Heavenly Homemakers

I had never heard of Kefir until about six years ago. (It’s pronounced “kEE-fur”, by the way.)  And then, while learning about kefir, I heard that there were these things called “kefir grains”, which of course made me immediately picture a wheat field.

FYI – kefir and wheat fields have nothing in common – except for maybe the fact that both can be used to create consumable products. Therefore, if you are having a conversation with friends and the subject of kefir comes up – (and you know it will, because a lengthy kefir conversation is what friendship is made of) – smile, look smart, and for the love of probiotics, don’t ask something silly about what a kefir field looks like.

Not that I ever asked anything like that or made myself sound silly in front of friends during a kefir conversation. Nor did I ever pronounce the word like “keh-fur” which rhymes with heifer, which makes me think of a cow, which sort of relates because at least kefir is a dairy product. But anyway…

I finally learned what kefir is, and I also learned to love it. Kefir is a probiotic beverage, similar to yogurt, only not quite as thick. This cultured dairy product is excellent for your digestion as it is full of healthy bacteria that can heal the gut. You can drink it plain, and will find that it is rich and tangy. We prefer to drink it in smoothies, blended with lots of frozen fruit to sweeten it up.

Kefir grains are reusable, allowing you make batches and batches of kefir for years and years. But with my busy schedule, I find that keeping up with making sure my kefir grains are alive and healthy is very overwhelming. That’s probably silly, but that’s where I’ve landed.

By the way, kefir grains are not a grain at all, so I don’t know why they are called grains. They are simply little grain sized live bacteria that, when placed in milk, culture the milk so that it becomes kefir. (I am so incredibly unscientific in my explanations.)

Instead of using these grains to make kefir for my family, I have found that using a Powdered Kefir Starter Culture is a much easier way to go. Then I use my homemade kefir to make more kefir. It’s awesome. Here’s how I do it:

Begin with a quart of milk and a packet of Powdered Kefir Starter Culture. I use raw, organic milk, but this it not necessary if you don’t have access to raw milk.

Pour contents of the packet into the milk. This step is so very difficult that I took a picture of it to show you how to do it. ;)

After you have poured the contents of the packet into the milk, it will look like this. Aren’t you glad I took a picture of this for you too?

Okay, that’s all of the obvious pictures I took, even though I’m sure you would have loved pictures of me digging through my drawer for a lid, putting the lid on, and shaking it up furiously.

Oh shucks, I guess I gave away the next steps in your kefir making process. Indeed, you need to put a lid on the jar, shake it up, and leave it on your countertop for about 24 hours – more or less – depending on how long it takes for this to “kefir-fy”. You will know that your kefir has formed once the contents in your jar have thickened. At this point, you can put your kefir in the fridge to chill.

Just a note:  The instructions in the packet are likely to tell you to heat your milk and do a few extra steps beyond what I have told mentioned here. You can do that if you wish. I skip the other steps because I prefer to keep my milk raw, plus I have found that cold milk works just as well as warm milk.

VERY IMPORTANT!!! When using your kefir, keep about one cup at the bottom of your jar. Pour this cup of kefir into a quart or half gallon of milk, leave it on the counter for 24 (give or take) hours, and allow the milk to thicken into cultured kefir.

Isn’t that cool? You use your kefir to make more kefir. Therefore, your kefir starter packet will make eight or more batches of kefir! So easy!!

P.S. I just did a little internet research and see that another way to pronounce kefir is {keh-FEER}. I think that sounds a little funny, but what do I know? I’m the one who thought kefir grains grew in fields. ;)

Ever made kefir? How do you pronounce it?