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Someone actually said to me, “even a couple of minutes a day adds up and I’m pretty busy.” I’ve heard a lot of people say take this position until they go through some kind of health problem or see a loved one go through a health problem, then they find the time.
Why wait to make healthy changes?
As far as time, a trip to the store probably takes at least 30 minutes, plus the use of your car and the cost of gas. If you just pick up some Kefir when you’re already at the store that’s great, but it’s probably ten times more expensive, and it’s definitely not fresh. Oh, and of course you’re creating more waste or recyclable material rather than reusing something.
For all that awesome fresh Kefir and sustainable goodness you need to break free of your crazy schedule and find not 4 minutes, not 5, but just 3.
You will need:
- A glass jar
- Rubberband
- Coffee filter
- Organic milk
- Bowl and strainer (optional chopstick)
- Kefir grains
We got our Kefir grains mail-order about 3 years ago from this site, Happy Herbalist. The grains reproduce pretty prolifically and we give them away, eat them, and feed them to the pack. I’ve started other batches with grains from Yemoos and am very happy with the results.
…….
Questions:
Isn’t it bad to use a metal spoon?
It is bad to store your kefir (or anything acid) in a metal container for a prolonged period of time, because they can have a leaching effect on the metal. It is not a problem to stir your kefir with a metal spoon.
Should I rinse my kefir grains?
Do not rinse your kefir grains. Rinsing them washes away their protective coating, can damage them, and stunt their growth.
Why do you use so many grains?
There are several reasons for this, but mainly because I want to remove as much of the sugar as possible. The longer you ferment, the lower the sugar content will be. We’ve also had to do this with kombucha so that our diabetic or sugar sensitive friends and drink it without spiking their blood sugar. This can make for some very sour kombucha, so we dilute it with water and ice.
We also like to make thick, sour kefir for the taste, so we let our grains go for a while before we split them. We use the thicker kefir in shakes and salad dressings, and our dogs actually prefer the sour kefir mixed with their food. Since I am making kefir for my family, I make it the way we enjoy it, and you can make yours the way you enjoy it. 🙂 Also, as with any fermented food, the length of fermenting time determines the chemical makeup. You can find studies of this on google which show that certain chemical compounds will not even show up until you do a longer ferment. So as with anything, it’s probably best to do a variety of shorter and longer ferments.
What is the proper length of time to ferment kefir?
Kefir is generally ready in 24-48 hours. Different people have different tastes – make what is appealing to you! 48 hours is usually the maximum time you should go before ‘feeding’ your grains with fresh milk. After straining, some people will put their kefir into another container for a second ferment, often adding an orange slice.
Do I have to use raw milk?
You can use whatever milk you have available, but you should always use the healthiest (least processed and most nutrient dense) you can find. In California it became harder and harder to buy raw milk at the store, and quite expensive. At one point we were paying almost $10 for a half gallon of low fat milk. Raw whole milk (cream left in) was even more expensive. Because of the cost and availability we would rotate between different types of milk, using raw whenever we could. We now live in another state and have better access to affordable raw milk.
Bottom line, people make kefir to get the probiotic benefit. Make it with the healthiest milk you can get.
Can I use use water kefir grains and milk kefir grains interchangeably?
No, they are not interchangeable. You need milk kefir grains to make milk kefir.
What is your experience with ‘dried’ kefir grains?
I have never used them.
If you have more questions, many Culture distributors have additional information.
Happy Herbalist – How to Make Kefir
Happy fermenting!
Making Kefir in 3 Minutes a Day by Brad Rowland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
What organisms are in kefir grains?
Is the idea that the “good” bacteria outcompete the “bad” in hand-to-hand kitchen cupboard combat over two days?
Is there an optimal temperature?
What are the advantages of kefir over, say, yogurt?
Thanks!
Hi Roxanne – I’m linking a resource that has the full (very long) list of the critters that live in Kefir. Also this guys site is great and I read through the very helpful “how to” guides when we started. He also answered questions via email when I was just completely lost on something, and everything he’s shipped to us has been alive, healthy, high quality (cheap) – so I recommend him.
The bottom line for me on Kefir vs. Yogurt? I’m lazy and it was the first one I learned how to make. Also the grains (bacterial colonies) reproduce easily and you just change the milk like in the video so it’s super easy. The grains are edible, don’t have much taste, and have the consistency of a soft gummy bear. You normally just drink the kefir, but when you get too many grains the milk ferments too quickly, so you just throw some out, eat them, feed to dogs, etc. You generally only need a tablespoon for a cup of milk to ferment within 24-48 hours (depending on temp of your cupboard, your taste for the sourness, etc).
After we got our Kombucha system up and running (our first fermented food), we wanted to add our second fermented food (we’re now up to 4) and this one seems to cover us on a fermented milk option – so honestly I just haven’t gotten around to trying yogurt. There are also some yogurt makers with little covered cups and a hot plate that make it look pretty fast and simple to get daily yogurt, and the start up is the same – you order yogurt culture mail order (fresh or powder) and add it to the milk.
Normally the first batch or two you throw away, because the cultures are coming out of a slight dormancy from being shipped and as you said above, since the “good” out-compete the “bad” you don’t want to chance eating old milk until your cultures have come up to speed again. it’s pretty obvious when they do, the curds and whey separate, and it smells like strong, sour yogurt smell. It should stay a whitish color, although sometimes when we leave ours for 3 days it gets a pink or yellow tinge — I’ve always eaten it anyway, although it gets pretty potent and needs to be mixed with fruit, honey, or something.
One time we went out of town for four or five days and forgot about them. I think they had started to go dormant so we started the process again, and discarded the first batch or two until the grains were back up to manufacturers spec.
The temp that we always use is ‘cupboard temp’ which varies throughout the year in our house. With most fermenting it just slows down when it gets colder and speeds up when it gets warmer. For instance I’ve had beer go through it’s initial fermentation in a range of 2 to 8 days for the ~identical recipe~ depending on the temp of our house, winter to summer.
If you’re in a mobile kitchen you may have some more dramatic temp fluctuations than we do. There is a note on the link below that says some people put the jar on a heating pad (i’m assuming very low or lowest heat) to generate Kefir more quickly, so a hot cupboard probably wouldn’t hurt it.
http://www.happyherbalist.com/how_to_kefir.htm
Also here’s another recommendation if you’re fermenting foods on the road – an alternative to a ceramic crock type fermenter. This one has a locking lid and airlock, probably a good “no spill” system, and the gizmo inside the jar keeps everything from sloshing around. they come in a jillion sizes from small to giant. We just got ours last week and are just about to start using it.
http://www.pickl-it.com/
Great video Brad, you certainly show how incredibly easy it is to make your own kefir. I like the fact that it’s sustainable i.e. what you don’t use today gets put back and used for tomorrow.
EcoExpert
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Hi, I have just watched your video and need to know… At about day 2, when my kefir is in a jar and sitting in the cupboard, I start to see a clear fluid at the bottom of my Kefir jar. If i let the kefir sit longer more, almost clear yellowish liquid increases. What is this liquid and why is it appearing?
Thank you so much!
Judy
Hi Judy – that’s normal. The clear fluid is the “whey.” Whey is the cloudy, yellowish liquid that is leftover after milk is curdled. It’s packed full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. You can mix it back into the kefir, or you can use it for other cooking projects, like this list below.
http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2011/06/16-ways-to-use-your-whey.html
Good luck!
Thank you so much Brad!! I am so greatful for the Kefer and am so so relieved I don’t have to start over from scratch!!
Thank you too for the link. I will look into it after exploring your site.
Be well,
Judy
nice website, check my again http://kefirbrasil.com/ cheers
Thank you, I’d love to read your site but I don’t speak portuguese!
🙂