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kefir

American  
[kuh-feer] / kəˈfɪər /
Middle Eastern Cooking.
  1. a tart-tasting drink originally of the Caucasus, made from cow's or sometimes goat's milk to which the bacteria Streptococcus and Lactobacillus have been added.


Etymology

Origin of kefir

First recorded in 1880–85; from Russian kefír, apparently from a Caucasian language; compare Ossetic kʾæpy, kʾæpu “kefir,” Mingrelian kipuri “milk curdled in an animal skin”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The researchers found no association between dementia and consumption of low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, high- or low-fat milk, butter or fermented milk, which includes yogurt, kefir and buttermilk.

From Science Daily Dec. 21, 2025

His raw milk products include whole milk, cream, kefir and cheese — all of which can be sold in stores in California, but not over state lines..

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 5, 2024

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir and miso help replenish beneficial bacteria and restore gut balance.

From Salon Oct. 29, 2024

Shann soon had a herd of goats and a vast surplus of milk, so in 2012 founded Chuckling Goat with her husband to sell the kefir produced from the goat's milk.

From BBC Dec. 29, 2023

Kefir is prepared from cow's milk by adding the kefir ferment in the form of grains which contain a number of kinds of bacteria and a yeast.

From Outlines of dairy bacteriology A concise manual for the use of students in dairying by Hastings, Edwin George

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