NOT Mr Sutherland

I have bought kefir drinks occasionally in the past, and quite enjoyed them. Hugh F-W in his "Eat Better Forever" book recommends the benefits of the 4 Ks of fermented foods -  kimchi, [sauer]kraut, kombucha and kefir. I don't enjoy the first two, kombucha seems overrated. But kefir makes a pleasant change from fresh milk. Could I make my own? I pondered, and looked on the internet. 

I've always called it Keff- ear,  so was surprised that many Australian YouTubers say Key-Fur. That is plain wrong imho.  He's a British Canadian actor, part of an acting dynasty, with dad Donald and daughter Sarah. But back to the fermented drink...

DC over at Frugal In Norfolk started posting about how she was making her own kefir. She not only patiently answered all my questions, but kindly offered to send me a sachet of starter grains.

These are mixed with whole, fresh milk, and left for 24 hours in a corner of the kitchen. Then you gently pour everything through a nylon sieve. The liquid kefir which goes into the jug is put into the fridge, and the sludge-like residue from the sieve goes back into the jar with another cup of milk...and this is repeated every evening.

I labelled my containers [plastic or glass not metallic] with the date. By Sunday evening had 3 containers in the fridge. On Monday I began my new regime of a small glass of kefir with my breakfast [Bob is having one as well]

It multiplies fast - and on Wednesday I had so much that I drained it through a coffee filter inside my silicone colander. This made a decent sized portion of kefir cheese [akin to cottage cheese or ricotta] I meant to save the whey for scones, but forgot and poured it down the sink by mistake!

I am hoping the kefir will be beneficial to my digestion, It is too early to make any firm conclusions about things. I hope to keep this up for a month. Unlike making my own yogurt, this process does not require any electricity - but I use UHT milk for yogurt making, whereas for kefir I use fresh. It isn't essential to make fresh every day - you can keep the starter in the fridge if you want to miss a day or two. 

The cost of buying premade kefir seems to be 3 or 4 times the cost of the milk , and I can add my own flavouring. But I like the taste of the plain drink, and have not felt the need to add sweeteners. 

Have you ever made kefir? and do you have any tips?