Kefir sours more the longer you leave it to ferment, this is due to the grains constantly breaking down the lactose in milk kefir. Lactose is the milk sugar that the mushrooms use as food. They then produce beneficial bacteria.
The beneficial bacteria you get in standard yogurt are known as ‘transient bacteria’. That is, they pass through your guts and don’t stay around long enough to have much of a beneficial impact. However, the bacteria in milk kefir at home actually colonise in the digestive tract. This can help with your digestion more substantially and for longer periods of time.
Making milk kefir at home means you can choose which milk to make it with. It is also a lot cheaper, and uses less plastic if any as compared to buying it in a shop. Making milk kefir yourself also means you can ferment it for as long as or as little you like.
Which milks can it be made with?
The best milk is organic animal milk, organic as it tastes much better in creaminess and animal ethics. As well, it shouldn’t contain the many chemicals fed to non-organic milk-producing animals. Skimmed to full fat are all fine, depends on how thick you like it. Skimmed turns out more like a drink, full fat turns out more like yogurt. My current favourite is goats milk or coconut milk (which needs to have some kind of sugars/food to feed the mushrooms) also works for short intervals. Animal milk seems to make the grains happiest in the long term. If using plant-based, it’s usually necessary to feed them animal milk once every few weeks to keep them alive!
How is it made?
The Kefir yogurt is made using Kefir grains/mushrooms placed into milk. After a day or so the yogurt is ready to be strained from the grains. It is ready to use immediately on its own or in a smoothy or milk shake.
Equipment Required:
- Plastic Sieve, 15 – 20cm diameter, whatever size fits best over your bowl (yes it needs to be plastic as metal can kill the grains/mushrooms, I got mine from a local cooks shop)
- Glass jar which will allow air out but not in (i.e. a Kilner Jar)
- Wooden spoon (need I say more, have a dedicated one for kefir)
- Ceramic, glass, china, any non-metal bowl, breakfast size should be the easiest to use
- Optional glass jar to store your kefir in after you’ve made it
Method:
Assuming you have a jar of kefir already with the mushrooms/grains in their fermented milk. However, if they’re just mushrooms in a bag, go ahead and pop them into your Kilner jar. Fill it with some milk, and close it, as they’re probably hungry!
If you don’t have a Kilner jar, check some other option so that gas escape during the process. This prevents the pressure potentially bursting your jar.
- Using a ceramic or glass bowl (I simply use a breakfast bowl), place your sieve inside it. Take your ready Kilner jar of kefir, give it a gentle swirl to mix it up, let it settle, and then slowly pour the contents into your sieve. Use your wooden spoon to take it out any bits stuck at the bottom, this is the good stuff!
- Gentle shake and tap the sieve to strain the kefir out and leave the mushrooms in the sieve. You may need to dunk it in the liquid in the bowl and gently stir to help mix up the liquids if it’s started to separate.
- Take a moment to wash out your Kilner jar with hot water (I use a little detergent to help get it clean). This isn’t essential, but if not then the jar gets scummy and the kefir will make REALLY quickly ).
- Once you’ve sufficiently strained the grains, pour your chosen milk into the clean and dry jar. Then carefully add your grains and close the jar! How much milk you put in, and how many mushrooms you have will denote how quickly it will ferment. Another factor is the temperature of the room, warmer temperature will wake the mushrooms/grains up. Meaning it will ferment more quickly.
After each batch you’ll notice that you have more grains, you can let them grow so you can make more kefir in less time. It is nice to share some with friends so they can make milk kefir too! You can also eat them for a super probiotic hit! If you let the grains accumulate, they will process your milk quickly! I quite like it when the milk turns sour and ferments a lot, you may not. How long you ferment for depends on all your variables. The easiest way to get it right for you is to experiment. Enjoy the process of making milk kefir at home.
If going away for more than a couple of days, put plenty of fresh milk with your grains, and leave them in the fridge. This should be ok for a couple of weeks but as soon as you can take them out and change the milk.
Why I love it:
1) It’s easily digested. Kefir also generally contains more than 50 beneficial strains of bacteria*.
2) I get to use organic cows milk! I always loved dairy growing up but later developed lactose intolerance. However, in this form, I can again enjoy dairy again. This is because making milk Kefir at home, the grains use the milk sugar (Lactose) as their food substrate. Hence, it is broken down before you consume it.
3) It’s a cost-effective health product. Even using organic milk, £1.00 – £1.40 for 2 pints is enough to last me 1 week.
4) You can use it to make some great sweet and sour recipes, including lactose-free cheese!
I’m interested to hear how you get on with making your own!
*Bacteria
Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus,Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. delbrueckii, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens, Lactobacillus kefiri, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus sake, Lactococcus lactis subsp. , cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides, Pseudomonas, Pseudomonas fluorescent, Pseudomonas putida, Streptococcus thermophilus
Yeasts
Candida humilis, Kazachstania unispora, Kazachstania exigua, Kazachstania exigua, Kluyveromyces siamensis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces martiniae, Saccharomyces unisporus
*please note, this is not a complete list of bacteria and yeasts, they will vary from brew to brew. I have not personally measured them. If you’re homing in on specific bacteria, it’s probably better to contact specific manufacturers.
Resources
http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/177589/1/04.pdf
http://depa.fquim.unam.mx/amyd/archivero/Kefir_1_12695.pdf
