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The Pleasures and Benefits of Kefir
Today we are going to talk about kefir.
You don’t know kefir yet? This word comes to us from Old Turkish.
It is an ancient drink, which has become trendy in a few years, resulting from the fermentation of milk or fruit juice, prepared with “kefir grains”, a sourdough composed of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, which is passed around clandestinely and somewhat resembles cauliflower.
The drink obtained is sparkling, objectively delicious and quite beneficial for our happy little bellies.
At home, Matthieu and I make it twice a week, and we all drink it, with the children, from morning to night.
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The guests: Nicolas Pradignac and Benjamin Abrat
To talk about kefir, we are welcomed by Nicolas and Benjamin, founders of Symbiose Kefir, which was founded in September 2020.
We went to join them in their workshop in the 19th district of Paris. Nestled in a building dedicated to local craftsmanship, you might meet carpenters, trendy designers, or speaker manufacturers there.
Their project is to make genuine artisanal kefir – opposite of an industrial approach. They have also launched the Kéfir Academy, a knowledge base on fruit kefir.
Nicolas is making the kefir while Benjamin answers our questions.
The questions
- How did you come to start working with kefir?
- Explain to us what kefir is? What would be your own definition?
- What is the difference between milk kefir and fruit kefir?
- What are the health benefits?
- Are there any ongoing studies on the subject, related to the microbiome?
- What are the different kefirs you sell?
- How to make your own kefir, to start with?
- How to vary the flavors if you are already experienced? (Nicolas)
- How to easily obtain kefir grains?
- When to drink kefir (in the morning? on an empty stomach or not?) and what amount for visible health benefits? Is there a limit not to exceed?
- Do you have an original recipe based on kefir or kefir grains?
Resources to go further
- The Symbiose Kefir website
- The Kéfir Academy
- The fruit kefir recipe
- A file on kefir by Marie-Claire Frédéric, fermentation expert
