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 Yogurt
Not one to start slowly, Kristin Marlin entered the challenge with 3 batches of yogurt at once! 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. 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. She used to use Tums or Di-Gel constantly to settle her stomach. Carey originally started into Traditional Cooking after finding my videos on YouTube and now she is a fermenting queen. 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!
Okay. Can someone please. Tell an ignorant person(myself) HOW DO YOU MAKE KEFIR FROM SCRATCH? I mean how HOW how do i make the cauliflower looking thingy (culture/grain)? Can someone take a few seconds and tell me CLEARLY how do i make a culture so I can make batches of Kefir? All the videos I’ve seen start from ALREADY HAVING A CULTURE, without telling where or how to make one. -Frustrated one
Hi Steve, You can’t make the culture from scratch. You need to get some of the grains from someone who is making it. Try Craigslist to see if anyone in your area has any to share. It multiplies like rabbits so people who make it usually have extra. If no one has any there you can purchase it on ebay or from Cultures for Health. Sarah has a link on her resources page to their website. They also have videos there on making it once you have the grains. Sarah has a video on making it too.
I have an excess of raw kefir grains… I would love to know how to use them or to pass them on to someone who needs them.
Was a winner announced? I keep looking, but I haven’t seen who won.
When and where does the winner get announced? I haven’t gotten a notice yet. 😉
Egle, That sounds complicated, were did you get the idea or recipe? Thanks…
I also just made a huge batch of raw yogurt!
Totally just made 5 batches of kefir.
Ana Medina Blend it into a smoothie with some fruit and maybe a bit of honey if need be.
I made some but found out my husband and daughter won´t eat it because it smells funny… what can I do to get rid of that strong smell? :S