How to Make Milk Kefir

Milk kefir is a form of cultured dairy similar to yogurt but with one major difference. You do not need to heat the milk. This makes milk kefir an easy beverage to make. But not only is it easy to make – it’s also delicious. It’s fizzy and tangy…it’s the champagne of milk!

Watch the How to Make Milk Kefir video

What is Milk Kefir?

When it comes to cultured dairy, milk kefir is one of my favorite.  I even like it better than yogurt. It’s tangy and fizzy…and well, just downright delicious. And thanks to that fizz, it has been coined the champagne of milk!! 

Not only does it tickle your tongue, it tickles your belly too…it’s teaming with probiotics for good gut health. And the best thing about milk kefir? It’s easy to make.

Unlike yogurt, when it comes to making milk kefir, you do not need to heat the milk. 

Enjoy drinking kefir milk at room temperature but I like it best after it has been refrigerated for a bit. 

Ingredients

Find the full printable diy kefir recipe with measurements below.

For this specific recipe, I recommend the following ingredients:

• Milk: In a traditional foods kitchen, the home cook should use raw milk (unpasteurized) or non-homogenized low-temp pasteurized whole milk (full-fat milk).
• Kefir grains: Not sure what these are? They look a bit like cauliflower but are actually a combination of bacterias and yeasts held together by proteins, fats, and sugars.

Where do I get the kefir grains?

Sourcing kefir grains is easy. You may have a friend who has some extra and will share a few with you. (They multiply quite quickly!) 

If your neighbor doesn’t have any available, you can buy them online.  Cultures for Health sells them in a dehydrated form.  When they arrive, you just need to rehydrate them, which takes a day or two and then you can start making kefir.

Cultures for Health

If you’re looking for starter cultures from Milk Kefir to Cheese, see the products that Cultures for Health offers for making homemade cultured and fermented foods. And if you order from their website, be sure to use my MARYSNEST discount code for 15% off your purchase.

• Cultures for Health – Make Real Cultured Foods at Home and use discount code MARYSNEST for 15% off your purchase on the Cultures for Health website.

How to Make Milk Kefir

Step 1 – Combine the milk and the grains in a jar and stir gently.

Step 2 – Place a lid on the jar and tighten it gently.

Step 3 – Place the jar in a warm place where it can rest, undisturbed, for approximately 12 hours.

Step 4 – Place a small strainer over a new container in which you will store the milk kefir. Strain the milk kefir into this container, using the strainer to catch the grains.

Step 5 – Your milk kefir is now ready to drink or you can refrigerate it to enjoy it cold.

PRO TIP: Use your grains again! Transfer the kefir grains back into the original jar and add milk. Follow the same instructions as above to make another batch of kefir. You can repeat this process indefinitely, making milk kefir every day.

How Long Does Milk Kefir Last?

As with anything homemade, the shelf-life can vary considerably. However, that said, homemade kefir can be left at room temperature for 1 – 2 days. If refrigerated, you may be able to extend the shelf-life up to 2 weeks.

If the kefir separates at any time into curds and whey, you can simply mix them together. In the long run, the sooner cultured dairy is consumed, the better because that is when the probiotic strains are at their most prolific.

Recipe Tips

• Store your whole milk kefir in the fridge once it’s ready.
• To pause making milk kefir, store your grains covered with milk in a jar for a few days in your refrigerator.
• Store used grains longer than a few days by covering them with filtered water in jar in your refrigerator. This allows the grains to “go to sleep”.
• Wake up your grains by following the instructions for making milk kefir.  The first few batches of milk kefir will be watery, but after a few days, your grains should begin to culture the milk into a thicker milk kefir.

Be sure to watch the YouTube milk kefir video as I walk you through the step-by-step process of making milk kefir.

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How to Make Milk Kefir

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 1 minute min

Resting Time: 12 hours hrs

Total: 12 hours hrs 1 minute min

Yield: 2

Author: Mary Bryant Shrader

Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved Recipe Rate Recipe

Milk kefir is a form of cultured dairy similar to yogurt but with one major difference. You do not need to heat the milk. This makes milk kefir an easy beverage to make. But not only is it easy to make – it’s also delicious. It’s fizzy and tangy…it’s the champagne of milk!

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups Whole milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Kefir grains If dehydrated, rehydrate before using

Instructions 

• Combine the milk and the grains in a jar and stir gently.
• Place a lid on the jar and tighten it gently.
• Place the jar in a warm place where it can rest, undisturbed, for approximately 12 hours.
• After 12 hours, place a small strainer over a new container in which you will store the milk kefir. Strain the milk kefir into this container, using the strainer to catch the grains.
• You can now drink the milk kefir or refrigerate it to enjoy it cold.
• Transfer the kefir grains back into the original jar, add fresh milk, stir, replace the cap, and place the jar in a warm spot where the jar can be undisturbed for 12 hours while the milk cultures into another batch of milk kefir. You can repeat this process indefinitely, making milk kefir every day.

Video

Notes

Store your milk kefir in the fridge once it’s ready.If you wish to cease making milk kefir, you can store your grains covered with milk in a jar for a few days in your refrigerator.

If you want to store your grains longer than a few days, you can store them covered with filtered water in jar in your refrigerator.  This will allow the grains to “go to sleep”.

When you are ready to make milk kefir again, you can “wake up” your grains by following the instructions for making milk kefir.  The first few batches of milk kefir will be watery, but after a few days, your grains should begin to culture the milk into a thicker milk kefir.

Find this recipe at https://marysnest.com/how-to-make-milk-kefir/

Copyright © 2018 Mary’s Nest, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Nutrition

Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 93mg | Potassium: 366mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Calcium: 300mg

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: Eastern European

Calories: 146

Keyword: Cultured Dairy, Milk Kefir

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