Kefir (and Kefir cheese!)

Kefir, pronounced kuh-feer, is an amazing probiotic made from just kefir grains and milk. It is incredibly easy to make, all you do is add milk to the grains, let sit on the counter for 24 hours, strain out grains, and repeat! I like taking it one step further and making kefir cheese. This is a great low lactose (lactose intolerant friendly!) alternative to cream cheese or Boursin cheese. I use the kefir for drinking, as a face mask, to bake with, or whenever recipes call for milk or heavy cream.

Supplies

Ingredients

Kefir Grains

Whole milk – either cow, goat, sheep, or camel

Instructions

1. If starting from newly purchased kefir grains, revitalize the grains by soaking in a cup or two of milk for a day or so in a glass jar, cover with a lid or cloth – make sure if using a lid it is not sealed, and let sit on your counter for the night.
2. After 24 hours of soaking, use strainer to strain grains from milk and toss first kefir batch. Save grains and add back to the glass jar with more milk – however much milk you add is how much kefir you will make, and if making kefir cheese about half the amount will be cheese. Use one to two cups of milk per one tablespoon of kefir grains. If you want to make more kefir, you should wait until your kefir grains have grown. Cover and leave to sit on the counter overnight.
3. After 24 hours, strain kefir into a bowl. If you are just making kefir then transfer to a jar and store in the fridge for up to a week! Rinse and repeat this process.
4. If you want to stop or pause in making kefir, put your grains in a glass storage container with at least 1/4 a cup of milk and store in the fridge. Change the milk every week or so.
5. To make kefir cheese, from step 3, transfer kefir to another jar and allow to sit on the counter for another 24 hours without the kefir grains. The kefir will separate into curds and whey.
6. After 24 hours or once the kefir has separated, strain out the whey using the cheese cloth and strainer with a bowl underneath to catch the whey. Tie up cheese cloth and hang and allow to sit for an hour or so to fully strain the whey. Transfer to a glass container, add salt and any other seasonings you like (I like sea salt and green onions or just plain with sea salt!)
7. Save the whey for baking sourdough with (substitute for water), feeding to dog (my dog also loves the extra kefir grains!), making whey soda, or save up in the freezer to make mozzarella with!