1-2-3 Kefir

To demonstrate how easy it is to make your own kefir and thus have a probiotic drink handy to make smoothies with or eat as a snack, I have documented my own efforts! Since this first batch with almond milk, I have tried coconut milk (a little strange tasting), and am now on cows milk. I think incorporating this into my diet has made it easier for me to digest other milk products. So I'm pretty sure this stuff is great news for others needing probiotics or help digesting. After it has fermented, cows milk will have less lactose and other nondairy milk products will have less sugar in them.

Step One: Gather Ingredients
Order a kefir starter on the internet. I bought six packets for about $25 not including shipping from Body Ecology. They say the culture from each packet can be reused up to 6 times, so after two weeks of rapid kefir making I'll use the next. This is available from other venders and perhaps health food stores, although I have not thought to look. Follow directions on your starter over mine, this is just an example. You can also get grains that will not need to be purchased again, they will be self replicating. (I prefer this for now to assure high levels of the probiotics I want.)

Buy a quart of milk or nonmilk. To be honest I thought coconut milk was a bit weird because it is so fatty (I tried using canned in a pinch), so that wouldn't be my choice. Perhaps try whatever kind of "milk" agrees with you. Another option I have heard of is coconut water. In my example I used unsweetened almond milk from Trader Joes. $2-4

Step Two: Add the Culture

In a pot I added my milklike substance and turned on the stove. Once it reached skin temperature, I ripped open my packet and poured it all in.

Step Three: Stir
Afterwards maybe give it a minute while you dig around for a container for the next step.

Step Four: Pour and Cover

Pour it in a container. All I had at the moment was an old yogurt container. You may need a funnel if you are using a jar. Leave a little room for air to get in for the chemical reactions to occur, ie. don't seal it up all the way.

Step Five: Snuggle and Leave it

With cloth napkins I wrapped my kefir up real cute. Ideally kefir should stand outside of the fridge at about 75 degrees. I have also stuck it in a crockpot on low before to try and get it to culture faster, but only for a few hours because it shouldn't get too hot either. You should find out the particulars when you get your culture.



Step Six: Check it

After 12 hours give it a poke with a spoon, trying not to agitate the rest of it too much. There should be a level of whey or thicker cream at the top, depending on various factors especially what "milk" you've used. Is it thick enough for you? Is it a little tart? No? Leave it for another 6-12 hours and try it again. Cows milk, I've found, needs a full day. If you leave it out loner, it will separate into whey and cheese that you can press the moisture out of and use in salads. Haven't tried that yet, but it's on the list!

Step Seven: Eat


Mmm delicious kefir with raspberries and a touch of Stevia. Add it to your morning smoothie with protein or green powder and berries or fruit. Add Stevia, honey, or your desired sweetener if you like. It is supposed to be a bit sour. Personally sometimes I like to drink it that way especially if I've been having Halloween candy or something like that, but it is delicious like vanilla yogurt with two drops of Stevia as well. I also like to add cinnamon to help me regulate my blood sugar to stave off a sugar crash after aforementioned candy. As I will describe in the future, you can use it as a milk replacement in many recipes.

Step Eight: Repeat

To make a quart this time add 3/4 of a cup of the old batch to the new one after you warm it up or about a third of a cup for a quart. The cycle keeps on going! Noe: My brand of kefir promises a total of 7 batches per packet, with 6 packets in a box. Some kefir grains will produce infinite kefir.

In practice making kefir takes me abut 7 minutes including making a mess pouring my kefir into the small mouthed glass jar I like with a funnel. I save a couple bucks off the supermarket price and gain valuable health benefits. Win- extra win!

Kefir Madness

Kefir--a liquid yogurt drink made from fermented cow milk, coconut milk, coconut water, or whatever you want if you choose to make it at home. It's different than yogurt because it has even more beneficial bacteria and yeasts growing inside of it. In milk these little critters ferment the sugars contained in lactose with the same enzymes that would work on milk in our stomach, making it easier for us to digest. I have read that even people who are lactose intolerance may be able to drink kefir easily. You can use kefir to make cheese, cream cheese, cheese cake, ice cream, smoothies and lot of other things in place of milk for a healthy dose of vitamins, enzymes, and probiotics.

Awesome right? Kefir originated in the Northern Caucacus Moutains. Kefir grains, which look like little cauliflowers, start off each kefir batch and can carry on to make another. These were highly protected and other cultures were not able to access these grains until the end of the 19th century, although the first grains were thought to have been created 5000 years ago.

You can buy kefir at Whole Foods but for the most powerful benefit it is best to make your own. I'm anxiously awaiting my own starters which I got from Body Ecology, but many other brands exist.

Kefir benefits us by balancing the flora and fauna in our intestines, including reestablishing probiotics if there has been antibiotic use or a yeast infection. It can help strengthen the walls of your gut and sooth inflammation. These both will result in an immune system boost and help prevent infection. It is more easily digested than other foods because the job is already partway done. It contains vitamin B-12, K, and biotin as well as the amino acid tryptophan that promotes relaxation and sleep--which would help with sleeping problems or stressful living. It has the minerals calcium and magnesium allowing you to support healthy bones even if you can't drink regular milk.

There are some rumblings that it may help with breast cancer, but hard evidence is still needed.


Sources:
Health Guidance-- Kefir Health Benefits

Why We Need Probiotics and the Benefits of Kefir
The Health Benefits of Kefir by Steve Jones on Helium

Kefir Manual