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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.
This statement is confusing: “Recipe Notes
You do need to rinse live kefir grains before using again. Rinsing them slightly weakens them in my experience.”
When live kefir grains are weakened, they don’t readily ferment as well. This makes for batches that develop mold or go bad instead of fermenting. Hope that makes sense.
The package says not to use raw milk and only use pasteurized. Thoughts?
Probably just legal reasons. I never use pasteurized milk to make my kefir and it turns out beautifully every time.
How long can I use raw milk if it has been refrigerated. I have had some in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks and it taste and smells ok. It seems to me if you can leave it on a counter for several days you could use it for a long time???? Thanks
What are your thoughts on eastern european kefir and pasteurised kefir?
I have had amazing success fermenting slowly in the fridge and quickly on the counter. The slowing down and speeding up of fermentation has had no downside that I can tell. When I know I won’t need kefir for awhile, I put them in a lot of milk in a big jar in the fridge. When the milk has become kefir (which it does, eventually) I use it and put the grains in fresh milk. If I need kefir fast, I put it on the counter or near the stove so that it is around 75 degrees and in 36-48 hours, amazing kefir. The higher the fat in the milk the better the kefir. Then I add some sugar, homemade vanilla and golden milk mix (turmeric, cinnamon and ginger) and drink it up. I also have been very successful deep freezing my grains. This batch I am using now were frozen for 6 months a least and are the best grains, yet. I put them in a small mason jar and fill it with milk and freeze.
Hello Sarah, recently started 3-month old breastfed baby on WAP formula and she is struggling with constipation. We have modified the formula as suggested in the Nourishing Traditions book to help alleviate the issue (more fresh whey, probiotic and adding molasses) and also want to try replacing the raw cows milk with kefir. We are ordering kefir grains (and powder so we can get kefir in her bottle ASAP while the kefir grains rehydrate and ferment). My question is, can we make milk kefir with ‘thawed’ raw cow milk? Our source is an hour away and our goats will not have milk until March. Also, how do we ‘culture’ the raw cow cream for the formula? Really want to make the formula work for our baby but it’s so nerve-wracking when they cannot poop :/ Thanks Sarah!
My kefir grains be grown out of proportion. ….Pl suggest a long term storage plan….i be heard about dehydration and refrigeration
Hi Sarah, thanks so much for the info & video. I have just eaten / drunk my first batch ???? I may have left it too long – 4 days…it is cold here however. The kilner jar popped on opening so another pointer to the fermentation process was working. How do I know if I have left it way too long? Will it be harmful to the culture and/or me?
Also, the friend who kindly gave me a piece of their 2 yr old culture explained I needed to rinse it each time. Further, how long is the culture ok in a small amount of milk until the next batch? Thank you!
You really don’t need to rinse the culture everytime. I never rinse mine. If you refrigerate the culture in a cup or two of milk, it will be fine for several weeks.
Ultra-pasteurized milk works just fine. I do it all the time.
My kefir is yeasty tasting. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?
When making milk kefir do I need to skim off the cream on top?
The kefir will be better tasting if you don’t.