Kefir is a popular fermented milk drink. It is made from skimmed or whole cow's milk. Kefir production is alcoholic and fermented milk fermentation, in which special kefir fungi are used.
What is kefir?
The composition of regular kefir includes a set of fungi and bacteria. They may vary depending on the manufacturer. Fungi and bacteria can be one-day, two-day, and three-day. Types of kefir differ in acidity, the degree of protein swelling and the degree of accumulation of alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Any kefir contains a small amount of ethyl alcohol, its highest content is observed in three-day kefir, which is why it is not recommended for very young children and people with a number of diseases, for example, epilepsy.
According to GOST, 100 grams of kefir must necessarily account for at least 2, 8 grams of protein. Kefir is distinguished by the amount of milk fat. In high-fat kefir, which is quite difficult to find on sale, the fat content is about 8%, in fat-free kefir it is about 0.5%, and in ordinary classic kefir this figure is between 2, 5 and 3, 2%.
Choose kefir correctly
If you follow your figure, choose kefir with a fat content of 2.5% and below, and pay attention to drinks with a short shelf life. In general, the shorter the potential shelf life of fermented milk products, the better, which means that natural fermentation processes take place in them and there are no large quantities of preservatives. This is especially true if you are going to buy kefir for a small child. By the way, you should not give children completely fat-free drinks, firstly, fat is necessary for normal development and growth, and secondly, fat-free kefirs are often produced on non-kefir bases, which deprives their consumption of any sense, since they do not have the necessary set of fungi and bacteria and do not bring any benefit to the body.
Ideally, the shelf life of kefir should not exceed a week, in drinks that have a shelf life of more than two weeks, preservatives and additives most likely suppress all useful components, such kefir can be drunk for the sake of taste, but not for the sake of benefit.
If you buy classic kefir, be sure to pay attention to the content of lactic acid bacteria in it. One gram must contain at least 1 * 10 in the seventh degree CFU (colony forming units), while the yeast cannot be less than 1 * 10 in the fourth degree CFU. This must be indicated in the composition, if you have not found the appropriate line, it is quite possible than a kefir drink in front of you, which does not fully possess the beneficial properties of kefir.
