Homemade Kefir Recipe

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Full recipe

Dairy products occupy a special place in my diet because they are incredibly healthy, tasty and are an excellent ingredient for a large number of more complex dishes. Often I consume yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese and ryazhenka, which are familiar to everyone in the CIS countries. While cottage cheese is most often bought in a store, the rest of the fermented dairy products I make exclusively at home. Since only at home we can fully control the cooking process and the quality of the ingredients. We wrote more about this in the recipe for homemade yogurt.

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Today I will tell you about all possible ways of making kefir and the nuances that must be taken into account to make the final product thick, homogeneous and tasty. I will note that in all cases I will prepare kefir from starter, because only in this case we can get the maximum concentration of good bacteria.

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I use cow’s milk as a base, but you can also try making homemade kefir with goat’s milk or even vegetable milk.

When fermenting kefir with vegetable milk: almond, coconut, rice, oat, poppy seed, soybean milk, more time may be needed for fermentation.

Fact

You can take any type of milk for making kefir: raw ( domestic), pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized. This will not affect the result, as long as you are sure of the quality of the milk and do not disturb the cooking process.

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Depending on the fat content of the milk, we will get kefir of the appropriate fat content. Therefore, if you want a more dietary version, use milk with a fat content of 0.5% or 1%.

Tip

Raw and pasteurized milk should be boiled and cooled to a temperature of 30-32°. Ultrapasteurized milk can be simply heated. I take the starter from brand VIVO, it is called “Kefir starter”. One package of sourdough starter is designed for 1-3 liters of milk.

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If you are using another brand of starter, be sure to read the instructions, as the process may be different.

Cooking kefir in a pot, bag or bottle

This is the most affordable version of homemade kefir because you don’t need any technique. All we have to do is heat the milk, add the starter, and wait for the fermentation and ripening time. But let’s focus on the details.

First, if you decide to cook in a pot, be sure to scald it with boiling water.

Second, make sure that you can maintain a stable temperature of kefir 22-24°, for 24 hours. You can use a feather blanket, a terry towel, or a radiator for this. If you have an apartment temperature above 22°, you can leave the pot or container of milk directly on the table.

The temperature of the milk with the starter should not exceed 30°, otherwise the bacteria will die and the kefir will not ferment. It is especially important to watch for this in winter if you put the container next to the radiator.

Important

The cooking process is trivially simple. First, we pour the starter into the milk and mix it well. Then we leave it in a warm place for 24 hours. After 24 hours we put the kefir in the fridge – there it will cool down and mature. It is best to keep kefir in the fridge for another day, then it will show its most pronounced taste and aroma. If you want, you can consume kefir immediately after cooling.

Kefir in the multicooker

This option of making homemade kefir is faster because we can steadily maintain the temperature of the milk at 30°. In fact, all we need to get started is a multicooker with the “Kefir” mode or a program to maintain the set temperature.

Do not try to cook kefir in the multicooker on the mode “Yogurt”. Most likely, this mode maintains the temperature in the range of 40 °, which is an order of magnitude higher than we need. As a result, all the kefir will curdle.

Important

Otherwise, the process of cooking in the multicooker is the same as the previous point. Pour the milk into the bowl of the multicooker and add the starter. Leave it for 10-12 hours. Then cool and bring the kefir to full maturity in the fridge – this requires about 24 hours.

Kefir in the yogurt maker

In fact, a yogurt maker is a special case of a multicooker, which allows you to maintain a certain temperature mode. But as in the situation with multicookers, not all yogurt makers allow you to make kefir at home. It must necessarily have a mode “Kefir” or a similar program that allows you to maintain the temperature in the range of 22-30 °. My yogurt machine from VIVO brand has 2 modes: Yogurt and Kefir, so I cook in it, directly in the milk carton.

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If your yogurt maker has a bowl or cups/jars, pour the milk and starter in there.

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The instructions are no different from the point with a multicooker: mix the kefir starter with milk, put it in the yogurt maker for 10-12 hours, cool the kefir in the refrigerator.

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Milk Kefir Second Fermentation

Almost any fermented dairy product can be re-fermented. This is quite practical, because we can re-cook kefir from the finished product, while saving on starter. To second fermentation of kefir you need to take 3 tablespoons and use them instead of starter. The rest of the cooking steps are not different in any way. The only thing I note is that you should not re-starter kefir without starter several times, because the amount of probiotic bacteria in it drops a lot. Also, keep an eye on the condition of the kefir from which you are going to re-ferment, because if extraneous bacteria get in, the result can be disastrous.

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As you can see, making natural kefir at home is very easy and fast. It takes less than 5 minutes of personal time to mix the starter with the milk and start the process.

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If the cooked kefir is too thick, stir it with a spoon and shake it if you cooked it in a carton of milk.

Tip

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The finished kefir has a delicate taste and a pleasant sourness.

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It is recommended for children, athletes, people with gastrointestinal problems, and anyone who cares about their health. And for a more varied consumption of kefir, I recommend to pay attention to recipes for smoothies or lazy oatmeal.

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Bon appetit! Don’t starve 😋