Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Make your own Raw Milk Kefir

Making kefir with fresh raw milk is much superior to buying kefir made from pasteurized, homogenized milk. Here's how:

1) Get some kefir grains from a good source. I often have them to share, so just contact me.
2) When you get them, they will be covered with raw milk.
3) When you receive your first batch, strain the kefir grain/milk mixture through a STAINLESS STEEL strainer into a GLASS bowl. The kefir grains will remain in the strainer and the kefir will drain into the bowl. Throw this first batch of kefir away. You are now ready to start your own personal batch.
4) Using a plastic spoon or rubber spatula  (no metal), scoop the kefir grains into a glass jar with a lid. I just use an old pickle jar.
5) Cover the kefir grains with raw milk. How much milk depends upon the amount of kefir grains you have and how fast you want the milk to ferment into kefir. If I sent you your starter batch, you would have received about 2 tbsp. of grains. Pour about 3/4 cup of fresh, raw milk over the grains. (As your grains multiply, you can increase the amount of milk, yielding more kefir per batch).
6) Put the lid on the jar and store the kefir grains in a warm place where they will not be disturbed. In my home, the temperature ranges from about 68-75 degrees. This is warm enough for kefir to ferment in about a day to a day and a half. You will get to know when it is thick enough for you. At that point, put it in the refrigerator for a day or so. The longer it ferments, the thicker it becomes and will start to separate into curds and whey. You can simple stir to blend again, or pour of the whey to use for fermented veggies, etc.
7) Now strain the kefir grain milk mixture as in step three. This time, you keep the kefir to consume! Now, start the whole process over; grains in a glass jar, cover with milk, etc.

You can drink the kefir plain (tastes similar to plain yogurt), mix with fruit or juice or NingXia Red, or mix in a smoothie. Yum!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via phone or text 661-309-2259 or at drdeb4u@yahoo.com

2 comments:

  1. If the raw milk has soured a bit, is it still ok to use to make kefir?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's fine to use slightly soured milk!

    ReplyDelete