Milk Kefir

Step 1

Put kefir grains, about 2 teaspoons of grains, into a clean glass jar with about 3 cups fresh milk. Make sure you leave about 1-inch of room at the top of the jar.

Step 2

Place a plastic lid on top of the jar, but do not tighten it. You want the lid to be loose on top of the jar.

Step 3

Place the jar in a warm place, out of direct sunlight, for 24 hours. I put my jar in a cabinet in our kitchen. You will know your kefir is done when it has slightly thickened and smells fermented.

Step 4

Tighten the lid and shake well. Place a stainless-steel strainer or plastic strainer over a clean jar. Strain the kefir into the jar.

Step 5

At this point, you can add fresh or frozen fruit if you want to do a second fermentation. I add ½ banana and then put the lid on tight and let the kefir sit out on the counter for another 2 to 5 hours. This will double the amount of probiotics. If you don’t want to do the second fermentation, you can put the lid on and store the kefir in the refrigerator.

Step 6

Now, you start the process over again with the kefir grains you have in the strainer. Put the kefir grains in a clean jar, add milk, put the lid on (but not tight) and repeat the process.