Traditional fermentation of foods increases enzymes and nutrients and adds beneficial probiotics. When you are ready to take the plunge and try your hand at it, there is no easier food for fermentation newbies to start with than dairy. It is a critical skill to master as most brands of commercial yogurt do not compare to homemade.
They are typically cultured for a very short period of time and may even have milk solids added before the short ferment begins. This defeats the purpose thus keeping carbohydrate content very high even when the fermentation process is complete.
As an encouragement to those who perhaps haven’t tried making yogurt or its cousin kefir yet, I wanted to share with you some pictures of those who have taken the challenge already and are getting awesome results.
Amanda Molnar’s Perfectly Fermented Kefir
Notice the kefir grains are visible in this picture just before Amanda transfers them to a new batch, which will earn her another entry in the challenge!
Lorraine Carlstrom’s Colorful Raw Kefir Smoothie
Lorraine added coconut oil, egg yolks, and fruit to her morning raw kefir smoothie!
Kristin Marlin’s Incubating Raw YogurtÂ
Not one to start slowly, Kristin Marlin entered the challenge with 3 batches of yogurt at once! Â Notice how she has her raw yogurt nestled in with thick towels to keep them warm to allow the culture to firmly establish itself during the fermentation period. Â Love those gorgeous fermentation vessels too!
 
Miranda Meador’s Yogurt Breakfast
Miranda Meador made this lovely bowl of yogurt for breakfast … but it ended up being for lunch instead!
Bailey Keenan’s Supercharged Kefir Smoothie
Bailey’s creation contains kefir, a little water, a banana, an apple, some frozen strawberries and blueberries, a little chlorella powder, some bee pollen and flax seeds, and a couple of big spoonfuls of coconut oil. YUM!
Carey Blinn’s Jars of Fermenting Kefir
For 25 years, Carey battled daily bouts of indigestion, bloating and acid reflux. Â She used to use Tums or Di-Gel constantly to settle her stomach. Â Carey originally started into Traditional Cooking after finding my videos on YouTube and now she is a fermenting queen. Â Raw kefir, in particular, has changed her life and health in amazingly positive ways!
Hopefully, one or more of these pictures from everyday folks just like you will encourage you to take the plunge to try and make either kefir or yogurt yourself for the very first time!
I rotated another batch of milk kefir today. Drinking kefir helped settle the very upset stomachs of my husband & myself after a holiday party this week. We may have warded of food poisoning. We’ll never know for certain, but that’s what the upset felt like in addition to the timing and coincidence. Hubs hates kefir, (I brew it long & strong), but he’s convinced of its powers now!
I live in Canada and in my area I do not have access to raw dairy. Can I still ferment an organic pasteurized yogurt and begin making my own yogurt and kefir? Help!
sure you can, i cannot afford raw milk and use pasteurized all the time..though is not as nutritious as the raw milk, but better than the store bought one.
Last night I made yogurt from whole raw milk, and buttermilk to use as the base to awesome homemade ranch dressing.
Also just made another quart of kefir.
I was not able to sign on and enter again but I have another batch of yogurt going.
How do you mix coconut oil into your smoothies without it making oil lumps in the finished product? The cold kefir and fruit make it harden!
Having same issue with not being able to enter more than one. I have made 4 more batches since last entered.
Same here; I’ve made a batch of milk kefir each day of the contest (my routine is one quart per day, year round), but was only able to enter once. Today I am making sourdough bread. I use 1 cup of starter and 2 cups of kefir whey in the sponge, which goes overnight. I enjoy kneading by hand, and kneading this dough is like kneading silk. The bread is amazing. Just ready to punch down and pan my loaves in the midst of an Iowa blizzard. Happy Christmas to all. Sure would like that Bosch under my tree next week!
Could you give me the receipe for your sourdough bread it sounds delicious. i am new to making bread but i would love to try it also where did you get your sourdough starter from.
Thank you for your help
Gabriele
Gabriele – I just returned from Christmas travel. Are you still there? If so, I’ll be glad to give you my sourdough bread recipe. I wonder if there is a way to get together by email rather than posting off-topic comments here? Either way. Let me know if you are still there. —Mary
I made kefir again today!
I Made Kefir!!