A  January fi908rm"}  Kefir  and  Its  Preparation.  23 
The  prepared  kefir  is  of  a  whitish  color,  pleasant  and  slightly 
cooling  to  the  taste. 
The  quantity  of  the  compounds  formed  through  the  so-called 
"  starter  "  is  closely  dependent  upon  the  quantity  of  lactose  present 
in  the  milk  employed  and  on  the  quantity  of  the  "  starter  "  added. 
It  should  be  stated  that  after  the  kefir  is  complete  and  ready  for 
use,  further  changes  still  occur.  Thus,  in  the  preparation  twenty- 
four  hours  old,  hemalbumoses  are  absent  but  develop  only  on  the 
third  day,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  peptone,  which  can  be 
detected  only  after  the  third  day. 
There  are  several  methods  known  for  preparing  the  beverage. 
Some  of  these,  however,  give  unsatisfactory  results  and  are  unduly 
tedious,  and  these  I  have  omitted  in  this  outline. 
Before  we  proceed  to  the  preparation  of  kefir,  the  grains  should 
carefully  be  examined  as  to  their  condition,  whether  healthy  or 
otherwise,  and  for  freedom  from  adulterants,  which  is  not  an 
uncommon  occurrence  of  late. 
Good,  healthy  grains  are  recognized  by  their  irregular  form  and 
size,  hardness  and  yellow,  to  a  brick-red,  color.  Macerated  in  water, 
they  soften,  acquire  a  whitish  color,  and  swell  up  considerably, 
becoming  rubbery  masses  branched  on  one  side  and  almost  smooth 
on  the  reverse  concave  side. 
Nefarious  varieties  of  the  grains  which  are  prepared  from  bread- 
crumbs with  the  addition  of  brewers'  yeast  and  thus  falsified,  added 
to  the  genuine  variety  can  be  readily  differentiated  from  the  latter 
upon  maceration  with  water.  When  so  treated  they  are  devoid  of 
the  rubber-like  springiness  and  when  rolled  between  the  fingers 
become  dough-like.  When  treated  with  a  solution  of  iodine  they 
acquire  the  characteristic  blue  color. 
Having  assured  ourselves  of  the  quality  of  the  grains,  we  begin 
with  the  preparation  of  the  "  starter."  This  is  done  by  macerating 
them  in  warm  water  for  twenty-four  hours,  changing  the  latter  at 
least  four  times.  The  well  soaked  grains  are  next  separated  from 
the  water  by  straining,  and  in  the  proportion  of  two  tablespoonfuls 
for  every  one  and  a  half  glasses  of  milk  (350  c.c.)  are  added  to  the 
latter. 
The  vessel  containing  the  mixture  of  the  grains  and  milk  is 
covered  with  muslin  and  set  in  a  warm  place  at  150  C.  to  180  C. 
until  the  grains  begin  to  float  upon  the  surface.    It  should  be 
