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All About Kefir! I've been enjoying making my own kefir, and am excited about sharing it with my readers here! Kefir is very nutritious, and making kefir is extremely easy. I'm so thrilled about such an affordable, healthy "treat"! What is kefir? Kefir is fermented milk (pretty much any kind of milk can be used*). It looks like a somewhat curdled milk, or a runny yogurt. It can be bought at a store or made at home. What are kefir grains? Kefir culture or "grains", which are used to make kefir, look like white, semi-clear cauliflower florets. The kefir culture is referred to as "grains", though it shouldn't be confused with the ordinary sort of "grain", which usually comes to mind. Kefir grains are a combination of yeasts and bacteria, along with some sugars and proteins. Kefir grains aren't "made", but rather grow as they are cultured.  How is kefir made? Kefir is made by combining kefir grains with milk. The mixture is allowed to sit at room temperature for 12 hours or longer; the kefir is then strained and the grains are used again. The resulting fermented milk is the kefir! What does kefir taste like? Kefir has a soured smell, and tastes very similar to plain yogurt. I think it resembles buttermilk after about 12 hours of fermentation, or a runny sour cream after 24+ hours of fermentation. If you like yogurt, you will like kefir! Even if you don't particularly care for plain yogurt, there are still many yummy ways to enjoy kefir. :) Why should we eat kefir? Kefir has all the great health benefits of yogurt, and MUCH more! Kefir is full of probiotics and vitamins. It's also easy to make and easy to digest (the yeast in the grains feeds on lactose in the milk)!  How do I make homemade kefir? Making homemade kefir is very simple! For every tablespoon of kefir grains, you will need a 7-8 tablespoons of milk (about one cup total, with the grains). Just place the milk and grains in a glass jar, cover loosely, and store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 12-24 hours. Strain, and enjoy your fresh kefir! (Kefir will keep in the refrigerator for months!) Add the grains to fresh milk, to make another batch of kefir. It's so simple and quick to make homemade kefir! (More detailed instructions and photos about making your own kefir can be found here.) What are some ways to eat kefir? Some people like to drink plain kefir. If you like plain yogurt, you will like plain kefir. A common way to eat kefir is by making a kefir fruit smoothie. The kefir adds a creamy tartness and, of course, lots of probiotics and extra nutrition! Kefir can also be used as a substitute for buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt in various recipes. This can depend on the recipe and how long you've cultured the batch of kefir, since the kefir gets more tangy the longer it cultures. Personally, I don't care for plain milk or plain yogurt. I have never enjoyed drinking milk! I've tried drinking kefir, even very mild kefir, and I can't stand it. However, I love making fruit smoothies with kefir! I've been putting kefir on my taco salad instead of sour cream (think: quick and easy buttermilk dressing!). And since homemade kefir is cheaper than yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk, there are endless ways to use it if you want to get creative!  How can I obtain my own kefir grains? To make kefir, you will need to obtain some kefir grains. A tablespoon is enough to get you started making kefir. The easiest way to obtain some kefir culture is to get some from a friend who is making kefir. Here is a list of people who either sell or give away (sometimes free to local pick-up, or just for the cost of shipping) kefir grains. (You have to email the individuals through that webpage for details.) Try to obtain kefir grains, not just a "starter", which is sometimes sold. Kefir grains can be used "forever", whereas "starters" can only be used 7 times or so. I got my grains from a very generous friend-of-a-friend. The grains have tripled in size during the past 4-5 weeks I've had them, and I've gone from making one cup of kefir each day, to two. Soon, I'll set aside a "back-up supply" of grains. Then, any excess growth can be passed on to others. You can listen to a short podcast about my kefir beginnings here. *Many types of milk may be used to culture kefir, but kefir grains that are cultured in non-mammalian milk will cease growing. Consider using your excess grains to culture soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, etc. We make kefir also. Only we make it differently, if you take raw (must be) milk and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours, it becomes thick like yogurt only a little more jelly-like. It tastes like plain yogurt, my mom makes fruit smoothies with it and it is delicious. :)  So you make kefir without the kefir grains? :) Wouldn't that just be soured milk? I've never had raw milk, so I'm not sure exactly what it does. It sounds like yours gets thicker than kefir, since kefir is runnier than yogurt. :) Yes, you make it without the kefir grains. No, it doesn't go bad. If it was store-bought milk it would. The milk cannot be pasturized. It gets thick like yogurt, so no it isn't runny like kefir. I have had kefir(made with the grains) also. If it is bubbly on top it is bad. It should be clear like glass. And you must skim off the cream. (It can't be homogonized either). (That was me that commented before, I wasn't logged in.) :P Well, I understand that the raw milk doesn't "go bad" when it's left out, but I don't think it's technically kefir just because it's left at room temperature (without kefir grains to culture it). ;) Kefir, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk... all of these things are somewhat similar, but not the same. They may taste or look alike, but they have some different properties. :) I'm not sure if you're referring to the kefir or the raw milk being bubbly or needing to be clear on top, skimming the cream, etc... My kefir separates as it cultures, of course, with the clear part being the whey. It is slightly "stringy" (like yogurt) when I pour it into a bowl. And I use milk from the grocery store, so it is homogenized. Obviously, it would be even healthier with raw whole milk, but that's not an option for me right now. :) I've been wanting to make yogurt for awhile, but am not clear how to go about it. We've recently been getting raw milk from a local farm, and I know it would be more beneficial and easily absorbed by the body if we turned it into kefir or yogurt. I love reading your website, Tammy! It gives me lots of ideas, although we try not to use much dairy or white flour. So, would kefir grains work on powdered milk? Because that's what we normally use, since it's cheaper. Thanks, Hi, Anna! I haven't made yogurt, though I've heard that it's very easy, as well. :) I'm not sure if kefir can be cultured in powdered milk. I'm guessing powdered milk would be probably a last resort of milk choices, since it's usually fat-free and about the farthest thing from raw/fresh milk. I did some searching, but didn't see anything saying whether or not it was okay. Thanks for your comment, and welcome, by the way! :)  Tammy, thank you for the wonderful post on Kefir! My dad was hospitalized 4 years ago for a near-fatal accident and was on large doses of antibiotics. I purchased some kefir from a local health food store as a probiotic source for him. It was quite pricey, but he enjoyed it and I purchased it several more times during his 3 month stay. I have not purchased any for myself since then, but I have been curious nonetheless. I was thrilled to find 2 sources not far from my parents, so I thank you for passing along this information! Just yesterday, (the day I think you posted this) my husband and I went to see some friends in another state. My friend offered me some of her kefir grains and even though I had heard about kefir I did not know anything about it really but brought them home. How surprisingly wonderful to come to your site this morning and find instructions! I cannot wait to try. Thank you! Vicky, thanks for your comment! :) You'll have to let me know how it goes if you get some kefir grains! :) Shoshana, wow! That is really amazing! :D Thanks for all of the info. I just have one question. How do you store the grains when not making kefir? Or do you just continue the cycle and use the grains everday by making kefir continually? I saw that you said that you can freeze or dry them, but is putting them in the fridge okay? How about leaving them at room temp? In the jar with the lid on? Hi, Kristen! :) You can make kefir every day, but if you get tired of it or need a break, there are several ways to store the grains. One way is to put the kefir in a jar with the normal amount of milk used to culture the grains, and put the jar in the fridge, loosely covered. The milk needs to be drained and replaced once a week. If you won't be able to replace the milk every week, add extra milk for each week you won't be able to tend to them. (e.g. for one tablespoon of grains, put 1 cup of milk for one week, 1.5 cups of milk for two weeks, etc.) The grains can also be frozen or dried, as a back-up supply or for future use, but that is more for long-term storage. :) Hope this helps! :) My local health food store sells dried grains in a small package. I also like yogurt but not milk. Perhaps I will give it a try. *waves* Thanks for Kefir 101! This is lil_irish_lass from LiveJournal...I asked about kefir and two different people referred me here. :D And it was worth the referral, what a great write-up! Now I feel much more confident (my first batch is culturing right now) :) Hi, Melissa! :) I'm glad the photos and instructions were helpful! I'm sure your kefir will be great! It's one of those things that's SO simple, yet there's a lot of information out there about it... and it can be confusing (at least, it was to me!) unless you've seen someone making or it tried it yourself! :) Hello! Thanks again for such a well done post on Kefir! Dora Renee' Wilkerson Hi, I love the idea of making my own kefir. If I wanted to make 2 cups of kefir per day how much milk would I use per day? Thanks Use about 2 cups of milk (and about 2 tablespoons of kefir grains) if you want 2 cups of kefir. Since the grains are strained out of the kefir and used again, the amount of kefir you end up having is the same as the amount of milk you used. :) Tammy, Donna, you can strain out the kefir grains and store the kefir in a container in the fridge for "a long time". Supposedly for months, though I haven't kept any that long myself! :) awesome! I don't know if you can actually mess this up or not. I just tried to make kefir for the first time with yogourment kefir starter using ultra-pasteurized goat milk and the directions on the back. It never curdled even after 48 hours. It just got thick and sour smelling. Do you think it is safe to drink even though I left it out that long? Hmmm... my kefir doesn't really "curdle", at least, nothing like cottage cheese or something. It does get thick, but not as thick as yogurt. Your 48-hour kefir is probably safe to drink (some people actually like culturing it for longer than 24 hours!), but I haven't had any experience with kefir "starter" -- which I think is the limited-use version of kefir grains, and can only be cultured a certain number of times before "wearing out" and then you have to purchase more?? Real kefir grains continue to grow as they're cultured and actually multiply. The only other thing I can think of is that if you're using kefir grains, sometimes the first couple of batches of kefir taste funny when made after switching kinds of milk. For example, if I was culturing my grains in cow's milk from the store and then I gave you some of my grains and you started using them in goat's milk, the first few batches of kefir would be different as the grains "adjust" to the different milk. hi Tammy! I'm curious you mentioned making soy, rice and coconut milk. How would one go about making it? My family and I can't digest cow's milk that well so we drink the alternative. Jules---too lazy to sign in lol Hi, Jules! I've never made my own soy, rice, or coconut milk, but I'm sure a Google search would yield some directions and instructions on making your own! :) Kefir grains can be cultured in various types of milk. The same grains are used, whether one is culturing cow's milk, goat's milk, soy milk, etc. The result would still be called "kefir", but made with a different kind of milk. :) One of the differences, though, is that kefir grains cultured in non-mammalian milk will not continue growing as they otherwise would when cultured in milk from a mammal. :) Hope this helps! :) I misunderstood you Tammy, I thought you meant you could actually make soy, coconut and rice milk. Sorry about that! Makes total sense that you could use an alternative milk. Thanks for the info! ~Jules---I still need to login! Well, I know of at least one person who makes their own soy milk, so I'm sure there is info out there on making your own... I've just never done it myself. :) I took some kefir with me when away from home for a week. I thought I took one with the grains. I found I hadn't. It was just kefir. So I drank half and added milk to it every day and it kept making more. It got just as it does when I make it with the grains. Would it have had the same culter properties? Thanks......Donna Hi, Donna! My guess is that the kefir (without grains) can culture the milk (for how long, I don't know!) but I have no idea just how different it is from milk cultured with grains. :) We belong to a cow share program 9 months of the year and get raw milk. I just thawed one gallon that I had frozen in October and thought that I would try making kefir wih it. I got the yogourmet kefir starter which calls for heating the milk to boiling point before innoculating it with the culture which had been added to a small portion of the cooled milk beforehand. It has been sitting for more than 24 hours and has not curdled. Does frozen milk make a difference? The yogourmet calls for 2% milk. This is whole. Could that make a difference? None of your threads mentions heating the milk. I didn't use a thermometer. Maybe it wasn't heated enough? Would appreciate some feedback. It seems like such an easy thing to do. Ooops, I think this comment slipped through the cracks, and I never answered! :| Honestly, I don't know much of anything about the kefir "starters" except that they are for a limited number of uses, and it's much better to have actual kefir grains, which continue to grow. And, I'm not sure about using milk that has been frozen... I haven't read that it's okay or NOT okay... Sorry I can't be of more help! Dear Tammy, Hi, Sandra! I'm not entirely sure, since I've only cultured kefir in dairy milk, but I think it takes a long time for the kefir grains to stop "working" if you just use non-dairy milk. You could always keep a few in some milk so your supply (of grains) doesn't vanish, and use the rest in the rice or oat milk, and see how long they last! :) Like I said, I think they last a long time still... I'd keep using them until the grains seemed like they weren't really culturing the milk much... I was interested in the comments made about the kefir without animal milk. Tammy: I really enjoy kefir, and drank it often while pregnant (although I could never quite stomach the plain stuff! I used it for smoothies, or drank it flavored!). I'm breastfeeding now, and my daughter shows a distinct sensitivity to dairy. I know that kefir is more easily digested -- is this just a lactose thing? Or would it actually affect the protein (which, in my understanding, causes the sensitivity)? Any idea whether kefir will affect her or if it would be ok to try? Thanks! I am not an expert here... I have heard that kefir contains less lactose (little? or none? I am not sure...) and is easier on the stomachs of those who are lactose-intolerant. I'm not sure about other dairy sensitivities... Anyone else have any input here?? :) I have been away for 2 weeks and the kefir definitely smells bad. Can these grains be "rinsed" and reused or do I have to start over? I don't know for sure, but here is what I would do if it were me: Rinse the grains with some good water (distilled or else boiled) and put them in fresh milk. Change the milk for a few days and see if they get back to "normal"! From what I have read, the only danger of leaving kefir grains in the same milk for too long is that they have nothing to "eat" and they die. As long as the grains haven't "died" then they should be fine, even if they were in some rather icky milk for a bit. I haven't tried this first-hand, though. But if it were me I would try to salvage the grains before just getting new ones... :) Hi Tammy, Thanks for your response. You can still use the "runny lumpy" kefir if you like the taste! It's pretty difficult to truly ruin kefir, aside from heating the grains or not changing the milk for many days or something like that. :) If it were me, I'd keep on trying and see how subsequent batches turn out. :) I thought I'd mention that I make dairy kefir for my children every day, but am not drinking milk myself. So what I do is whenever I get some extra kefir grains (as they multiply) I rinse them well and use them to ferment fruit juice. I did try rice and soy milk, but found that it gave them such a sour, curdled taste. bleck. However, the probiotics will still be in the fruit juice, so I can have the probiotic benefits too, even if I'm not drinking milk. Hi, First time at this web-site. Will the yeasts that grow in kefir aggravate someone allergic to brewers yeast and nutritional yeast flakes? I have no apparent allergy to yogurt, but was not sure about kefir. Thanks I'm not sure about yeast allergies, but I know kefir is similar to yogurt -- in taste and content -- though kefir is reportedly an even better probiotic than yogurt. Tammy I took my large grains and put them into my smoothie and just kept a really small grain to start growing all over again. The only problem is the grain is not growing. It is still fermenting the milk and I still get kefiran I believe but no growth are the grains dying or something this ever happen with any of your grains. Thanks for your time. John Hi Tammy, I have been making kefir with grains i bought for about a month or more. Recently my kefir seperates and is very thick on top and water on the bottom. It looks not like those round grains you show but like flat mushroomy things. What happened and am I going to kill us drinking it? i keep about 4 tbsp in 2 and a half cups of milk and change it 24 hrs. Post new comment |
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Tammy, thanks for this explanation! I had wondered what kefir was. Since people say grains, I was thinking barley or oats. I make my own yogurt from starter or from packets of powder. Then I drain it for sour cream.