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Milk Kefir

Milk kefir was one of my first ferments along with kombucha. I love this stuff! It loves me back. It's the easiest to do. Take your clump of 'grains' and put them in milk and leave them at room temperature for about 24 hours. When it thickens and you start to see the separation at the bottom, take a fork and fish out the grains. They usually hang out at the top, but sometimes they sink. Some people use a strainer, but I think a fork is much simpler and quicker and less cleanup (an issue when you are camping in the desert with limited water!)

Ambient temperature will either somewhat speed up the process (warmer), or slow it down (colder) but if you have the right grains to milk ratio, it should be approximately 24 hours. If it is significantly more or less, change the ratio. Ratio is more of a factor than temperature, but if it gets really hot, it will definitely speed things up!

Ratio: 1 TBSP grains per 1 cup milk. I use pint jars which are about 1-1/2 cups and my clumps are a bit bigger than a TBSP. Leave room at the top of the jar for the fermenting process to have space: it will expand! Here is more information.

What kind of milk? I find they are happiest in full fat raw milk, but you can culture any milk. They seem to prefer full fat milk, but you can use what you have. I even put them in cream once in awhile and get really lovely cultured cream that's a great sour cream. You can use almond milk, coconut milk, goat milk, etc. When using non-dairy milks, you must add date sugar or coconut sugar because the grains must have something to eat. They prefer the lactose in milk, so you have to substitute something or they will starve. Here is where you can get some good information on that.

Enjoy the 50+ strains of probiotics!
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