Luci Lock October 22 2007 25,824 views
In this video, I‘ll be showing you how to make some yummy-scrummy, very-good-for-you kefir, which I‘ll make from raw cow‘s milk. You can also use raw goats milk if you‘d like. In a future video, I‘ll teach you how to make kefir from young coconut milk, which is very scrummylicious, especially with a squeeze of lime, very yummy indeed!
INGREDIENTS:
1 quart fresh, raw, organic milk
1 packet Body Ecology Kefir Starter (available through Mercola.com)
PREPARATION:
Sterilize a heavy-based pan, medium-sized, glass bowl (with rubber lid), mixing spoon and whisk in very, very hot water. Do not use cleaning chemicals to clean these utensils.
Pour milk into heavy-based pan. Turn heat on low, to very gently and slowly bring milk to skin temperature (about 5 minutes, checking occasionally so as not to overheat). The idea is to not kill any good bacteria or enzymes in the raw milk.
Check the temperature by placing a clean knuckle in the milk, and when you do, you should feel neither heat nor cold. Once at skin temperature, remove from heat.
At this point, you could just leave the milk to sour by itself. This would not be true kefir, but you would get some good bacteria and enzymes from this. But with kefir starter, you can introduce more good bacteria and enzymes, making it very healthy for your gut.
Whisk in a packet of Body Ecology Kefir Starter with milk. The lactose (milk sugar) will begin to awaken the bacteria in the Kefir Starter. The beneficial bacteria feed on, and grow in, the milk, which is exactly what we want to have happen.
Pour milk/kefir starter mixture into glass bowl and cover with rubber lid.
Keep bowl on your kitchen countertop for about 18 to 36 hours. Refrigerate.
You‘ll end up with very yummy, healthy kefir, which has slightly thickened. Shake before using. Enjoy the kefir with breakfast or in salad dressings. There are endless ways to use the kefir. It‘s also delicious and refreshing to drink plain.
Your family‘s health will benefit greatly from this wonderful, yogurt-like drink. Hope you enjoy this one!
I make kefir from my fresh raw goat milk , my kefir grains are about 18mo. old now. All I do is after I milk and strain the warm milk ,I just fill the Qt.glass jar that has the live kefir grains in it , up with the fresh warm milk, I let it set out on the counter and it's ready to use by morning in warm weather . I do put it in the fridge if I wont be using it for a few days, I dont really know if kefir ruins as I haven't had any go bad however I have had some that I forgot about for months and the kefir was too acid and bitter for me to drink but I just fed it to my dogs and rinsed the grains with water and added fresh warm milk and set out again. I think the fermentation process takes care of the bad bacteria and I have never heard of toxic kefir . I use the kefir for most everything cooking where it calls for milk and smoothies and ice cream are my favorites. Kefir is like buttermilk/yogurt cross , I have not made kefir cheese yet but the cheese is made like the video that's shown above and you can also learn about kefir from his site "Dom's Kefir"
users.chariot.net.au/.../kefirpage.html very very GOOD !!
Kefir cheese is soooo yummy! My kids will eat it by the pound. It's a good thing that kefir grains grow that way I can make as much as I want.
how do you make kefir cheese?
Read Dom's site about Kefir, he's the Kefir King!
Don't get a cow, get a goat (two really, as they need company) Cow's have sloppy, smelly excrement and can kill you by accidentally kicking you when swatting flies or if they are in a vile mood. Goat's need less room, are excellent company, and won't possibly cause you bodily harm with their feet. They learn tricks and are smarter than most dogs... I love my goats. Depending on the breed, the milk's fat content can be as low as 3%. The fat won't separate out and float, so no butter without a separator... Goat's milk is far superior to cow milk and will not taste bad unless you keep a Billy goat. Fiasco Farms has lots of great info on goats. If you like most animals, you will fall in love with your goats!
I used to have a cow. Now I have goats. I make butter every day with goats milk kefir. No cream separator is needed. I churn whole goats kefir. It takes up to three hours but it is worth it. Raw goat butter made from kefir is fabulous. Some of my goats are Nigerian Dwarfs which have a very high butterfat so I can get up to 1 1/2 pounds of butter from three gallons of kefir.
You can get bad tasting goat milk even if you don't have a buck around. Producing sweet, delicious goat milk that has a shelf life of 7-10 days without turning goaty has to do with cleanliness, quick cooling, and the health of the goat. Getting enough of the minerals copper and cobalt into them makes for exceptionally good tasting goat milk.
This is not important and means nothing, but I have had cows and goats...concerning harm from hooves, I've been stepped on by cows, horses and goats and those sharp little goat hooves hurt the worst! And that 'sloppy, smelly excrement' was great for fertilizing the fields. I did teach a goat to shake 'hands', but cows make better 'friends' as I had no humans (we lived in the sticks) with whom to play. I loved both my cows and goats. Nice to learn about making butter from goats milk kefir. That's a new one for me. Our Nubians gave lots of rich tasty milk. We had two goats that gave a gallon a milking (that's two gallons a day!). No one believed us when we moved to this area, thought we were deluded or lying. We fed them really well to get that kind of production. (And keep them out of the wild onions!) Sorry for the side-light that contributed nothing. I just had to stick up for my Guernseys!
Kefir is probably the easiest way to culture raw milk and keep it raw. I did notice an improvement in my digestion when I added kefir to my diet, even after some months of consuming my own homemade yogurt. I make my kefir the traditional way, from the kefir grains, though I know some people prefer the starter approach. Here's my approach:
www.rebuild-from-depression.com/.../making_dairybased_kefir_at_hom.html
Amanda
how long does this homemade kefir last if refrigerated? is it dangerous to drink afer a time, or does it become cheese?
what happens if you don't refrigerate? does it then become toxic?
thanks,
jg
I make a lot of kefir to carry me over while our cows are dry in the late winter and have drunk it when it is two months old. It is still good! I'm not sure what the limits are. Do keep it refrigerated. If you don't, it will separate into curds and whey. If that happens, strain the curds in butter muslin for a day or two (in the fridge), and then you have a marvelous cream cheese. I like to roll the cheese into walnut sized balls, roll in dried herbs, then put in a jar with garlic cloves and cover all with organic olive oil. After it has marinated for a bit, then you take out one of the cheese balls and mash it on some good crusty bread, like a ciabatta, and it is heaven!
johanna said,
"how long does this homemade kefir last if refrigerated?"
My reply: Months--but it can become quite acidic as all of the lactose (milk sugar) continues to be used up (rather slowly at refrigerator temps around 38-40 degrees F) by the probiotic bacteria and the good yeasts. Ideally, you should use up the kefir within a month of placing it into the refrigerator.
"is it dangerous to drink afer a time"
My reply: Only if you see mold growing on the surface of the kefir or on the inside surfaces of the jar. It takes a long time for mold to develop, depending on the ambient air temperature of your kitchen and how long your kefir has been sitting at room temperature.
"or does it become cheese?"
My reply: See Dom's kefir-making site for more info. about making cheese from kefir.
"what happens if you don't refrigerate? does it then become toxic?"
My reply: After you start your fermentation, you should allow anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to allow it to ferment at room temperature. If you allow it to ferment for longer than 48 hours, the fermented milk--kefir--becomes very acidic. If you just leave the kefir out of the refrigerator for many days, it will not be very tasty, but it is not "toxic." It really is very HARD to MESS up a batch of kefir. In fact, making kefir is much easier than making homemade yogurt.
See Dom's kefir-making site for all the details.
users.chariot.net.au/.../kefirpage.html
I love Kefir but in ND it is illegal to sell/buy raw milk unless it is for pet food only. I might have to buy a cow.
The 'pet food' label is just to satisfy the authorities. I think you'll find that most of it is bought for human consumption.
In Australia we can't even buy raw milk for pet consumption any more - gotta love the government! Is Kefir made with water as beneficial?
srubina, you can access raw milk in Oz but you have to "buy" a share in a cow from your friendly organic farmer, then you pay them to milk it for you. We actually go out and milk "our" cow sometimes. The kids love to drink milk literally straight from the cow. yum
When I see labeling that says "pasteurised" kefir in the supermarkets does that still qualify as kefir after it's been pasteurised? Wouldn't that be the same having labeling that says "pasteurised raw milk?"
I would think that the milk was pasteurize before they turned it into "kefir". I agree with Dom that it's not really kefir, unless it is made with real kefir grains. What you make at home with real kefir grains is superior to anything you can buy at the store. Direct set starter, which is what Luci is using in this video has only 7 or so strains of bacteria in it. There are no yeasts in "kefir" starter. Compare that to real kefir grains which have up to 30 strains of bacteria and yeast including some that directly combat candida albicans. I've even made something resembling kefir by opening probiotic capsules from the health food store and stirring into milk and letting it culture for a day or so. It's all good, but that wasn't kefir. And neither is direct set "kefir" starter. I'd like to emphasize it is all good.