Raw Milk Kefir
Raw Milk Kefir
Good morning everyone! Today I am going to enlighten you on the awesomeness of raw milk kefir! Many people haven’t heard of kefir, and lots who have are intimidated by it. Kefir is seriously the easiest thing to make, it only takes a couple of ingredients, and it extremely good for you and your gut health.
So, what is kefir anyways?
Kefir is a fermented dairy product, similar to yogurt. Lots of people are super freaked out by the term “fermented”, but most people eat some sort of fermented food everyday! Common things like cheese, alcohol, yogurt, soy sauce, and even coffee! We live in a very germophobic society where everything needs to be kept in the refridgerator or freezer. While this is true for many foods, many fermented foods have to be left at room temperature for the good bacteria to thrive and multiply.
Our digestive systems need bacteria to help break down our foods and keep us healthy. Lots of people use probiotic supplements nowadays to help with digestion. Kefir is a probiotic power house of between 30 and 50 strains of good bacteria. Most probiotic supplements only have a handful, and can be very costly!
When foods are fermented, the process makes it easier for our bodies to absorb the nutrients that the food contains. The process basically makes the nutrients more easily accessible to our digestive system. Kefir is packed with awesome nutrition, especially when you use raw milk to make it.
What if I am lactose intolerant?
If you are one of the many people who cannot tolerate dairy, you actually still may be able to tolerate kefir. Kefir grains, the culture that turns milk into kefir, consume most of the lactose that is in milk, and turn it into good bacteria and beneficial yeast. With a significant amount of milk sugars reduced, many people have found that they can enjoy kefir!
What if I can't find raw milk?
There are many state laws that make it hard for people to source raw milk. Being in North Carolina, raw dairy can only be sold if it is labeled for animal consumption only. Although there is no difference besides the label, it throws a lot of people off. You may be able to ask local farmers at a market, they can typically steer you in the right direction.
If you have a hard time finding a source, or in your state it is completely illegal to purchase raw milk, you can use store bought milk.
I would suggest using whole milk, and nothing that is ultra-pasteurized. The higher the temperature is when pasteurized, the less naturally occurring nutrients are left in the milk.
How to I make kefir?
This will be the simplest recipe you will ever follow!
Kefir grains, like I said above, are the culture that transforms milk into kefir! You may be able to find fresh grains from a friend, or possibly a local Co-op. When we got started, we couldn’t find them anywhere, so we ordered them online. When you order them online, you will have to go through a few cycles before the kefir will be okay to drink. You can drink this kefir but it will likely be very yeasty tasting. This will go away after straining and replacing the milk everyday for a few days.
Once you have sourced your grains, you will want to place them in a glass jar. I use a quart mason jar.
Place your grains in the appropriate sized jar, and add roughly one cup of milk per tablespoon of grains.
Add a cheese cloth, paper towel, or coffee filter over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band or string. Let the jar sit, undisturbed for about 24 hours. This time will vary, and you will get the hang of when it is ready after a little bit of experience.
Once the kefir is finished fermenting, you will take a plastic sieve over a bowl and pour your kefir into the strainer. Wiggle it about until all of your kefir is in the bowl, and your kefir grains are in the strainer.
Place your grains in a clean jar, and top with milk to start over again!
Take your strained kefir and put in a jar. Place it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use!
How do you eat kefir?
Some people enjoy kefir just how it is, but I prefer it blended into a smoothie with my favorite fruit, and either honey or stevia!
You can also add collagen powder, super greens powder, or whatever supplement you’d like! It will all be delicious!
Tips and Tricks With Your Kefir Grains
Your grains will multiply quickly. There are a few things you can do with them.
- Share the love and gift them to a friend who would love kefir as much as you do!
- Eat them! Toss a couple into your morning smoothie for an extra kick of probiotics! This is especially helpful during cold and flu season to keep your immune system on its toes!
- If you have chickens, they will love you forever! We actually ferment 1/2 a gallon of kefir for our chickens everyday to keep them as healthy as possible. Clarabelle, our dairy cow, produces more that we can use, so making kefir for the chickens helps in two ways 😉
If you must go away on a trip, you can place your grains covered in milk in the fridge. It may take a couple cycles to get them back to normal, but they should recover. I don’t suggest doing this often if you can help it. The kefir grains are a living colony or yeast and bacteria and if in the wrong environment for too long, they will die.
Thank you for reading along today! If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to help!
Until next time, Ashley