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How to make homemade kefir the traditional way by fermenting on the counter for 24 hours with farm fresh milk.
I prefer homemade kefir to yogurt because yogurt only has 2-5 strains of beneficial bacteria None of these aggressively attack and destroy pathogens in the gut like the probiotics in kefir do.
By the way, kefir is pronounced ku-feer (not kee-fer or ke-fer).
Kefir made at home has dozens of beneficial bacterial strains as well as several beneficial yeasts. Kefir compared to yogurt is no competition. Kefir is much more beneficial for gut healing.
The one catch is that you need to learn how to make kefir yourself!
Commercial kefir brands typically have far less microbial strains and are not fermented long enough to have the same benefits.
Homemade Kefir Benefits
In a gut that is dominated by pathogens and candida overgrowth (as in someone who has taken many rounds of antibiotics and other prescription drugs over the years and/or eats primarily processed foods), yogurt tends to have only a temporary beneficial impact.
As mentioned earlier, homemade kefir has about 30 beneficial strains of bacteria and yeasts that do aggressively recolonize the gut by destroying pathogens.
As a result, kefir has the potential to permanently alter the gut environment for the better whereas yogurt does not.
The best way to make homemade kefir is to obtain live kefir grains from a friend. They grow slowly over time and extras can be given away (or even eaten as a live probiotic).
Avoid using powdered starter for kefir. It has little to no therapeutic value.
If you cannot find any live grains in your community, you can mail order them.
Other Types of Kefir Made at Home
If learning how to make other types of kefir interests you, check out this video on how to make water kefir.
This video plus recipe on how to make coconut milk kefir is helpful if you wish to make a dairy-free version of the milk-based kefir below.
Homemade Kefir Recipe
Easy recipe for homemade kefir fermented on the counter for 24 hours to maximize beneficial microbial strains for gut healing.
Ingredients
- 1 quart raw milk preferably grass-fed
- 1 wide-mouthed mason jar
- live kefir grains
Instructions
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Pour the raw milk into a clean glass mason jar leaving about 1 inch at the top. You can use cold milk right out of the refrigerator if this is more convenient. Gently stir in live kefir grains. Roughly one-quarter cup of grains is sufficient to ferment the entire quart.
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Screw on the lid and leave on the counter at room temperature for 24 hours. Over this time, you will see the milk slightly separate and thicken.
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The kefir should be ready after 24 hours of fermentation time. If powder culture was used, you can use the kefir as is. If live kefir grains were used, gently strain them out to use again with the next batch of raw kefir.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
You do not need to rinse live kefir grains before using again. Rinsing them slightly weakens them in my experience.
Homemade kefir will last many weeks in the refrigerator, but its flavor will get stronger over time.
I had Kefir in Italy and it was much thinner and yeastier in flavor than store-bought kefir here. I love the yeasty flavor, but when I tried to make kefir a few years ago, it really got too alcoholic quite quickly. It was summer and maybe the ambient temperature was a little too warm? I got discouraged and stopped trying. Do you have any suggestions for getting that nice yeasty flavor without having it go too far?
Yes, you can touch the grains with clean hands. It is ok to rinse the grains with filtered water, but it is unnecessary. I have never rinsed mine and it seems to me that they might stay stronger unrinsed.
Can you touch the kefir grain with clean hands? I just made my first batch and rinsed my grain under water in a colander (which I was instructed by the person who gave me the grain). Thank you for the video, it was great watching someone actually do it.
I'm not sure if the store bought would be the same texture or not. Knowing these food companies, it would be likely that they would add an thickener of some kind to make it more consistent batch to batch. If you want it the same very time, then use the kefir powder packets (one time use). Folks I know who use those tend to have more consistently thicker batches than I do using the live grains.
hm, ok. I just meant if the bottled stuff tastes/ feels the same in the mouth, I could try it first. In the video it just looks kind of chunky. Thanks for the response. (and sorry I spelled kefir wrong!)
I have never been a milk drinker but love, love my kefir. After removing the grains, I whisk the kefir, sit it overnight in the fridge, then drink with a straw. Delicious!
You use kefir exactly as you would use yogurt. Use it as a base for a smoothie or put some in a bowl and add some honey and banana, for example The bottled stuff at the healthfood store is not as good as what you get at home by a longshot. Lifeway brand kefir, for example, only has 10 strains in it .. your homemade kefir has about 30 bacteria and yeasts in a beneficial symbiotic arrangement. The texture is similar to yogurt. If you've ever gotten drinkable yogurt at the store, it is very similar in texture to that. Sometimes my kefir comes out very thick and other times more watery. I like the variation and find it more natural and the way it should be based on the seasons. Having everything the same all the time like what you get from processed kefir at the store takes away part of the health aspect of it, in my opinion.
Do you eat it with a spoon or drink it? How does the texture feel in your mouth? How does it taste compared to yogurt? I've been interested in trying keffir for a while, but honestly, in your video it looks really disgusting, like curdled milk. I had imagined it as a smoother liquid, more like a thin yogurt, not with all those lumps. I'm a little afraid to pay for keffir grains and then not like the finished product. Do you know if the bottled keffir you can buy at health food stores is similar to what you make with live keffir grains? Maybe I can start by buying a bottle.
The grains/milk must be kept in the refrigerator though when not fermenting.
If you put the milk kefir grains in enough milk (like fill a quart mason jar 1/2 full and put the grains in there), the grains will be fine for several months.
So glad you like the videos! Please send me any suggestions for future videos .. I want to make sure I spend my time on topics that people really want to see and find useful.
If you have to take a break from regular kefir making, how long can you keep your grains in the small jar with milk? Do you need to change the milk after a certain amount of time like with storing water kefir grains?
I echo everyone's sentiments… it's so helpful to see things being done in addition to reading about them!
Thanks!