Making Kefir

There are lots of things to make with fresh cow's milk.  Obviously we drink it.  We also skim the cream for coffee, make ice cream, butter, Crème fraîche (sour cream), whey, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, awesomely delicious whipped cream and kefir.

Today, we'll talk to you about kefir - what it is and how we make it.  First off kefir is a "drinkable yogurt" that means feel good in Turkish.  It is a healthy fermented milk beverage that colonizes your digestive system with beneficial bacteria which aids digestion and boosts your body's immune system.

To make kefir Tricia skims most of cream off of the milk as it seems to take the culture more evenly.

Ladling off cream to be used for coffee

Then, we'll add the culture to the skimmed milk.  This culture can be bought:

Or, once your kefir is made, you can pour some of it into ice cube trays or other containers and save it to use as starter for the next batch.  You use 1/2 cup starter for 1/2 gallon of milk. 


Ziploc bag of starter frozen in ice cube trays

Tricia adds the starter to the milk:

Once the starter is added, stir or shake real good, cover and let it sit at room temperature for 18 - 24 hours.

 When it is done, the kefir will pull away from the side of the jar when tipped and looks a little 'custardy' - it is not totally liquid anymore.

At this point we'll shake it to break it up and we pull off 1/2 cup to use as the starter for the next batch.  We date the starter, put it in a ziploc bag and freeze it.

The starter goes in the freezer and the kefir goes in the fridge and can be enjoyed for a couple of weeks.

 Here's one way we really like it.  Smoothies.  We do peach, fig, blueberry, blackberry, really whatever is in season.  This morning we made a strawberry banana kefir smoothie for breakfast.
 

Get your fruit cut up and ready in the blender

Pour in your kefir - gloppity gloppity glop.


Mix in a little cinnamon and some good, local honey that I get from my buddy who is a bee keeper.  In addition to tasting great, local honey keeps your allergies at bay.

 Put on the lid and blend it up real good.

  Pour yourself up a nice glass:

 Garnish with a berry and ENJOY!  Smoothie King's got nothing on this.

One more thing, kefir has a tangy taste and is naturally carbonated.  In the fermentation process, the bacteria produces lactic acid and CO2.  This healthy delicious beverage is known to boost immunity, increase your daily energy, colonize your digestive system with beneficial flora and provides essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids - a great way to start your day!