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Making Milk Kefir Step by Step
Congratulations on making Kefir a part of your diet. A one time purchase for a lifetime of powerful probiotic drinks.
MAKING KEFIR is easier than getting your morning tea or coffee, and takes less than 5 minutes!
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briefly, put the grains in cold fresh milk, cover, and leave on the counter for 5-24 hours (duration varying with summer to winter temperatures). In the hot Pakistani summer, you may have to refrigerate them to slow down the process. From 20' -30'C is best.
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Strain with a plastic strainer, drink the thickened fizzy Kefir and put the grains in fresh milk. Repeat, daily. Your grains will grow and multiply InshaALLAH.
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Need ideas on using your kefir? Here are over 80 milk kefir recipes ; more here.
DRINKING
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Start gradually, with half a cup. Increase to taste. Drink lots of water to help detoxification (learn about Herxheimer reactions). Divide the dose over the day, morning noon and night. Take lots of PREBIOTICS. fresh fruit and vegetables, which will nourish your microflora.
STORAGE
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To take a short break from kefir, put the grains in approx. 4 cups of milk in an air tight container. Put this in the fridge for max 3 weeks. (May take a few milk changes to revive grains when you restart daily kefir.)
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To take a longer break, air dry at room temperature 2-5 days. (Cover with cloth to protect from insects. May smell unpleasant).
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Store in airtight container ( can add some powdered milk) for 6 months. (Not all grains make it).
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More info at Cultures For Health.
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You can also give grains to interested friends and family to use, and who can give you grains when you want them.
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Some clients have dropped of their grains with me to care for (KefirSitting at your service!)
GROWTH
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Kefir grains can grow as much as 15% per batch in optimum conditions, and may double by the third week. Generally watch for significant growth by the end of the second month, when it may accelerate in growth.
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Note: Grains will not grow well in adverse conditions; irregular milk changes, poor quality milk, extreme temperatures, etc.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
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Look at: the FAQ, Cultures for Health, Yemoos, HomeMadeMommy.
Below you will find a slideshow of pictures, tips, downloadable guide, videos and links to help you in learning the kefir habit.
Best viewed full screen. Click on images to view instructions. Use arrows (< >) to navigate
Simply right click and chose 'Save As' to download:
Kefir Pakistan put together a handy one page "Getting Started" guide just for you! Print it out and pop it on the fridge. :-)
Quick Videos
Public videos, embedded by Kefir Pakistan, from other people, with thanks!
How To Make Kefir
Storing Kefir and other tips
[Playlist]
How To Make Kefir
How To Make Kefir
Youtube not working? Try these How To Make Kefir videos on Vimeo:
Now that was really easy, right?
"Wash jar. ~Put in grains. ~Add cold milk. ~Cover, put aside. ~Strain through plastic strainer. ~Rinse (vessel, not grains) 'n repeat."
That's the beauty of it. Simple yet powerfully healing. Some points to bear in mind:
Points to Ponder:
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Your grains may not culture as those in the picture. If you have a teaspoon of grains in a cup or two of milk, chances are, they will not crowd against the sides. They may not be very visible, and you may not see marks or pockets of fluid form. Don't panic! Your probiotic powerhouses are working hard for you just the same. After 12 hours, start tasting. You may strain them out when the taste is to your liking.
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You will continuously have to adjust duration of ferment. As the grains grow, temperatures rise, amount of milk used decreases, the time required to culture the milk will decrease. Vice versa.
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Avoid extreme temperatures: hot or very cold. So in summer, keep it in the fridge if it's too hot on the countertop. In winter, avoid the fridge.
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You don't have to wash the grains. If a grain falls on an unclean surface and you have to wash it, use cool water free of chlorine. If you have filtered water, consider boiling and cooling some water. The chlorine will evaporate. Or you could rinse it in ordinary water then just eat the grain.
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But do wash the vessel out after each batch before putting in the grains. Put in the cold milk first, if you washed with hot water, so that your grains aren't exposed to heat.
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Keep your hands clean and nails short. If you use antibacterial soap, rinse well as these chemicals can hurt your grains (after all, they contain bacteria, albeit the GOOD guys.)
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You can eat grains as well, for an extra shot of probiotics. You may want to do this more often as your grains multiply.
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Make sure to give your grains fresh milk regularly, preferable every 24 hours. Over 48 hours in the same milk and you risk starving and killing your SCOBYs.
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It's a good idea to maintain two seperate cultures in two separate vessels. This way, if you accidentally heat, chlorinate, blend or otherwise kill your grains, you have a backup. Sharing surplus grains with friends and family is also an option.
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The taste, appearance and texture of your kefir will change with the seasons, conditions, type of milk, etc. It's normal.
From Around the Web
Different Ways to Make Kefir:
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Dom's About Kefir in-site: Detailed information about these "probiotic jewels"
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Yemoos Milk Kefir Guide
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Cultures for Health Getting Started with Milk Kefir
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The Healthy Eating Site Making Kefir
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The Kitchn Kefir Making Guide
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Whole Natural Life How to Make Kefir
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Food Renegade Delicious Fruity Milk Kefir
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Seeds of Health UK Kefir How-To
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Instructables How to Make Authentic Milk Kefir