.

Scrape the soft cheese into another bowl. I found that you can almost mould the cheese in your hands through the cloth, picking up all the bits stuck to the cloth as you go. Put the cheese ball into the bowl and add salt and mix well. I bought a couple of cheese moulds from the internet, there are several cheese making suppliers on ebay. I line the cheese mould with fresh clean cloth and then pop the cheese into the mould. Cover with the cloth and put the press lid in place. Then I put a heavy weight on top and watch the last of the whey start to ooze out of the holes in the mould. I leave it to compress for a couple of days.

Turn it out of the mould - then a couple more days in the fridge and you will have a large lump of what looks and cuts like white Wensleydale and tastes like a slightly beery Feta cheese. It is just wonderful.

I put this on my dehydrated raw crackers (my version of Scan bran - email me if you would like the recipe: enquiries@taymount.com) and I feel so virtuous, it is a scandal.

Love and kefir grains to the world.
Oh, if you want some kefir grains, you can buy them on the taymount website: www.taymount.com - products - digestive aids

We are just experimenting to see if the kefir grows faster in the dehydrator - in a sealed Kilner jar to keep it from drying out of course. We already found that if you are making bread, the dehydrator is incredible for speeding up the proving and rising process. Just put a shower cap over the bowl to keep the bread dough moist.