How to Make Milk Kefir

Milk Kefir!!!  My favorite fermented dairy to make at home.  Why?  Because it is SO easy.  I am not even kidding.  I guess most fermenting I do at home is super easy.  But when it comes to dairy, I always think about yogurt.  And that takes more steps than I am willing to do.  At least right now.  

I have mentioned before the many benefits of milk kefir.  It is so incredibly good for your gut.  There is simply no reason this shouldn't be in your fridge!  Can you think of one?  Drink it.  Put it in smoothies.  Make dressings.  Get a healthy gut!

How to Make Milk Kefir

Step 1.  Find some milk kefir grains.  Are you a fairly crunchy granola hippy like I am?  Then chances are you know someone who has milk kefir grains.  Ask them to share.  Trust me, they will be happy to hand some off to you!  If you don't know anyone, ask around on Facebook or Instagram.  I guarantee SOMEONE knows a crunchy hippy granola.  Still no luck?  Craigslist.  Seriously.  

Step 2.  Grab yourself a mason jar and add as much whole milk as you would like.  Personally, I turn my raw milk into kefir and I only make 1 cup at a time because that is what I put in my morning smoothie.  If you want to be EXTRA FANCY, get yourself a Kefirko.  This snazzy little jar with a strainer lid really makes me happy.  

Step 3.  Add some milk kefir grains to your milk.  How many grains?  I just stick a spoon or fork in and grab some.  Remember, they multiply.  When you strain off your kefir you will see there will be more grains than you started with!  

Step 4.  Now you wait.  But you don't have to wait too long!  In my warm Phoenix house, 12 hours seems to be my magic number.  I like my kefir to still be milky – not super thick.  Typically anywhere between 12-24 hours is an adequate fermenting time.  

Step 5.  Strain it!  If you have the handy dandy Kefirko, you can pour your milk kefir into a mason jar for storage in the fridge using the built in strainer.  Otherwise, strain your milk kefir using a plastic strainer of some kind.  For some reason milk kefir grains get testy when they touch metal.

Step 6.  What to do with the strained off grain?  Simple, just add more milk and start fermenting a new batch!  Or, if you feel like you have too much milk kefir on hand, you can store your grains that aren't being used in a little milk and keep them in the fridge.  It might be nice to feed them fresh milk from time to time to keep them happy.  Until, of course, they are called once more to fermenting duty!

My Method for Preparing Milk Kefir – a video!

So, are you a big milk kefir fan?  How do you prepare your milk kefir?  Any fun tips on how to use it?  We want to hear!

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