Raw Kefir Tutorial
Raw kefir is a tart, fermented milk drink that can be used for smoothies, sauces, baking, salad dressings, or enjoyed by itself to give you a healthy dose of probiotics. It’s a cross between yogurt and milk and is loaded with healthy probiotics.
Related: fermented mangos recipe
Related: Homemade Sauerkraut Recipe
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- what is raw kefir?
- how to make raw kefir
- how to store raw kefir
- homemade raw kefir Tips
- how to use raw kefir
- benefits of raw kefir
- Types of kefir
- raw milk kefir vs pasteurized milk kefir
- how to rehydrate kefir grains
- shop this tutorial
- more fermented recipes
- Shop my Six Month Meal Plans
- Raw kefir faq
- Pin it for later – Raw kefir tutorial
- print the raw kefir recipe
- Raw Milk Kefir
- how to store raw kefir
- homemade raw kefir Tips
- About Me
what is raw kefir?
Raw milk kefir or bulgaros, is fermented milk by use of milk kefir grains. Milk kefir grains are a combination of lactic acid, bacteria, and yeasts in a blend of protein, lipids, and sugars – a blend called SCOBY. Once introduced to mammal milk, the raw milk kefir begins to ferment.
how to make raw kefir
I love drinking kefir smoothies in the morning because it gives my gut a nice dose of morning probiotics. It’s yet another creative way to eat homemade fermented foods. Being slightly sour, this thick milk drink is similar to the taste of yogurt.
raw kefir tools
- 2 mason jars with lids (at least big enough to hold a few cups of raw milk)
- Strainer (preferably plastic, but I use metal)
- Non-reactive bowl
Ingredients
- 1-2 tsp Kefir grains (I sell my extras here if you want to buy some from me!) (if just starting out, you can use 1 tsp and the grains will eventually multiply)
- 1 cup – 1/2 gallon Raw milk (see explanation below)
How much milk to use
This is a huge range because it depends on how established your grains are, how many grains you have, and how much raw kefir you want to drink.
- If you just received your grains and they were shipped to you, the stress of shipping has made them go dormant. They will liven up again after a few rounds. To start out, just use about 1-2 cups of milk for the first few rounds.
- If you have a lot of kefir grains and they’re well-established, go ahead and make up to a half gallon (or more) of raw kefir!
- If you’re like me, and you’re the only one in your household who drinks raw milk kefir, then you’ll want to only make what you can drink within a few days. Because of this, I only make about 1-2 cups per day.
Instructions
- Take a clean glass jar and add your kefir grains.
- Pour desired raw milk into the jar with your kefir grains.
- Loosely fit lid on your jar and let it sit at room temperature for about 10-36 hours. The timing will depend on how warm your house is, how established your kefir grains are, and how sour and thick you like your raw kefir.
- Every once in a while you can swirl the raw milk and kefir grains. I usually just do this if I pass by and think about it. This also helps me to see how thick it’s getting.
- Strain your kefir and kefir grains through your strainer into a glass or ceramic bowl.
- Use a spoon or clean fingers to get all the milk residue off the grains (as much as possible) and then transfer the grains to a clean mason jar. Set that aside for now.
- Take your bowl of raw kefir and pour it into a mason jar. I like to use the same jar that I fermented the kefir in.
- Pour new raw milk into the jar with your kefir grains and repeat the process.
how to store raw kefir
Room temperature raw kefir storage
Store completed raw kefir at room temperature for up to 2 days.
refrigerator storage (recommended)
Completed raw kefir can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.
freezer storage
Raw kefir can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Kefir grain storage
Store your kefir grains (if not currently culturing any raw milk) in the refrigerator with some milk. Note that this may cause your grains to go dormant again, but nothing a couple of batches can’t fix.
homemade raw kefir Tips
- When all else fails, just let it ferment longer. Raw kefir is very low maintenance – it doesn’t really mold or go bad as easily as other fermented foods. If it’s not doing what you want, for example, not thickening, just let it sit out longer.
- Use fresh, raw milk for best results.
- Never use ultra-pasturized milk for milk kefir. It just wont work since there isn’t enough bacteria in ultra-pasturized milk.
- Use clean jars, strainers, hands, spoons and anything else you’re using to make your raw kefir.
- Once you start seing your grains multiply, you can give any excess (anything more than about 2 tsp) to friends, blend into smoothies, or just compost them.
- If your kefir sits out long enough the yellow whey will separate from the milk. Just mix it up, strain, and use as normal.
- If you have other ferments on your counter, you’ll need to separate them by about 4 feet for best results for each ferment.
how to use raw kefir
- Smoothies. I love making raw kefir smoothies using just frozen or fermented fruit, honey and chia seeds.
- Salad dressings/sauces. Use raw kefir in place of the dairy component in salad dressings and sauces.
- Baking. Use raw kefir in place of the dairy component in your baked goods such as my sourdough donuts.
- Topped with granola, nuts or seeds. – simply pour some raw kefir in a bowl with some granola, nuts or seeds.
- By itself. Raw kefir has a pleasent taste all on it’s own. You can sweeten with honey to cut the sourness if preferred.
- Make ice cream!
- As the base for soup. Use raw kefir instead of the milk compnent for soups like my spiced pumpkin chili.
benefits of raw kefir
- More powerful probiotic than yogurt
- Certain strains of bacteria in milk kefir are known to protect against infections.
- Improves bone health
- Some animal studies have shown that kefir limits the growth of cancer cells.
- Improves gut health
- Kefir is a low-lactose drink, so some people with lactose intolerance are actually able to tolerate raw kefir.
- May decrease asthma and allergy symptoms.
- Kefir grains can last a lifetime if maintained making kefir a very cheap beverage that keeps on giving!
Types of kefir
- Goats milk
- Cows milk
- Coconut milk – if using coconut milk, you’ll want to switch your grains to cows or goats milk after a couple batches to reactivate your grains.
raw milk kefir vs pasteurized milk kefir
Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been heated at high temps in order to kill bacteria. This bacteria happens to be the bacteria that enables our bodies to better digest milk, which is why many people are intolerant to pasteurized milk products. There are more nutrients, enzymes, and good bacteria in raw milk.
Making kefir with pasteurized milk greatly decreases the benefits you’d receive from raw milk kefir.
how to rehydrate kefir grains
If you buy your kefir grains and have them shipped to you, you’ll need to rehydrate or activate, them. To do this, just use the exact same process above and make several batches of raw kefir. After a few batches, your grains will wake up and start to really culture your milk.
You can use the milk used to rehydrate your grains as you would kefir.
shop this tutorial
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- mason jars with lids (at least big enough to hold a few cups of raw milk)
- Strainer (preferably plastic, but I use metal)
- Non-reactive bowl
more fermented recipes
Roasted Garlic Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Starter from Scratch
Shop my Six Month Meal Plans
Shop for my six month meal plans here. These will help give you a restful dinner-time routine by giving you all your recipes laid out in a weekly meal plan format for 6 months.
Raw kefir faq
Yes, raw kefir is safe and healthy to drink. Make sure it doesn’t smell foul, just as you would any dairy product.
Raw kefir has more probiotics, enzymes, and nutrients than milk kefir made from pasteurized milk. The pasteurization process kills many of the beneficial bacteria and nutrients.
Raw kefir can be used in smoothies, baked goods, soups, salad dressings, popsicles, ice cream, or even by itself.
Yes, you can buy raw kefir at the store, however, that often has many added preservatives and thickening agents.
Yes, kefir, just like any dairy product, can go bad. However, it is very difficult to ruin the culturing process of milk kefir.
Raw kefir lasts in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Kefir originated in North Caucasus in Russia.
You should drink about 1-3 cups of milk kefir per day for best results.
You should drink kefir in the morning versus at night since the probiotics will wake up your digestive system and you want your body to be active and moving when doing so.
Yes, kefir can make you poop more regularly, improve poop consistency, and make your poops more comfortable.
Kefir heals the gut by providing beneficial bacteria to your gut flora.
Kefir is more potent than most probiotic pills making it more effective.
It may take your body about 2 weeks to adjust to the added probiotics from kefir. There may be some unpleasant symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting in the meantime.
Milk kefir grains, or scoby, are a combination of lactic acid, bacteria, and yeasts in a blend of proteins, lipids, and sugars. They are off-white, gelatinous, or rubbery in texture.
This is common when milk kefir has been left to sit for long enough. The curds form around your kefir grains and can make it hard to capture them. When this happens stir the container of milk kefir and pour it into a strainer. Gently sift with a wooden spoon until the curds fall off the grains. Add a little filtered water or raw milk if needed to separate the curds from the grains. Your milk kefir is still fine to drink if it smells good.
Probably not. Kefir grains are resilient and just when you think they’re dead, they aren’t. Sometimes in stressful situations (ie. shipping or long periods in the refrigerator), kefir grains will go dormant. A couple of milk changes and your dormant grains should come back to life.
This could be the result of over fermentation and/or milk curds being mixed into new batches of milk kefir. Try fermenting your kefir for less time, and don’t let it get to the point of developing curds. If it does, this is fine, just be sure to completely strain the curds from the grains before adding the grains to a new batch of milk.
Milk kefir grains are alive and respond to your different culturing practices and environmental factors. The taste and consistency of your milk kefir batches will evolve over time. No two batches of milk kefir will be exactly the same.
Raw milk kefir made in your own home may not be as thick as what you buy in the store for a couple of reasons. 1. Your kefir grains aren’t mature. 2. You aren’t fermenting long enough and 3. The kefir you get at the store often has pectin added to it so you might be used to artificially thick kefir.
Pin it for later – Raw kefir tutorial
print the raw kefir recipe
Raw Milk Kefir
Equipment
- 2 mason jars with lids (at least big enough to hold a few cups of raw milk)
- Strainer (preferably plastic, but I use metal)
- Non-reactive bowl
Ingredients
- 1-2 tsp Kefir grains (I sell my extras here if you want to buy some from me!) if just starting out, you can use 1 tsp and the grains will eventually multiply
- 1 cup-1/2 gallon raw milk (see explanation below)
Instructions
- Take a clean glass jar and add your kefir grains.
- Pour desired raw milk into the jar with your kefir grains.
- Loosely fit lid on your jar and let it sit at room temperature for about 10-36 hours. The timing will depend on how warm your house is, how established your kefir grains are, and how sour and thick you like your raw kefir.
- Every once in a while you can swirl the raw milk and kefir grains. I usually just do this if I pass by and think about it. This also helps me to see how thick it's getting.
- Strain your kefir and kefir grains through your strainer into a glass or ceramic bowl.
- Use a spoon or clean fingers to get all the milk residue off the grains (as much as possible) and then transfer the grains to a clean mason jar. Set that aside for now.
- Take your bowl of raw kefir and pour it into a mason jar. I like to use the same jar that I fermented the kefir in.
- Pour new raw milk into the jar with your kefir grains and repeat the process.
Notes
How much milk to use
This is a huge range because it depends on how established your grains are, how many grains you have, and how much raw kefir you want to drink.- If you just received your grains and they were shipped to you, the stress of shipping has made them go dormant. They will liven up again after a few rounds. To start out, just use about 1-2 cups of milk for the first few rounds.
- If you have a lot of kefir grains and they’re well-established, go ahead and make up to a half gallon (or more) of raw kefir!
- If you’re like me, and you’re the only one in your household who drinks raw milk kefir, then you’ll want to only make what you can drink within a few days. Because of this, I only make about 1-2 cups per day.
how to store raw kefir
Room temperature raw kefir storage
Store completed raw kefir at room temperature for up to 2 days.refrigerator storage (recommended)
Completed raw kefir can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.freezer storage
Raw kefir can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.Kefir grain storage
Store your kefir grains (if not currently culturing any raw milk) in the refrigerator with some milk. Note that this may cause your grains to go dormant again, but nothing a couple of batches can’t fix.homemade raw kefir Tips
- When all else fails, just let it ferment longer. Raw kefir is very low maintenance – it doesn’t really mold or go bad as easily as other fermented foods. If it’s not doing what you want, for example, not thickening, just let it sit out longer.
- Use fresh, raw milk for best results.
- Never use ultra-pasturized milk for milk kefir. It just wont work since there isn’t enough bacteria in ultra-pasturized milk.
- Use clean jars, strainers, hands, spoons and anything else you’re using to make your raw kefir.
- Once you start seing your grains multiply, you can give any excess (anything more than about 2 tsp) to friends, blend into smoothies, or just compost them.
- If your kefir sits out long enough the yellow whey will separate from the milk. Just mix it up, strain, and use as normal.
- If you have other ferments on your counter, you’ll need to separate them by about 4 feet for best results for each ferment.
About Me
Hello! I have kefir grains that I got from a trusted source. This is my first time making raw kefir & I don’t know what I did wrong but the kefir smelled spoiled after 24 hours. Plus it never thickened and looked super runny, like milk still, not really curdled besides the grains. I rinsed the grains and have put them back into a jar and covered with raw milk but it still smells like it is spoiling again. Are the grains salvageable? And do you have any idea what I could be doing wrong? I usually buy the raw kefir from the farm but am trying to make it myself to save money, but the fact that it keeps smelling spoiled is making me nervous —it’s already hard for me to psychologically get past the mindset of leaving milk out of the fridge for 24-36 hours! Thanks!
Hi Julie, Can you explain exactly what it smells like? it will definitely smell sour! I’d give it a couple more rounds to get the grains going.
Thanks for stopping by! Please let me know how you like this recipe!