Milk Kefir is an excellent way to get more happy bacteria into your gut. Even kids can get used to the tangy flavour when you add fruit!
We all know about healthy bacteria and how good it is for our guts. We also know that many of the items in the store, especially yogurt and kefir, are full of added sugar, gums, and other questionable ingredients. After you've mastered DIY Yogurt, why not give kefir a try?
We've also gotten our kids used to eating Raw Sauerkraut. Just a quick spoonful at dinner on everyone's plate and we're feeling good! Sometimes though, they do love a sweet little treat, and frankly, so do I. Dairy kefir is a great way to get this bacteria into kids without feeling bored of a bowl of yogurt every day at breakfast.
Key Ingredients
Kefir - I much prefer grains as they last basically forever and keep on working. They also multiply so you can share!
Milk - Full fat milk makes for the creamiest final product, but you can also use your skimmed milk.
How to Make Dairy Kefir From Grains
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Add hydrated grains to a mason jar, at least a pint and a half but larger is fine.
Step 2: Top jar off with fresh milk.
Step 3: Cover with a straining/sprouting lid, or use cheesecloth.
Step 4: After 12-48 hours, when tangy and thick, strain out the grains.
Step 5: If not using a straining lid, get a strainer that sits over a jar or measuring cup.
Step 6: Refrigerate the kefir and start all over!
How to Store and Serve Kefir
Kefir, being a dairy product, needs to be stored in the fridge. It should last 2-3 weeks in a jar! Just make sure it doesn't smell funky and you're good to go. Otherwise feed it to the pigs and chicken. It won't continue to ferment once the grains are removed.
Going on vacation or too busy to feed your kefir daily? Move it to the fridge and the grains will become sleepy and not ferment as quickly. You'll still want to swap out the milk every week or so. It might not be as thick, but it's still fine to drink.
If you have ever purchased flavoured kefir at the store, you might be wondering how to replicate that. you can easily puree fruit, fresh or frozen, and stir it right in. You'll get a beautiful colour and add sweetness. And if you need some sweetness to get your kids to enjoy a glass, go ahead and add some maple syrup. It's also perfect in smoothies in place of some or all of your milk.
FAQs
This is one place where plastic is best! The grains do NOT like reactive metals, like aluminum. Purchase a nylon or plastic strainer with small holes so you don't lose any grains, and don't upset them. Stainless steel should be fine as it is non-reactive. Don't stir or transfer grains with metal utensils, either!
Kefir is a mesophilic culture while yogurt is a thermophilic culture. What this means is that milk kefir can be made at room temperature whereas yogurt has to be made in a controlled temperature of around 100-112° Fahrenheit. Milk kefir can be a countertop or pantry operation which simplifies matters.
Grains are often sold dehydrated, and you can also dehydrate your own! As you keep making kefir, the grains will grow (see the large ones in the strainer above!) and also create new baby grains. The more/larger you have in your jar, the faster they work. If things start getting too tangy for you, simply split them into two jars or share with friends. You can give them to someone covered with fresh milk for them to use right away, or dehydrate them to store in the freezer.
If your grains are dehydrated, they will need to activate in milk before they work well. Change out your milk daily (just enough to cover them) until the grains look soft/wet and your milk begins to thicken. Then they will start to work on a whole jar of milk.
I have read it is best to activate dry grains with pasteurized milk. You also, just like with yogurt, don't want to use UHT milk as too much has been killed to work. If you have very active grains that are making delicious kefir, you can go ahead and try using raw milk in your jars. Just see how things go! Sheep and goat milk will also work well.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
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Dairy Kefir
Equipment
- Small strainer nylon or plastic; stainless steel is ok
- Mason jar at least a quart
- Cheesecloth or sprouting lid
Ingredients
- Kefir grains
- Milk I love whole milk
Instructions
- Add milk to kefir grains in your mason jar. Keep at room temperature away from windows, garbage cans, and other ferments which may contaminate your kefir with other bacteria.
- Add a small holed sprouting lid, cheese cloth etc…so that it can breathe while keeping insects, especially fruit flies, out of your batch
- Ferment for 12-48 hours. Timing is dependent on many factors such as temperature, kefir grain health, type of milk used. The best indicator that your milk kefir is complete is that it will become somewhat thickened or solidified. It may or may not have a tangy fizziness, but if it is not solidified by 48 hours, strain milk out, discard milk and rinse kefir grains with fresh water and try again with fresh milk in a warmer spot.
- If you acquired dehydrated kefir grains, you will have to go through a longer process of rehydrating your grains which takes 4-7 days of soaking grains in milk every day and straining out the milk and re-soaking until kefir solidifies.
- There should be no off putting odours to your completed kefir.
- Once milk kefir is complete strain into another glass vessel and add fresh milk to your grains to start the process again or store in a refrigerator with a lid on to slow down fermentation.
Notes
- Make sure ALL jars and equipment are super clean, and don't even have soap residue. These could all interfere with your ferment.
- Keep all ferments separated on your counter, as well as away from bread dough or cheese.
- You can add pureed fruit or maple syrup to sweeten and make new flavours.
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