Making Kefir

One of my favorite food tangents came when buying milk from an Amish dairyman:  the discovery of kefir, a traditional fermented milk beverage. Thicker than milk but thinner than yogurt, kefir tastes tart and bubbles with an unexpected, effervescent carbonation. I love drinking it plain, and Aundra blends it into awesome smoothies.

When the FDA shut down our farmer friend for selling unpasteurized milk across state lines, we found a local dairyman who sells non-homogenized, gently pasteurized milk. But no source of kefir! Inspired by the Amish farmer, I ordered kefir grains online and started to grow my own in a jar of milk.

Kefir is a living food. It is a blend of bacteria and yeasts that feed off the lactose in milk, resulting in a healthy beverage that is safer to drink for individuals with lactose intolerance.

When my kefir grains arrived, they were in a tiny sealed straw, about an inch in length. I started by placing them in a mason jar filled with a cup of milk, using a coffee filter as a lid to permit the release of carbon dioxide and avoid causing the jar to explode.

Every two days, I would strain the milk into another container (always using plastic and stainless steel, since reactive metals like aluminum, brass, or iron might leach into the grains) and after about two weeks the small kefir starter had multiplied to five walnut-sized kefir grains. I increased the amount of milk to compensate for the growing grains, moving the operation to a quart-sized glass jar. Room temperature works well for fermentation.

I store the strained milk kefir in plastic quart jars in the refrigerator, reusing the large grains for each successive batch. 

Every few batches, I rinse off the grains using purified water (chlorinated tap water can damage them), which exposes their surface area for gobbling up lactose. I’ve even started a second batch of kefir with the extra grains that form, which I keep as a starter for friends who want to try making it. The surplus kefir grains taste good, too—a ropey texture and tangy flavor.

Whether storing the final product or adding fresh milk to the grains, the key is to keep it dark. Ultraviolet light devitalizes food, breaking down vitamins and damaging beneficial microorganisms.

Because kefir contains a wide array of microflora, it diversifies and balances the bacteria in our digestive systems, resulting in a stronger immunity to disease. I have not been sick in two years—the same time I have been drinking kefir—I’m happy to chalk up some of that good health to the fermented beverage.