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 I don’t even know how that came about now that I am thinking about it, I was fascinated that I could take raw milk and these ancient cultures and make a totally awesome drink, on my counter with little effort and get a yummy liquid that I can do so many things with. Kefir is like yogurt on steroids & a hundred times easier to make.  Then when I read more I found out how to make kefir creamy and thick, like a yogurt/mousse! Kefir is great for lactose intolerant folks,  little to no sugar, has fiber, vitamins & minerals … here I will insert some paragraphs followed by the link they came from …

**The word “kefir” is derived from the Turkish word “keif”, which literally translates to the “good feeling” one has after drinking it. (1) Traditional cultures have attributed healing powers to kefir for centuries, but it has only recently become the subject of scientific research to determine its true therapeutic value**  Chris Kresser L. AC

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**Ingredients

I T. milk kefir

1 quart fresh raw milk

Instructions

1. Place milk kefir grains in the bottom of a clean mason jar. Cover with 1 quart fresh milk.

2. Very loosely, place the lid and band on the mason jar. You do not want to tighten it because, as with all fermentation, carbon dioxide is created and needs to escape. Culture for 24 – 48 hours at room temperature. For a for a thin, mild kefir you can culture for 12 hours.

3. Once culturing is complete, strain milk kefir into a new mason jar, cap and refrigerate. Begin reculturing a new batch of kefir, if desired or allow your kefir grains to rest in water in the refrigerator for a few days until you’re ready to make kefir again.**  Nourished Kitchen

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** Furthermore, “Kefir’s active yeast and bacteria provide more nutritive value than yogurt by helping digest the foods that you eat and by keeping the colon environment clean and healthy.
Because the curd size of kefir is smaller than yogurt, it is also easier to digest, which makes it a particularly excellent, nutritious food for babies, the elderly and people experiencing chronic fatigue and digestive disorders.”(3) **  Probiotic.org

Some more links for you to visit:  National Kefir Association  *  

Now how to make kefir –  or how I do anyway

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.

24 hr fermented kefir clearly separated whey from curds and cultures

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

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

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).

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 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

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

what the empty jar looks like

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

Cultures go back into fresh raw milk

I always clean my jar in-between batches

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

cool thick and not as tangy

another shot of 2 x 24 hr fermented kefir

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.

Now, any photos that look yellowish  is due to lighting.  Kefir is white and is a creamy color while fermenting, for me anyway but that could be the cream in our milk?  Anyway I love this stuff.  It fills you up, keeps you regular and is so good for you I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t try it and continue on with it.  There are always healthy ways to dress it up to get past the tang if it’s not your flavor. You can also ferment vegetable & fruits in Kefir, but I haven’t got that far with it.

Here is a link that gives you 16 different ways to use your whey   and one for making  a traditional ricotta cheese from whey.  Hopefully I did this well enough that it’s easy to understand.  If it is not please let me know and if you have  Questions?  ASK!! 🙂