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How to make homemade kefir the traditional way by fermenting on the counter for 24 hours with farm fresh milk.
I prefer homemade kefir to yogurt because yogurt only has 2-5 strains of beneficial bacteria None of these aggressively attack and destroy pathogens in the gut like the probiotics in kefir do.
By the way, kefir is pronounced ku-feer (not kee-fer or ke-fer).
Kefir made at home has dozens of beneficial bacterial strains as well as several beneficial yeasts. Kefir compared to yogurt is no competition. Kefir is much more beneficial for gut healing.
The one catch is that you need to learn how to make kefir yourself!
Commercial kefir brands typically have far less microbial strains and are not fermented long enough to have the same benefits.
Homemade Kefir Benefits
In a gut that is dominated by pathogens and candida overgrowth (as in someone who has taken many rounds of antibiotics and other prescription drugs over the years and/or eats primarily processed foods), yogurt tends to have only a temporary beneficial impact.
As mentioned earlier, homemade kefir has about 30 beneficial strains of bacteria and yeasts that do aggressively recolonize the gut by destroying pathogens.
As a result, kefir has the potential to permanently alter the gut environment for the better whereas yogurt does not.
The best way to make homemade kefir is to obtain live kefir grains from a friend. They grow slowly over time and extras can be given away (or even eaten as a live probiotic).
Avoid using powdered starter for kefir. It has little to no therapeutic value.
If you cannot find any live grains in your community, you can mail order them.
Other Types of Kefir Made at Home
If learning how to make other types of kefir interests you, check out this video on how to make water kefir.
This video plus recipe on how to make coconut milk kefir is helpful if you wish to make a dairy-free version of the milk-based kefir below.
Homemade Kefir Recipe
Easy recipe for homemade kefir fermented on the counter for 24 hours to maximize beneficial microbial strains for gut healing.
Ingredients
- 1 quart raw milk preferably grass-fed
- 1 wide-mouthed mason jar
- live kefir grains
Instructions
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Pour the raw milk into a clean glass mason jar leaving about 1 inch at the top. You can use cold milk right out of the refrigerator if this is more convenient. Gently stir in live kefir grains. Roughly one-quarter cup of grains is sufficient to ferment the entire quart.
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Screw on the lid and leave on the counter at room temperature for 24 hours. Over this time, you will see the milk slightly separate and thicken.
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The kefir should be ready after 24 hours of fermentation time. If powder culture was used, you can use the kefir as is. If live kefir grains were used, gently strain them out to use again with the next batch of raw kefir.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
You do not need to rinse live kefir grains before using again. Rinsing them slightly weakens them in my experience.
Homemade kefir will last many weeks in the refrigerator, but its flavor will get stronger over time.
Sorry to bother you- Can you make this with regular milk, or does it have to be raw? I dont have access to raw milk- thank you!!!
You can make it with low temp pasteurized, nonhomogenized milk too. It won’t turn out quite as therapeutically potent however.
I’m going to dive head first into the kefir club. I just found a source of raw milk and ordered my kefir grains. By this time next week, I hope to be drinking healthful kefir. I will strain out the grains and put them in a little milk and then in the fridge (as per your video). How long can I expect to re-use the starter grains for my kefir? Will they every lose potency or putrefy? Thanks for the help in my endeavor.
I’ve used mine for years.
Loved the video! Just wondering…I know we are not supposed to use any metal with kefir. Is the lid you screwed on the jar to ferment a metal lid? I usually use a washcloth as a cover held on by a rubber band. Is it better to have a lid tightly screwed on?
Thank you, kindly!
Judy
Yes I use metal lids but they don’t touch the kefir grains so it’s fine. You can use the washcloth if you like. I don’t think it really matters as long as it’s tighly covered.
Ho much of the kefir grains should be used?
Just use the whole lot of them.
I recently tried making kefir from grains from a friend. I’m not sure how to tell if I did it right and if it is safe/ready to drink. I had to wait a week before I could start the process so the grains were in the fridge with a little milk for about 10 days before I started it. From the store I purchased the brand “A2 Milk” and put a quart of that with the grains and let sit at room temp for about 26 hours. The top of it looked a little like cottage cheese so I thought I had done it right and according to the directions it should’ve been ready so I strained off the grains. Besides that top layer the rest of it was still pretty watery. It all smells yeasty (the grains smelled that way from the start) but not spoiled. Is is safe/ready to drink? When I strained off the grains there were definitely some chunks but it wasn’t a lot and I’m not sure if it was ready yet as the kefir itself still has the consistency of whole milk. I’m just wondering if I can safely drink it or if I should start over? Thank you!
Hello… avid fangirl here. 🙂 I’m going to order the kefir starter you recommended above for use with raw milk (yay!). I’ve been getting it directly from my farmer who uses Eastern European sourced grains. Are there kefir grains that have a greater variety of beneficial bacteria (more health benefits?) than other kefir grains? In other words — are the types and variety of some kefirs around the world superior to others in quantity and/or quality and/or variety of bacteria/yeasts? Do you have any information on this? I’ve tried to google for the answer to this off & on without success. Hoping you might have an opinion? Thank you so much! And thank you for all the fantastic information you provide. Very grateful!!
That’s a great question! I’m sure this is probably true, but I haven’t come across any information one way or the other to confirm.
Hi Sarah
I live in Norway so here I get only maximum 4%fat milk so my question is this 4%fat milk can make my kefir?
Yes, you can definitely make kefir with that level of milkfat.
Thanks for the great video! Sorry to ask this and you very well may have covered the topic, but if you don’t suggest using the packets of kefir powder if possible, where do you get the live grains from? Thank you!
You can get live kefir grains here: https://amzn.to/2CEtxbK
Just a few suggestions from years of experience…
~ RINSING: Don’t rinse the grains unless they’re contaminated by mold (usually orangish in color). Rinsing washes away good bacteria. Never use tap water for rinsing – filtered or distilled only. Either strain them or spoon them out if they’re big enough.
~ METAL: Do not allow any metal besides stainless steel to come in contact with the grains (due to rust, leaching, and/or anti-bacterial properties). Do not ferment or store kefir in any metal.
~ Under normal conditions the grains will multiply to double in size in about 3 months. You can consume the extra or give away.
~ FAT: Fat in milk has the tendency to coat the grains, stopping fermentation. If using whole non-homogenized milk, either skim the cream off before making kefir, or stir kefir often (every 4-6 hours) to prevent coating. Goat milk doesn’t have this problem.
~ STORAGE: Long-term storage can be done in milk in a refrigerator for up to 3-4 weeks at a time. For longer periods, rinse, dry, coat with powdered milk and put in a freezer (in a plastic bag).
~ TIME: At a grains-milk ratio of about 1:5, allow to ferment for at least 24 hours. Best results if kept for 48 hours at 50-60°F during fermentation (longer at colder temps). If kept at higher temp, then kefir tends to look like ‘cheese in whey’ instead of being creamy.
~ CONSUMPTION: Home-made kefir is the most potent probiotic, but if consumed properly. Drink kefir on an empty stomach, and wait at least half-hour before taking other food. This prevents stomach acids from killing off most of the bacteria.
Since refrigeration stops fermentation, grains can be stored in milk in a refrigerator for at least a week. I wouldn’t drink the milk afterwards unless you feel adventurous. Milk has to be discarded if it starts growing mold on top (looks orange or light brown in color), but the grains can be rinsed and reused.