Kefir Romania

[Kerby Reynolds]

Sanais similar to kefir, buttermilk or soured milk but unlike these, it is slightly sweeter in taste.[2] It is made by fermenting the unpasteurised, raw milk by reducing its pH levels. Sana usually has at least 3.6% fat content.

Sana is usually made from cow's milk but in recent years the goat milk sana has increased in popularity, mainly due to the better perceived health benefits of goat milk. There is also sheep's milk sana and even buffalo milk sana.

Milk Kefir is a fermented milk beverage, similar to a thin yogurt, that is made from kefir grains- a specific type of symbiotic culture. The kefir grains are added to milk & allowed to ferment. The finished product is great for your gut health, and homemade is much cheaper than store-bought.

Kefir is a breakfast, lunch, and dinner drink popular across Russia, Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine - where it is known as an affordable health drink

Note: You will first rehydrate your grains to wake them up, then you can begin making milk kefir.

Pasteurized milk is best for rehydrating grains - once rehydrated, you may introduce raw milk if desired.

Probiotic bacteria found: Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus kefiri, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus sake, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, Pseudomonas, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas putida, and Streptococcus thermophilus.

Yeast strains: Candida humilis, Kazachstania unispora, Kazachstania exigua, Kluyveromyces siamensis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces martiniae, and Saccharomyces unisporus.

Product: You will receive 1 generous tablespoon of live and healthy milk kefir grains which will come from our small, lucky portion of grains that are fed solely on our raw grass-fed goat's milk*(read notes below). It will produce atleast 1-2 cups of kefir a day to start with and much more as the kefir grains grow.

Yield: This amount of kefir grains will produce about 1-2 cups of delicious kefir each day to start with and much more as the kefir grains grow.

*Notes: Raw milk produces wonderful kefir grains, due to the milk being full of enzymes and unadulterated nutrients unlike milk that's gone through commercial pasteurization and homogenization. Goats milk is particularly nutritious, similar to human's milk, easier to digest, and is not a part of the A1 and A2 milk debate, which affects cows milk (both raw and commercial).

Use still warm from milking goat milk, let ferment to *just* before curd/whey separation, strain out only HALF of the cultured milk. Replace with fresh body temp milk, keep this cycle up and you'll end up with much thicker kefir from your goat milk.

It is lovely. I know exactely what youe father remembers. Placinta cu branza was one of my favorites and I could never resisted, bought one every time I passed by Placintarie. Thanks for the receipee, it works well with meet too. It goes well with a cold beer! Merry Chrismas!

Ellie,

Am dat la intamplare pe Google"cozonac" si ai aparut tu. Multumesc ca iti faci timp sa impartasesti retete romanesti.Chiar am sa dau site-ul tau cumnatei mele(locuiesc in USA),careia ii place fff mult mancarea romaneasca si mereu trebuie sa ii traduc retete:)Ma ajuta si pe mine,ca retetele sunt facute cu ingrediente din SUA si acum stiu ce sa caut:)

Multumesc inca odata!

Hi Ellie,

Multumim de retete si iti dorim un An Nou Fericit! Vreau sa te intreb daca foile de placinta se pot da cu butter spray in loc de unt...cred ca ar fi mai light. Si ce zici si de niste marar in combinatia de branza? Gaby

Gaby, Multumesc mult pentru urari. Sa sti ca acum am inceput sa numai pun unt pe foi asa mult....doar ung tava ca sa nu se lipeasca. Apoi ung ultimile doua foi deasupra. Foile din miljoc ny le mai ung cu unt caci ese foarte bune. Si sa fiu sincer, din cand in cand inlocuiesc untul cu olive oil:)

Cred ca ari merge foarte bine cu butter spray...eu nu folosesc. Si daca iti place marar are fi excellent sa pui dupa gust. Sper sa iti placa si tie placinta, asa cum ne place si noua:).

It doresc o zi placuta si iti multumesc ca ai trecut si pe la mine

Imi place tare mult placinta ta, si chiar daca am modificat niste lucruri la cum am preparat-o eu, mi-a iesit tare bun, multumesc pentru inspiratie, am postat-o pe blog la mine, daca vrei sa o vezi: !!! Nu pot sa iti spun cat apreciez retetele pe care le faci, cata rabdare poti sa ai sa le faci, te admir sincer!

Oh my gosh i am so excited to try this again! I haven't had it since I was a kid living in Romania. It's hard to remember a lot of recipes because i was so young when i left.

Keep the recipes coming, I am getting my american parents to try them all!

Ana, I'm hoping you will enjoy this recipe...it is one of our favorites!

Thanks for stopping by...and hope the recipe brings back wonderful memories for you... and new ones for your parents:).

Hi Ellie, Your site just keeps giving me wonderful new recipes. I had lived in Turkey and brought a recipe for spinach borek back. I combined it with your cheese borek recipe and have a lovely variation on spinach borek. As an extra bonus the kids like it too.:)

That's wonderful, Liz! So glad you came up with a recipe that works for you and your family. I think it's wonderful to be able to combine ideas and recipes...and make something that works for you. I do that all the time:) Glad I could be of inspiration:)...love the idea of adding spinach as well.

I am excited for you that the kids love the version you make....it's always nice to be able to find a dish that both adults and children enjoy.

Thanks so much for stopping by... I so appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and for your kind words. It means a ton.

Have a great day!

Thank you for this recipe!! My MIL is romanian and I think she does not want to share her full recipe bc she always seems uncertain about it. lol So I am happy to have found this and will try it out.....she sprinkles white powdered sugar on the top of the "cheese pie," after it comes out of the oven! Delicious!

Anon, You are welcome! You know, I've never tried sprinkling powdered sugar on top.... maybe it's because I didn't grow up with the top sugared. But I rather like the idea... I think it will make it extra special and more of a " cheese pie" . It's definitely worth trying, so thank you for sharing the idea and for stopping by.

Have a great day!

Hi.

I tried this recipe today step by step, very Disappointed the recipe calls for to much cottage cheese and with the extra tangy feta cheese, the recipe is a mouth full of sourness.... For people who love x x x mature cheese this is great, but those who prefer a Sutle cheese tasting palate, this is not a good recipe. I had to throw half the borek away as ,y family who love cheese, found it extremely over powering..

Would rate this out of 5 a merciful 1 star

Anon, Thanks for stopping by and sharing your feedback. I have no idea why the cheese burek tasted "sour" to you.

I've made this recipe numerous times and do not find it "sour"... it's actually pretty mild.... even children like it. Having said that, maybe it's the type of cheese you used? maybe the cheese you were using was getting old and caught that "sour" taste?

I'm not sure... maybe it's just the palate. You have to enjoy feta cheese, and not everybody does. It doesn't compare to mozzarella cheese which is quite bland. But we all have different tastes and I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it... glad you didn't throw it all out and still ate half:).

Ellie, it's in the oven as we speak. I spent several weeks in Romania back in 2006 and fell in love with both the people and the cuisine. I have literally craved this dish for 7 years, and finally decided I wouldn't rest until I found one posted in English on the Web. I can't thank you enough for sharing this!! One question... When you say to butter 5 sheets of phyllo, do we butter each individual sheet or just the top of the stack of 5? Thanks again!

Bobbie, Oh, I sure hope you enjoy it! Glad you were able to go visit Romania and got the chance to experience the culture first hand. Now, I'm not sure if this cheese pie will be like the one you remember, but I hope you enjoy it, as it is our favorite. My husband can't get enough of it:). The thing to keep in mind is to bake the pie until nicely puffed and golden, otherwise the pie can be too moist and not cooked through.

I butter each of the sheets individually... sorry about the confusion, I'll make sure to edit it to make more sense. Though I have to say, I've also made it where I skipped the buttering and only buttered the top sheet... it still works:) though it's tastier and much better when you butter each individual sheet:).

I am half Romanian. I grew up with all of these foods. I have never attempted to make Placinta because I remember my Mom and aunts making the dough for hours. They would make it, pat it out in circles, put it all under the duna (featherbed) to keep it warm and then bring it out, put oil on it and start stretching and stretching and stretching, easy and slow so as not to break it. They stretched until it covered the whole table and it was paper thin. Then they would put the filling all alone one long edge. Sweet cherries or apples/cinnamon, and of course the cottage cheese. They would then roll it all up until it looked like a long snake and put it into a baking pan in a long s shape. We loved this stuff as kids but especially at New Years when my Mom and dad would was nickels, dimes and quarters and put it into the Placinta. We would eat it until we were sick to see who could find the most money. Everyone is gone now but I have never attempted to make this as much as I miss it from my childhood as it seemed so overwhelming to me. Thank you for posting this very simple way of making this dessert. Now I can go ahead and try it.

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