Have you heard of milk kefir? Maybe all you know is that is has some connection to probiotics and everyone seems to pronounce it differently. Well, here are the basics on how to make milk kefir, along with the benefits and ways to use it. 
How to Make and Use Milk Kefir
For optimal gut health, it’s important to integrate naturally fermented foods and drink into our daily diet. Both water and milk kefir provide and easy, drinkable way to ingest the probiotics we need on a daily basis. Plus, they’re easy to flavor and use in other recipes!
What is Milk Kefir?
I had someone just recently say to me, “I keep hearing that word everywhere – kefir. What is it, exactly?”
I’m glad that the word “kefir” is indeed everywhere – that means more people are using it! Kefir is actually a Russian word, pronounced in English with a short e sound and the emphasis on the last syllable. You can hear it pronounced here.
In brief:
Simply put, kefir is fermented milk. Expanding our explanation a bit, kefir is:
- a scoby of beneficial bacterias and yeasts
- typically referred to as kefir grains
- looks like cottage cheese lumps (water kefir looks a bit like opaque bean-bag stuffing)
The kefir grains turn wholesome dairy into a powerhouse of probiotics, vitamins and beneficial bacteria. You can use it to re-culture your gut while on prescription antibiotics.
- For more on this topic, please visit our article, Probiotics While on Antibiotics.
- Also of interest, Healing a Broken Gut from Yeast Overgrowth.
Kefir, like any cultured dairy, can be an acquired taste. When we first tried it, we just didn’t like it.
A few years later, as our tastes have matured around a whole foods diet, we now consume milk kefir several times a week. One of the best things about it is that it protects the beneficial bacteria in the very harsh environment of your stomach. That allows all that good bacteria to do its job of regulating your gut in healthy ways.
- Cultures for Health also has simple tutorials on how to get stared with both kinds of kefir, as well as how to use your cultured water and milk.
If you decide you’d like to know a bit more about fermented foods, be sure to check out the Ferment All the Things section of the Homestead Kitchen chapter of our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead. Don’t have your own copy of the book? No worries, we wrote one just for you – to learn more, click below. For a free sample from that chapter, simply email me at Tessa@homesteadlady.com.
What Types of Milk Can You Use to Make Kefir?
Milk kefir is traditionally fermented on cow’s milk, but you can use goat, sheep, water buffalo, yak, etc. You can also kefir coconut milk. Kefir is made by two types of fermentation – alcohol (from the yeast present) and lactose (from lactic acid). Dairy milk is the most reliable ferment host for milk kefir grains, but coconut will work.
Nut milks give varied results, FYI. Their chemistry when mixed with milk kefir grains is such that some work just fine, and others are just blah.
How to Make Milk Kefir
This is a quick food you can make on your counter!
How to Make Milk Kefir
Ingredients
- 1 Quart Fresh Milk
- ¼ Cup Kefir Grains hydrated; or, one packet dehydrated grains
Instructions
- Cover your kefir grains in wholesome milk (cow, goat or coconut) in a quart size jar with a lid. You can also attempt to kefir nut milks, but the results can vary.
- Put a lid on your jar and let it sit overnight.
- Taste test for optimal flavor.
- Strain out the kefir grains and put them back into the jar.
- Recover with milk to be used the next day.
- Store your strained kefir milk in a jar with a lid in the refrigerator to slow down further fermentation.
- Or, use in your favorite recipe.
Notes
Troubleshooting Milk Kefir
Your milk kefir should taste tangy like yogurt and maybe even slightly sweet. It should never smell putrid or be so powerful that you can’t actually eat it!
If you’re concerned the milk kefir is off:
- Do a smell and taste test. If it smells or tastes nasty, you may have an over-fermented culture or one that is simply “unhappy” for some reason.
- If you decide your kefir grains need a reset, put them in a colander, and drain off all the old cultured milk.
- Place the grains in a clean jar and feed them with undiluted cream for 2-3 fermentation cycles. Fresh cream from the cow is best, but if you can’t find that, use the least pasteurized cream you can find.
- Taste the kefir after a few fermentation cycles and see if the flavor has improved. This process should sweeten them up and get their ecology refreshed.
- If not, you might place them in a colander and drain off the cultured milk again. Then, lightly rinse them in filtered water and repeat step 3.*
- You can start feeding with your regular milk as soon as you’re satisfied with the flavor.
* Rinsing the grains with water is like stripping them naked and is only a last resort measure to more fully reset the grains. However, it’s a little like continually giving an antibiotic for an illness instead of finding the cause of the illness.
Kefir Problems? Question Your Methods First
If your kefir grains continue to produce “rancid” kefir, I would look at your methods of culturing and ask a few questions.
- Is your jar clean?
- Is your milk free of contamination? I always use fresh milk because of its undamaged bacteria set and because I consider it far more healthy than commercially produced milk. Regardless of what milk you or I use, it’s important to be sure that the source for the milk follows safe handling practices. Contamination is the enemy of any dairy enterprise, fresh or commercial.
- Are your grains old or unhealthy? Or just weak? Kefir grains should be reproducing themselves continually; this is a sign of a healthy set of grains. Milk kefir grains should also be robust in size and resemble cottage cheese.
- Are you double dipping? Use clean implements when working with the kefir and don’t drink directly out of the jar, and/or use a spoon to mix that has been in your mouth. Even if you aren’t ill, you have your own bacterial set and you don’t want to confuse or contaminate the kefir grains.
I will say that I’ve NEVER had to rinse my grains in water. If I did, I would most likely purchase new grains or get locally acclimated grains from a friend rather than continue to work with ones I had to baby so much. I would also do a strict methods check on myself as outlined above!
What to Do With Milk Kefir
We typically use ours for morning smoothies, to culture bread dough, and to flavor cream soups and savory dishes.
>>—To learn to use milk kefir to culture bread dough
and Make Yeast Free Bread.—<<<
For my family of seven, I usually do a quart a day so I always have a new quart of kefir to work with every morning. If I’m going to make a batch of kefir bread, I culture more. The same amount of grains can culture quite a bit of milk.
Milk Kefir Resources
Kefir Fermented Bread Dough - No Yeast!
As I mentioned, this is our favorite yeast-free, kefir-fermented bread.
How to Make Milk Kefir Cheese
We strain out a bit of the whey and use the thick, remaining substance, often called kefir cheese, in place of sour cream or yogurt. Colleen explains how to make a batch.
How To Make Quark Cheese
5 Ways to Use Kefir That You've Never Heard Of
Kefir-pecan streusel coffee cake
How to Make Water Kefir with Milk Kefir Grains
Northern Homestead tells us how to make water kefir from milk kefir grains. They're the same thing but fed different "foods". Water grains will multiply very quickly, so its a good idea to have a plan for what to do with them. We eat them, feed them to our livestock, put them in the compost and, of course, give them away to friends and family and make new milk kefir converts.
How Much Kefir Should I Drink?
If you’ve never had much in the way of fermented foods, start with a few tablespoons a day. Work your way up to a pint or so, for a great probiotic boost at the beginning of the day.
Some people find the kefir sits better in their gut if they drink it in the morning on an empty stomach. I usually just add mine to my smoothie.
Consult your holistic practitioner if you have any concerns about your gut health.
If you’ve never tried it before, I encourage you to give kefir a try. If you discover milk kefir isn’t to your liking, try water kefir. Water kefir is what our family uses to make natural sodas – we love it!
What’s your favorite ferment? What about your favorite way to use kefir?
We make milk kefir every day, as well as quark and also regularly water kefir. Great post!
Thanks and thank you for the link!
What a timely post! I’ve been really wanting to start making milk kefir, thanks for all this info:)
You won’t be sorry – such an easy way to doctor your gut every day. Good luck!
Stopping by from wildcrafting Wednesday after I saw your comment and name! I have been eager to try coconut milk kefir, you have inspired me to make it happen today! I have had my kefir grains awhile, so I am excited! I already make my own kombucha and yogurt, so this should be a cinch!
Ha! That’s the same reason I found you awhile back – its not often you meet another Tessa and we need to stick together. Well, that and that your recipes and blog are rockin awesome! Kefir anything is so easy, it makes yogurt look like a physics final – have fun!
has anyone kefired with raw milk?
We only do raw milk – it actually works a little better because its already alive. Cheers!
I cannot get raw milk here,, what’s the next best milk to use?
Pasteurized milk can be kefired, too, Norma – I’m so glad you asked! You can also kefir goat and coconut milk. Even water can be kefired! Here’s a good article comparing water and milk kefir.
Hope that helps?
I’m definitely curious about kefir! Thanks for the simple explanation and tips.
We love our raw milk kefir. We make over two gallons a week for our morning smoothies!
Stopping by from Simple Saturdays Blog Hop.
thank you so much for posting this! It is gonna help me when I research Coconut Milk at the grocery store! Very Cool!
I still don’t really understand where to get the kefir grains. please help
You can usually find some at your local health food store. You can also order them online – I can heartily recommend Cultures For Health. They can also teach you everything you ever want to know about fermented foods with free videos, newsletters and ebooks. I love those guys!