Raw grass fed milk is a perfect, complete food. But it's even BETTER for you if you make it into kefir.
What is kefir?
Kefir is a creamy cultured dairy product kind of like drinkable yogurt. It is a powerhouse that builds immune function, soothes and heals the gut, has anti-cancer properties, and decreases the severity of allergies and asthma.
Yogurt is good, kefir is better. Let's look at their differences:
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I have a yogurt incubator, and sometimes I work up enough gumption to make yogurt.
Kefir is so easy I make it every day. It's not a hassle. Kefir is the foundation of my family's breakfasts. My son and I like ours with frozen berries and maple, my husband likes his made into a smoothie with a banana and berries. So easy, so nutritious.
What is a SCOBY?
We often call them "grains", but they are not a cereal grain like wheat or oats. Milk kefir grains are Symbiotic Colonies Of Bacteria and Yeasts that look like pieces of cauliflower. If you are familiar with kombucha SCOBY, water kefir tibicos, or vinegar mother, it is the same kind of thing.
Milk kefir SCOBY grains are amazing. Dozens of beneficial bacteria and yeasts come together to create a self propogating super-organism. They build a structure that is not a single organism, but is a complex community of many organisms living in symbiotic relationship with each other that grows and multiplies in favorable conditions.
Kefir grains are removed from a finished batch of kefir and added to fresh milk to create more kefir in approximately 24 hours of culturing time. It's easy because you do not have to worry about competing microbes that might contaminate it (although you should start with milk that has not soured), and the milk does not need to be heated.
Milk kefir grains require real dairy milk to sustain them long term. Milk kefir grains and water kefir grains or tibicos are not the same thing and are not interchangable. People sometimes make natural soda out of fruit juice by fermenting milk kefir grains in it, but they need real milk most of the time to survive.
When you first get your kefir grains, they will probably be somewhat dormant due to having been shipped or refrigerated. Don't be surprised if they take an extra day or two
to wake up.
Steps to Making Milk Kefir
Put kefir grains into a jar that is big enough to hold your desired amount of finished kefir. A quart size wide mouth mason jar is a good option.
Fill the jar up with milk that is straight from the fridge. (No need to warm it.)
Set the jar in a place that stays around 70F (+/- 5F).
Wait 24 hours.
Scoop the grains out into a bowl. They should be floating on top, and the milk should no longer be the liquid consistency of fresh milk. It should be clabbered.
Pour the clabbered milk into a blender and blend it for 30 seconds, till smooth. Pour this finished kefir into a container for drinking.
Put the grains back into the SAME jar that held yesterday's culturing milk, fill with cold milk, and repeat. Wipe the mouth of the jar so that it stays clean. The residual clabber in the jar helps the next batch work faster. I change the fermenting jar every few months. When I use a new, clean jar, it take longer to clabber the next day. It helps if you add a little clabbered milk to a clean jar along with the grains.
(optional) Chill the finished kefir before drinking if you want it to be cold and thicker.
Putting a lid on the jar helps the top of the jar not get crusty, although a lid is not strictly necessary. If you want your kefir to be more effervescent, you can experiment with capping the jar tightly to hold in carbon dioxide, to increase carbonation.
Kefir grains are pretty scrappy, but it is possible to kill them if you try hard enough. When they are happy, they will multiply and get to be too much for the amount of milk you are culturing. Save the extra for back-up:
Take some grains out, put them in a small jar covered with milk, label and date it, and put it in the back of your fridge. They will last months, even a year, like that.
Kefir DON'TS
don't freeze or dry extra grains, they tend to not bounce back well
don't start with dried or frozen grains, in my exerience they won't work well (even if you buy them from an online store that looks reputable)
don't put culturing kefir in a place that is too warm (above 75F)
Troubleshooting Kefir
Kefir is super easy to make, but of course things can go wrong. It's usually an easy fix.
Milk doesn't clabber in 24 hours:
-The grains were recently in shipping or refrigeration and will take a couple of days to reactivate.
-You are leaving the jar to culture in a place that is too cold. Make sure the spot is at least 65F.
-You just changed the fermenting jar and there wasn't any residual kefir coating the jar to help innocculate the new batch. For now, remove the grains, pour the partly cultured milk into your blender, and set the blender pitcher in a hot water bath for a half hour until it clabbers. Then blend it smooth. For long term help, next time you change the fermenting jar, pour in a little clabbered milk along with the grains into the clean jar.
-You just decreased the amount of grains in your milk. For now, put the partly cultured milk into your blender pitcher and put the pitcher into a hot water bath until clabbered. For the future, adding a little of the clabbered milk along with the grains to a new batch helps it clabber faster.
Milk has separated to curds and whey in 24 hours:
Please note that this is not ruined. You can still remove the grains and blend it for a great kefir. It will be a little tangier than usual, but it's still really good! Or you could drain the curds in a tea towel for a tangy farmer's cheese.
-Too much grains for the amount of milk. Reduce the amount of grains. You can eat them, feed them to pets, or save them for back up.
-The jar is in a place that is too warm. Not only does this cause the milk to ferment faster, but if it stays too warm too long, the grains will begin to disintigrate and stop propogating. Make sure that your kefir jar sits in a place that is not warmer than 75F.
Kefir is chunky, not velvety smooth:
-Put the clabbered milk through a blender after removing the grains.
Kefir grains don't float to the top:
-This often happens with grains that were frozen, freeze dried, or dehydrated. Find someone who has fresh, active grains. If you don't know of a local source, it is possible to find sellers online who can successfully ship fresh grains.
Kefir grains start to disintigrate and fall apart:
-They are too warm. Keep your jar in a place that is not warmer than 75F.
There is slime in my kefir grains:
-Believe it or not, this is a feature, not a fault! This is kefiran, an amazing substance that is responsible for many of the health benefits of kefir like soothing inflammation. You don't always see it, but be happy that it's there if you do!
Kefir FAQ's
What if I want to take a break from making kefir every day, or if I need to go on vacation?
Kefir is does fine if you refrigerate it occasionally. Cover the grains with milk and put them in the fridge. They might take an extra day to bounce back when you start using them again, but they will be fine.
What kind of milk will kefir grow in?
You can literally put the grains in any kind of mammalian milk and they will be happy. It could be cow, goat, sheep, camel, --heck, even human--milk. And it will grow in raw milk or the most processed pasteurized and homogenized milk that you can buy at the store. Even previously frozen milk is fine.
What if I forgot to remove the grains before blending it and now they are gone?
I think everyone who has kept kefir long enough has done this. Salvage out whatever bits you can. It helps to run the kefir through a sieve to catch the bits. It will be a little tedious when it comes time to remove the grains for the next few batches until they get bigger. The good news is that because of the increased surface area, it takes a smaller volume of grains to culture a given amount of milk.
Or you can just drink the bits of blended up grains and replace it with your back-up grains.
What if I am lactose intolerant?
Please see this blog about lactose intolerance.
But if you are truly lactose intolerant, much of the lactose in kefir has been converted to lactic acid (that's what makes it tart), so it is better tolerated by lactose intolerant individuals than fresh milk.
Can I use store bought kefir as a starter to make my own kefir (in stead of grains)?
Yes and no. The culture that American store bought kefir is made from is not authentic SCOBY grains, but a blend of lab selected bacteria and yeasts that aproximate those found in real SCOBY. They are good for you, but lack the powerful impact that authentic kefir delivers. If you use this as a starter in place of grains, and continue to propogate it over time with previous batches, the culture will eventually become contaminated and stop yielding something that resembles kefir. It will take on cheesy or other undesireable flavors.
I bought kefir culture that is powder, not grains. Why is that?
This is the same thing as the previous statement. It will yield something similar to kefir for a while, and then get contaminated if you keep using your kefir as starter for new batches. Lab selected cultures never deliver the same vitality as wild cultures.
Does kefir have any side effects?
Yes. Robust health.
But seriously, it may cause a couple unpleasant side effects at first if you aren't used to it, such as bloating or gas. This is because the friendly microbes are fighting off the pathogenic microbes that had been occupying your gut. Look at it as a sign that things are getting healthier in there.
My Kefir Grain Exchange
Because I and several of my milk customers make kefir, we often find ourselves with a surplus of grains. We put them in the refrigerator in my milk room here on the farm for others to take. They cost $5, or are free with a purchase of raw milk. I invite you to contact me if you want some grains to try making this amazing super food for yourself!
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