Making milk kefir - first forays
Milk kefir is the most amazing concoction. Seeing the process in action, the smells, the changes in consistency of the milk is really quite thrilling.
There is plenty of information on the internet on varying styles and approaches to fermenting milk kefir, so do have a look around other websites too.
Really though, it is about reading a little and then just tuning in to our own sense of smell and taste and having a go. There is a certain pioneering feeling that comes with taking basic advice but then working out what suits us as individuals and home fermenting gives us the freedom to do that.
Milk kefir has a broader range of lactobacillus community in it than water kefir (30-50 strains rather than 10-15). It has less risk of exploding, because less carbon dioxide is produced and it is currently the most widely investigated fermented food in relation to its impact on health (although more high quality research is needed). My milk kefir has been characterised by a lab so I know which microbes were in it at the point the lab did the test (2021).
The grains are made of bacteria and yeasts and they digest the lactose in the milk, breed and populate the milk. If you are lactose intolerant, it is worth trying it, because the microbes pre-digest the lactose - often making it more digestible and better tolerated. When you consume milk kefir, you are consuming beneficial lactobacillus bacteria. And it is an entirely natural community, not a few species manipulated in a lab. The microbial action in milk kefir is an anaerobic process, but the milk creates a sufficient barrier to air so you don’t need to worry about keeping the grains submerged. I do close the lid on my milk kefir kilner jars too – mainly to keep flies or other things finding their way in there.
Milk kefir recipe
Equipment
A plastic sieve
A few differing sizes of kilner jars – I am doing my first ferment in a 500ml Kilner because that holds enough to make my daily intake of milk kefir. I also use 500ml ones for the second ferment and to store in the fridge although, at the moment, I am making it and drinking it daily so it isn’t stored in the fridge for long. What you need in terms of jars will depend on the amount you intend to consume. My kids have yet to appreciate the wonder that is milk kefir so, at present, I am the only one imbibing it (although, I do hide it in their smoothies sometimes). And my brother steals some when he visits. I need more than one kilner jar because as I strain the first batch, I am reloading a fresh kilner for the next batch.
Milk, ideally organic whole milk.
Milk kefir grains, communities of bacteria and yeast.
A wooden spoon for helping to strain off the kefir from the grains – some websites suggest not using any metal with kefir (due to the lactic acid given off in the fermenting process and its possible interaction with metal). I am not sure whether this really matters in terms of brief contact (I have metal cup measures) but I wouldn’t store the kefir or ferment it in metal containers.
Cup measures
The variables involved in fermenting milk kefir
Temperature, the warmer it is, the faster they will ferment.
Time, the longer I leave the brew, the more I will see the curd (thick creamy bit of milk) separating from the whey (the watery bit) and it all going more and more lumpy. This is because the longer I leave it, the more lactose (milk sugar) the grains digest and the more lactic acid they produce. If left too long, they will eventually run out of their food supply, which is not good for them. My aim is to keep the time variable constant. I alter the other variables to ensure each batch is ready in a 24 hour period to provide me with fresh milk kefir daily.
Amount of milk, obviously the proportion of milk to grains is a factor because it provides the microbes with their food source.
Amount of grains, these grow gradually over time so watch out for that. 1 tsp to start with will grow and unless you split the extra off, your milk will start turning to kefir more and more quickly unless, of course, you add more milk. And then you will have more kefir to drink…
Oxygen, the microbial action in milk kefir is an anaerobic process, but the milk creates a sufficient barrier to air so you don’t need to worry about keeping the grains submerged. I do close the lid on my milk kefir kilner jars too, mainly to keep flies or other things finding their way in there.
Cleanliness, I am not obsessing about the cleanliness of utensils. I either hand wash them in hot water or wash them in the dish washer.
If things don’t quite work out and I can’t see the milk taking on a life of its own within the 24 hr period, I either need to wait longer or tweak one of my variables.
Ingredients
1.5 cups of milk
1 tsp of milk kefir grains
Method
Add the milk and the kefir grains together in a kilner jar.
Leave with the lid sealed, whilst both the milk and water kefir process involves the production of carbon dioxide, the rate at which the milk kefir does it is nothing like the rate the water kefir does. And, of course, the kilner allows for escape of gases to some extent via the rubber seal. Leaving the lid on the milk kefir doesn’t risk some sort of dirty home-made milk bomb experiment. Well not unless you forget about it and leave it for weeks on end and even then, the worst that will happen is that you might get sprayed with milk kefir when you do finally open the lid.
Watch for developments, action seems to start from the top down and this highly attractive cottage cheese-like scab forms on the top of the milk pretty rapidly. The grains seem to work their way from the top down through the milk.
I leave mine for around 24 hours, my combination of milk and grains at the temperature of my ferment cupboard means the milk kefir is ready within 24 hours. If the response is a bit slow, I will adjust one of the other variables.
Leave somewhere warm-ish (18-21 °C) and ideally in view. The colder it is, the slower they will ferment and the hotter it is, the faster they will work. When starting out, keep them in view so that you don’t forget about it plus, it is really fascinating to watch. Look for it starting to turn lumpy.
After 24 hrs strain off the grains with a sieve. The kefir (the thick milk minus the grains) should be nice and thick like yoghurt. My grains took a while to adjust and get into their groove so don’t get disheartened if your kefir starts off fizzy but a bit thin and watery. If your variables aren’t quite right and you haven’t seen any of the above occurring, then I would move it somewhere warmer and sit it out for a bit longer. For me, I adjust the milk and grain combination to ensure my cycle is a 24 hour one – you may have a different approach.
Repeat the above process with 1tsp of grains to make the next batch. Watch to keep the amount of grains consistent as they will grow over time.
With the kefir I have made, I like to do a second ferment. I take the kefir I have made and put it into a half litre kilner. I add a small amount of fruit, a couple of peelings of orange peel, a few strawberries or some banana (it is just a tiny taster compared to the volume of fruit I add to water kefir) and then leave it to ferment again. This time, the bacteria in the kefir use not only the lactose in the milk but also the sugar in the fruit. After a few hours (or quite a few if I forget it), I can see the curds and whey separating again. Then I remove the fruit (eat if edible) and drink the kefir or put it in the fridge for later.
I often forget the kefir at the fruit fermenting stage and end up leaving it overnight with the fruit in and then exclaiming when I spot it on the surface the next morning. Other than a bit of a whoosh when I open the lid, it is still very palatable and lovely and thick. I just remove the fruit, give it a stir and it is good to go – trust your own taste buds and sense of smell though, you will soon find out what suits your particular microbial make-up the best.
If I go away, I either take them with me or I just put the grains in a kilner of milk and leave in the fridge. The grains will continue working but at a MUCH slower pace.
It may sound complicated, but it really isn’t once you get going and, if you get into the swing of it, you will have a lifetime’s full supply of beneficial microbes in a wonderfully natural form.
We are all individual, this is the basics of my practice, but this wonderful process is totally interactive and involves each of us working out what volume/rate/fermentation time/flavor best suits us and the environment in which we are doing it. That takes a bit of experimenting and it involves trusting our senses of taste and smell and adjusting our process to suit us.
There is so much information online, enjoy exploring. You will see that there are so many different ways to ferment milk kefir, enjoy finding your own.
