Dieser Beitrag ist auch verfügbar auf:
Deutsch
Milk kefir tastes creamy, tart, refreshing, slightly sparkling and heavenly delicious. It contains lots of beneficial bacteria, various nutrients and is healthy. You can make the probiotic drink at home from just two ingredients. It is ideal for breakfast, dessert, as a snack, for baking and cooking. You can find a detailed kefir recipe with the exact quantities and step-by-step instructions below.
What is milk kefir?
Kefir is a fermented probiotic milk drink. It is produced with the help of kefir grains.
The kefir grain is a microbial starter culture consisting of lactic acid and acetic acid bacteria, yeasts and various nutrients. It is also known as the Tibetan kefir or Caucasian kefir. The kefir cultures look like small cauliflower florets.
Milk kefir has a thick consistency and a sour taste. It contains many valuable ingredients such as vitamins, minerals and probiotic microorganisms.
You may also have tried water kefir, which is made with sugar water.
How to make kefir: which milk to use
Use pasteurized milk for the kefir recipe. Raw milk must be heated briefly beforehand and then left to cool. Note that kefir cannot be made with lactose-free milk.
You can use cow’s, goat’s or sheep’s milk. Depending on the type of milk, the consistency of the drink will vary – from thin to very thick.
Organic milk is best suited to make kefir. It contains fewer harmful substances and antibiotics that could damage the grains.
You can use milk with a fat content of 1.5 or 3.8 percent (in Germany). The higher the fat content, the creamier the drink will be.
You should not use a milk alternative such as soy, oat or almond milk to make kefir permanently. You can do it once or twice every now and then. Then return the kefir culture to the animal milk to recover.
Buy starter culture
You can buy kefir culture online, for example from Amazon. There are even entire milk kefir starter kits that contain all the necessary utensils and ingredients for the first batch. Or maybe someone in your neighborhood is giving away kefir grains because he has too many.
If you look after the grains well, they will last a lifetime and multiply slowly. When they have grown well, you can give some of them to your friends or acquaintances.
You will need these utensils
All the utensils you use to make milk kefir must be made of glass, ceramic, wood or plastic. The kefir grains must not come into contact with metal objects, as this could damage them.
To make kefir at home, you will need the following utensils:
- a glass jar,
- a plastic strainer,
- a plastic funnel,
- a plastic or wooden spoon,
- a milk bottle or another wide-necked glass bottle.
Clean the utensils beforehand and rinse them thoroughly. Your hands must also be clean and free of soap residue. This is because kefir grains are very sensitive to chemical substances.
Homemade milk kefir to enjoy
You can enjoy homemade milk kefir in a variety of ways and use it for different recipes.
It tastes delicious on its own. Drink it for breakfast, for dessert after a meal or simply between meals. For a change, you can add fresh fruit, nuts or seeds to the drink. It also goes perfectly with muesli.
You can also make many delicious desserts with milk kefir. For example, you can use it to make smoothies, fruit salads, shakes or ice cream.
Kefir is often used for baking recipes. You can use it for the piroshki, for example for the piroshki with egg and leek filling, the rhubarb piroshki or the no yeast piroshki with potato filling. I have also used it to make the Napoleon puff pastry slices, the quick raspberry pound cake, the black currant cake, the strawberry chocolate muffins, the chocolate kefir sour cream cake and the chocolate whoopie pies.
Pancakes are particularly fluffy with the sour milk drink. Try my oladi recipe with it, for example.
You can make farmers cheese from kefir. It is also very suitable for making dips and salad dressings. The cold summer soup okroshka tastes delicious with the milk drink.
How to store grains unused
If you want to take a break from making kefir, you can store the grains in a mixture of milk and water in a ratio of about 1:1 in the fridge for up to about a week. For a longer period, freeze them in a little milk.
Pour away the liquid in which the kefir culture was soaked when you start making milk kefir again. The grains will then need a few batches before they work again as usual.
The homemade milk kefir is
- probiotic,
- creamy,
- tart,
- refreshing,
- fine,
- slightly tingling,
- delicious,
- healthy,
- vegetarian,
- with lots of beneficial bacteria and important nutrients,
- easy to make from two ingredients,
- ideal for breakfast, as a snack or for dessert,
- perfect for preparing sweet and savory dishes, for baking recipes.
How to make kefir: tips and tricks
- Organic pasteurized milk is best suited for making kefir. Fresh milk must first be heated briefly and allowed to cool. The higher the fat content in milk, the creamier the finished drink will be.
- Lactose-free milk is not suitable for the kefir recipe.
- You can only make the drink occasionally with a vegan milk alternative. Afterwards, you should always put the grains back into animal milk to recover.
- The kefir culture must never come into contact with metal. All utensils used for preparation must be made of glass or plastic.
- You must clean the utensils well beforehand and rinse them thoroughly. Your hands must also be clean and free of soap residue. Also, do not touch the kefir grains unnecessarily with your hands.
- The warmer the environment, the faster the fermentation process will take place. The fermentation time also depends on the quantity of grains used.
- Homemade kefir tastes best when chilled.
Have you made milk kefir with this recipe? I look forward to your results, your star rating and your comment below on how it turned out and how it tasted.
You can also make these dairy products at home:
- How to make yogurt: thick and creamy with 2 ingredients
- Ryazhenka recipe – with creamy milk crust
- Homemade sweetened condensed milk – recipe with 2 ingredients
Homemade milk kefir
Equipment
- glass jar
- plastic strainer
- plastic funnel
- plastic or wooden spoon
- 1 l milk bottle
Ingredients
- 1 l organic pasteurized milk room warm
- approx. 10 g kefir grains
Instructions
- Pour milk into a glass jar.
- Add kefir grains with a wooden or plastic spoon.
- Close the glass jar lightly (not airtight) or cover it and leave it at room temperature, protected from light, for 1 - 2 days. After one day the milk kefir tastes mild, after two days it is more sour, more intense in taste and thicker.
- Stir the drink carefully with a plastic or wooden spoon and pour it through a plastic strainer into a milk bottle or other glass container.
- Keep the kefir sealed in the milk bottle in the fridge. It tastes best when chilled. It is even fresher and tastier the next day.
- Clean the glass jar and all utensils thoroughly.
- If necessary, carefully rinse the kefir grains briefly with cold to lukewarm water and use them immediately afterwards for a new batch. You don't have to rinse the grains every time, but can do it once or twice a week. More frequent washing can damage the kefir culture.
Notes
- Organic pasteurized milk is best suited for making kefir. Fresh milk must first be heated briefly and allowed to cool. The higher the fat content in milk, the creamier the finished drink will be.
- Lactose-free milk is not suitable for the kefir recipe.
- You can only make the drink occasionally with a vegan milk alternative. Afterwards, you should always put the grains back into animal milk to recover.
- The kefir culture must never come into contact with metal. All utensils used for preparation must be made of glass or plastic.
- You must clean the utensils well beforehand and rinse them thoroughly. Your hands must also be clean and free of soap residue. Also, do not touch the kefir grains unnecessarily with your hands.
- The warmer the environment, the faster the fermentation process will take place. The fermentation time also depends on the quantity of grains used.
- See the detailed tips and tricks for making milk kefir at the top of the article.
If you are using Pinterest, you can pin the following picture:
