Kefir is a fermented product made from milk (there is also kefir made from sugar water or coconut water) that’s chock full of probiotics and nutrients. I like kefir plain but it’s delicious with a bit of fruit, honey, or maple syrup added for flavor. However, I don’t like buying plastic bottles of, well, ANYTHING, from the store every week. The cost and plastic waste really add up, especially since my son can drink an entire 16-ounce bottle of kefir in one gulp… so I started making my own milk kefir to keep those healthy probiotics in our diets without spending a fortune.
There are several ways to make kefir and there are different strains of bacteria involved in each method. For these instructions, I am going to share step-by-step instructions to make milk kefir from store-bought kefir. This is super easy and the cost is minimal, plus you don’t need to find a source for a kefir starter kit to create a batch and keep it going.
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Milk Kefir Faq Frequently Asked Questions
Kefir, yogurt, sour cream, and many other cultured dairy products are available at the store… but you can make your own, too.
Kefir is similar to yogurt because both of these dairy products are inoculated with beneficial bacteria that convert the lactose (the sugar in milk) into lactic acid, giving the finished product a tart flavor. However, kefir and yogurt each contain different strains of bacteria (kefir may contain many more strains of probiotics than yogurt) and they ferment at different temperatures. Kefir also has a thinner consistency compared to yogurt and is even a little bit fizzy when fresh and full of active bacteria.
Kefir is good for most people because it can help you consume extra protein, feel full longer, and repopulate your gut with healthy probiotics. However, there are some people who should avoid consuming this probiotic-rich dairy product, plus it isn’t good for
Ultimate Milk Kefir Guide (how To Make It, Troubleshooting Tips & More!)
Or experience other problems after consuming kefir if their digestive system isn’t used to these bacterial strains. If you are having digestive issues, kefir MAY help but you should start out slow and increase your consumption of kefir and other probiotic-rich foods over time. Be sure to add prebiotic foods (including many fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) to feed the healthy bacteria in your gut, too.
If you are able to purchase milk kefir from the grocery store, you can use it to make a batch of super easy homemade kefir. All you need is milk, a pan, a thermometer, and a non-reactive container to incubate the culture.
It’s very important to start with a fresh container filled with live and active beneficial bacteria to start your new batch of kefir. I also recommend purchasing kefir which has a wide variety of bacterial strains to give your digestive system the benefit of even more probiotics to keep you healthy. These microbes help your body make the best use of the food you eat and give a great boost to your immune system, too.
Commercial Water Kefir Vs Home
The first time I made a batch of homemade kefir, I used a packet of dried starter culture purchased through one of my buying clubs. This method also worked very well, and I like the fact that there was minimal packaging plus the packets of culture remain viable for about 1 year when kept refrigerated.
To make a batch of easy milk kefir from dried starter culture you will follow the same instructions that I shared above, with one minor tweak. You’ll need to pour the dried culture into a clean bowl and add a few drops of the cooled milk at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. This will rehydrate the powder without causing lumps that could slow down the growth of your culture.
You may also purchase kefir grains to make your own easy kefir. The biggest difference between purchasing starter kefir (both in powdered form or plain kefir from the store) and kefir grains is that well-cared-for kefir grains may be re-used indefinitely, while powdered starter or liquid kefir may only be used a few times with care. Kefir grains cost more to get started and require some maintenance to keep them healthy. Because I’m always looking for more ways to increase my self-reliance, trying kefir grains is my next kitchen science project!
Can You Make Kefir From Prepared Kefir?
Water kefir grains are another option for making your own gut-healthy probiotics. I ordered mine through Azure Standard buying club and will be trying them soon!
A lot of people wonder what the big deal is and why would they bother drinking kefir or making it for themselves. Of course, it’s completely up to each of us to decide what is best for our health, budget, and time commitment.
If you have your own dairy animals, you can make kefir, yogurt, cottage cheese, queso fresco, and other cheeses with the excess milk.
Making Kefir Plant Based
Lisa Lombardo is the author of The Beginner's Guide to Backyard Homesteading and Organic Gardening for Beginners, and she writes about gardening and homesteading for this website and The New Homesteader's Almanac. Lisa grew up on a farm and has continued learning about horticulture, animal husbandry, and home food preservation ever since. She has earned an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture and a Bachelor of Fine Arts. The author lives outside of Chicago with her husband, son, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a variety of poultry.
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If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.. It is traditionally used as a probiotic drink, however, it’s also great for smoothies or as a buttermilk substitute. It can even thicken like yogurt!
Diy Project} Milk Kefir
I’m really lucky. My homemade kefir grains are descended from the culture that has been in my husband’s family for years. They are part of a tight-knit community from the Caucasus. The birthplace of milk kefir. So it’s quite likely that my kefir grains were brought over to Canada by some relation.
Homemade milk kefir is not the same as store-bought kefir. Store-bought kefir is usually just a mix of bacterial cultures, resulting in a drinkable yogurt. Because kefir is made from a symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria, it is not shelf-stable enough for grocery stores.
The most difficult part of making kefir is finding the kefir grains. Most health food stores carry a powdered “kefir” starter, which isn’t actually real kefir. It’s a bunch of the bacteria strains found in kefir and is not robust enough to be reculture more than just a few times.
Homemade Kefir Instant Pot Recipe
If you want to maintain your own colony of kefir grains then you need to either buy freeze-dried grains or make friends with someone who has grains.
When I was a Tracebridge, Katie’s grains were very different from mine. They were individual little grains that needed to be strained from the milk. So clearly there are a few varieties out there!
I highly recommend getting a larger cauliflower-like grain. It is so much easier to manage because it floats after it’s finished fermenting. So you just need to scoop it off the top of the milk. No need to strain the kefir.
Fresh Milk Kefir Grains
The recipe below provides information on how to make a single batch of kefir. Here are some more details for anyone wanting to know everything there is to know about milk kefir.
Really, milk kefir can be used as a replacement for buttermilk, yogurt, or milk. It can taste strong and sour, or mild and creamy depending on how long you culture it. If you find the flavor too strong, reduce your culturing time. It’s fine to culture it for only 4 to 6 hours if you prefer the taste!
We serve plain kefir as milk for breakfast. And since cereal is our usual weekday breakfast, we go through plenty of kefir!
Top 10 Kefir Beverages You Can Buy At Your Local Grocery Store
Kefir will naturally thicken during culturing. But it is a careful dance between lovely thick kefir, and separated over-cultured kefir. (Here’s a post on what to do with over-cultured kefir).
If you really want thick, yogurt-like kefir, then you will need to heat the milk to 180 F (80 C). This will denature the milk proteins allowing them to thicken when exposed to acid. Be sure to allow the milk to cool to room temperature before adding the kefir grains. Otherwise, you could accidentally kill your kefir grains.
Want to make milk kefir? Here’s everything you need to know about how to make your own probiotic and delicious kefir. It is so much easier than yogurt!
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