If you use kefir in your health routine, do you make your own?

[rosehill]

Does anyone make their own Kefir? I read that it can be done. Just wondering if it would be any less expensive to do that? Or, if it is worth the trouble?

[wedgewood]

If you are used to making yoghurt , you can probably master the art of making kefir . I have thought about making it , but it can be tricky . and as KI’m on my own , I’ve decided to buy it . It has many more different kinds of probiotics compared to yoghurt . Good stuff for your gut !

[rosehill in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you, Wedgwood. It seems so similar to yogurt, it's crazy that you can have kefir if you are lactose intolerant. I have a really nice yogurt maker that I purchased before I knew I was lactose intolerant. I might look into seeing if I can make it in there. I know you buy kefir grains to make it. That's all I know, will have to read further, LOL!

[SouthSounder in reply to rosehill]

Never made Kefir, but I've been making my own Greek yogurt for years, using a rice cooker I modified with a dimmer switch so I can adjust the temp. I use whole milk, incubate the mixture at 115 deg F for 24 hours, and drain it well. Long incubation & draining the whey thoroughly eliminates most of the lactose. The whole milk fat level is delicious, ice cream-y! Have you tried making Greek?

[wedgewood in reply to rosehill]

If you do make your own kefir you could always use lactose -free milk , which is readily obtainable now . It works just as well apparently. 👍

[Harvena]

I have tried to make it twice, but a) did not like the taste or the texture, b) only me to use it and can only start with tiny quantities of pro-biotics/supplements etc and there was too much of it, so at the moment I am buying it.

I do not think that heat should be used to make it, unlike yogurt.

I found this thread on the thyroid forum a while back, may help

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

There are recipes around for using kefir to assist raising in bread-making and stuff.

[Hidden]

Hi rosehill I tried making it years ago I bought the kefir grains and a glass jar and you had to put the mix in the airing cupboard where it was dark and warm.it was really gross lol I couldn’t touch it.

If you want to buy it then go to the polish food section in Asda and you can buy a litre carton for around 90p but start off very slowly with your intake,just a small half glass a day then you can increase if your doing ok on it.I can’t take it I get tummy cramps with it so just stopped.

You could also try sauerkraut that’s got loads of good bacteria in it and again you can make it yourself there’s recipes Online.good luck x

[LWhelan]

Hi I have been making my own kefir for a few years now and it is so so simple. To me the whole point of kefir is to improve your gut health so why would you buy a processed drink from the supermarket when processed food is part of the problem. You simply switch the milk out each day and I use it to make a daily smoothly with whatever I haven the fridge. Normally just a banana, berries and some chia seeds. You store the glass bottle with the culture on the work top and it literally takes a few minutes each day. I would highly recommend it.

[TFH1]

It's easy peasy to make kefir and as cheap as a pint of milk. The shop bought stuff does not have as many of the beneficial probiotics - less variety and less in number. You literally just get a tablespoon of the grains (recommend facebook group uk fermenting friends for this as people share them for free, or you can buy from many online retailers such as Amazon) and put them in milk for 24-48 hours depending on how sour you like it. Some people ferment on the countertop for 24 hours and then remove grains and put in fridge, other do whole thing in fridge, especially at this time of year when warm weather means they ferment quicker. There are loads of how to videos on you tube such as this one: youtube.com/watch?v=xlZrlm9...(Not working as expected?)

And feel free to ask if you have any questions (the facebook group is also an excellent source of advice).

[Hidden]

I found making kefir in a jar was a lot of faffing about. I have an electric yoghurt make from Lakeland and I just buy a pot of really good quality kefir yoghurt and use that as the starter. This will make about 3/4 litre of yoghurt, then I keep some at the end to use in the next batch and so on.

[Budsa]

I have been making my own Kefir for 3 weeks. It is extremely easy and needs nothing more than a couple of jam jars, a seive, a fridge and some kefir grains which cost me £5 off the Internet.

I've tried semi skilled milk, whole milk and full cream Jersey milk so far. The Jersey milk based Kefir is beautifully smooth and mild. I do an initial fermentation in a jar covered with kitchen roll and an elastic band for 18-24 hours in a kitchen cupboard. After straining into a clean storage jar I have added bits of fruit such as lemon peel, orange peel, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries . I leave this out of the fridge for a further 6 hours to allow the second fermentation to start and then move it to warmest part of my fridge to continue.

They all taste delicious and I drink a standard 175ml wineglass full each morning.

I have a litre of goat's milk in the fridge to start on next. Totally worth the 5 minutes a day I spend processing it.

[rosehill]

Thanks all. I will look for a good website with understandable instructions. I looked on eBay and someone in Ireland sells 76 grams of Organic Strong Milk Kefir Grains Starter for $12.00 including shipping. Will have to wait until mid August to get them. Maybe I don't need that many grains. Do you re use grains, or do you use them just once?

[jjjam]

You re-use the grains, but they also multiply and you end up with more.

I'm not currently making kefir, although I used to make the water, not milk-based type.

However, I currently make kombucha which also provides probiotics. Mine is currently made with hibiscus, so is a pretty pink colour. For this you need a 'scoby' to start off the process - if you look it up and find it's something you'd like to try, let me know and I can let you have a scoby to start you off, as they too multiply.