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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.
Getting diahrea from my home made experience. Maybe too strong from so much grain, or letting it work too long? Newcomer!
Kefir is VERY therapeutic and cleansing to the gut. Go slow and start with small amounts at first. Your diarrhea is most likely a detox reaction from the probiotics in the kefir. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/7-ways-to-avoid-detox-symptoms-on-a-cleanse/
Another newbie joining in here, just to say thank you for sharing your knowledge with us here online. I will, in turn, grow my own knowledge on fermentation and turn others on to the health benefits I have discovered.
Hi! Very new to culturing ANYTHING.. but interest has taken hold. I’m curious, how long will the used kefir grains hold up in the (fresh raw milk?) in the refrigerator? do you need to change the milk out often? If say you only make one batch a week? do you open the lid periodically? I’m unsure of the handling methods as far as making sure the milk it’s stored in remains a healthy environment to BE stored in.. and how many times can you reuse it? switch out the storing milk every time? leave it as is? Thankyou in advance <3
You can store the kefir grains in some milk in the fridge for a week or two between batches.
Looks like the lids you are using are metal. Won’t that weaken the grains? When you turned jar on its side the contents came in contact with the lid.
The kefir grains don’t come into contact with the metal in the lids so they aren’t a problem.
Hi Sarah, I’m from Australia where they only have the cold pressed raw milk as you have mentioned on your site. You have said that instead a milk kefir like this one could be used. So if using kafir instead of milk would you put in 2 cups of kefir instead of milk (I think that’s what the infant formula recipe says)? If so is it better to make more kefir using that milk and maybe get several grains? I have newborn twins by the way. Is this formula recipe suitable for them? Thanks
Yes, you would substitute kefir for the milk portion of the homemade formula. I know a number of mothers who have used the formula with twins.
You have a spelling error.. you say do rinse .. should read don’t rinse
I’m confused about whether to rinse or not rinse the kefir grains. Please clarify.
I don’t rinse the grains and it is recommended not to.
Thanks so much for the helpful video! It really makes it much more easy to follow directions on how to make something like kefir if I can visually see whats going on!
Is it bad to cut the kefir grains? I saw an article with recommended cutting (with a plastic knife, not metal) them into smaller bits to enhance the fermentation process & yield a smoother final product. The article also mentioned using a nylon mesh strainer to then strain out the smaller-sized grains.
I haven’t tried this. I know you can cut kombucha cultures without a problem.
Thanks, Sarah! I enjoyed watching the video and saw that you said that it is not necessary to rinse the kefir grains. The video clarified that for me. I had the same question from reading the article. Thank you!