Kefir was the second living food I attempted to make in my kitchen-lab, and it was my first failure. My biggest mistake with this one was my decision to order my kefir grains (the term used to describe the culture that initiates the fermentation process) online in the heat of the summer without using expedited shipping. I had ordered milk kefir grains and water kefir grains separately from two different online sources. The milk kefir grains survived the hot weeklong journey, but the water kefir grains did not fare so well. As it turned out they were DOA, although I did not realize that until my 5th or 6th unsuccessful attempt to brew a batch of "kefir soda" which is basically fermented sugar water. It's actually a lot healthier than it sounds, but in the end I decided water kefir was something I could do without, so my focus here will be on milk kefir.
WHAT IS IT?
Milk kefir is a cultured dairy food, that is high in nutrients, full of healthy probiotics and great for digestion and gut health. In its simplest form, it tastes a lot like yogurt with a slightly thinner consistency although it can easily be strained to yield a thicker greek yogurt consistency. By simply tweaking the fermentation and straining schedule, I've found that I can match the flavor and consistency of other dairy products; In our home, kefir has become a delicious alternative for sour cream, cream cheese and goat cheese. The super simple process to make kefir at home begins with whole milk and a few kefir "grains" (which are actually not grains at all but a yeast/bacteria fermentation starter).
Water kefir is very similar, in terms of the health benefits and process, except water kefir grains feed on regular cane sugar (sucrose) dissolved in water or another non-dairy beverage (like coconut water). It produces a sweeter, carbonated beverage that many drink as a healthier alternative to regular pop or soda.
THE GOOD AND THE BAD ASPECTS OF MILK KEFIR
PROS
- Nutrient-dense food, with calcium, potassium and protein.
- Contains a wide array of digestion-boosting, gut healthy bacteria (i.e. probiotics)
- The process is extremely easy and involves 1 ingredient, whole milk (other than the kefir grain which can be used indefinitely).
- Your kefir grains are alive, and if cared for properly will continue to live and multiply indefinitely
- Most of the milk's lactose is consumed during the fermenting process, so kefir is easily digestible and a great alternative to regular milk products for anyone who is lactose-intolerant.
- There are studies showing the health benefits of kefir can be significant! If you enjoy getting into the gritty details, here's a clinical study from the NIH, US National Library of Medicine that proves milk kefir to be a useful therapy in the treatment of diabetes.
CONS
- Your kefir grains are alive and must be fed fresh milk
every 24 to 48 hours, so you need to have a continuous supply of fresh milk (and possibly a kefir-babysitter if you plan to go away for more than a few days). If you decide to take a break from kefir-brewing, you can try to freeze your grains and reactivate them at a later date but that takes time and patience and not 100% guaranteed.- UPDATE: I am so happy to report that I have found the information I crossed out above to be incorrect. I have come up with a simple method to make my kefir in large batches (~1 gallon at a time) which means, with only two of us eating it, I only need to make it once a week. I store my kefir grains in the refrigerator in between batches and have left them (without a continuous supply of fresh milk) for up to 3 weeks and they are still very happy and healthy. For more on that, be sure to check out my Big Batch Kefir page here.
A typical batch can be anything from 2 cups to 4 cups, and the most convenient cycle is either a 24 or 48 hour cycle. This way, you can get on a regular schedule and start each new batch at the same time every day. There are methods to control the batch size and timing a bit, but before getting into that, read on to learn how simple the process can be.
KEFIR-MAKING TOOLS
For information on where you can purchase your kefir culture as well as a complete list of tools, check out my Kefir-Making Tools page here.
THE CULTURING PROCESS
In this culturing process, the kefir grains convert the sugars in milk (lactose) into lactic acid; the result is a creamy, slightly tangy food full of healthy probiotics.
