Kefir – a quick tutorial

I have been asked to put together a tutorial on how I make kefir.  Understand I am no expert.  I have read a lot and have a lot to read.  My favorite site to learn from: Dom’s  He covers just about anything you could want to know, in detail. When I found out about kefir, and …

Kefir strained within 12 hours. No clear separation here. It’s runnier because the whey is more a part of it. It is quite tangy and has some real zip-zap to it. I know a gal that loves it this way. She says it makes the best smoothies.

Whey -don’t throw this away! There are so many things you can do with whey and it’s ver good for you! You can cook with it, feed it to your animals, make cheese …

1 x 24 hr kefir fermented until the whey clearly separates from the cultures and curd, finished a ready to go into the fridge

2 x 24 hour kefir with a smidge of maraschino cherry juice added gave me a dessert that tasted like tart cherry pie. It was wonderful! I added even more toward the end to see what it would be like, the sweetness seemed to ruin the good flavor.

Here is what 2 x 24 hour fermented kefir in the bowl looks like

2 x 24 hour kefir fermented going into the colander for whey straining

not much whey second time around but again save it – or you can leave it in the Kefir and whisk it in. No harm in that. It’s whatever floats your boat.

2 x 24 hour kefir that has been refrigerated

what the empty jar looks like

as the whey drains off you are left with a creamy white curd. The cultures are still in here at this point.

24 hr fermented kefir with whey poured into a colander for separation

Gently work the kefir thru the colander with a rubber spatula. Splatters you see here are from me dropping the colander onto the bowl to help the kefir through the colander (yes it works).

and here are the kefir cultures or “grains”. A little creamy but that is okay. No need to rinse them.

1 x 24 hr kefir strained and ready. You can refrigerate it like this, eat it now or ferment another 24 hrs in a bowl covered with a towel (this is what I do) It mellows that “zippy-zappy” tang

Cultures go back into fresh raw milk

I always clean my jar in-between batches

24 hr fermented kefir clearly separated whey from curds and cultures

another shot of 2 x 24 hr fermented kefir

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