Video: How to Make Kefir
by
Making Kefir
Kefir in Every Kitchen


I hope it will help you, encourage you and make it easier for you to make kefir a part of your life. When something as simple as a food makes you well you want to tell the world about it. If you are reading this and haven’t tried kefir, then you are not here by accident. If you are seeking wellness, then what you seek is seeking after you just by the shear act of reading this blog. The answers are trying to come to you but you have to let them in. Kefir was what brought me back to life when I was so sick, and it is a great place to start for you as well. Hopefully this video will make it easier for you. You can still buy my DVD as a hard copy but I’m giving it to everybody free, and online. This will reach the masses faster and hopefully more kefir will show up in kitchens everywhere.

Always remember. . . I love your guts- quite literallyDonna
Your testimony is inspiring,thank you.love the kifir video and will be looking at your other video’s and blogs thank you.I’ve suffered non stop low grade sickness and feel i’m not living just existing!!I’ve been crying out to God knowing this isn’t how he would have me to live.I believe He has led me to the answer.Thank you again for your generous heart and sharing this,you will be blessed and continue in exeeding great joy. God Bless Valerie XXX
I am on my second batch of kefir after receiving your grains. In your video, the grains look like gelatinous little balls….mine seems more like mashed cottage cheese. Is that right? We are only two in my household and the second batch had lots of “grains”, like they had grown considerably. Since I am the only one drinking kefir, I am already getting way more grains than I can use. Should I be saving these somehow? Also, my homemade kefir tastes way more effervescent than the store bought kind….is this right? Thank you for the help. ~Mary
Yes this is right but it sounds like you need to add more milk and help it to be more creamy.
As I sit here, I’m enjoying my breakfast smoothie made with the coconut milk kefir I made. I also regularly eat the cultured pickles and sauerkraut made from my organic garden, as well as home-made kombucha. All these I have learned from your website and book. Thanks so much for your wonderful info and mission of health.
Hi Donna,
You mention ecobloom on your guide on making kefir but you did not mention it in your video. Do you use it in your kefir or only if you are leaving some in the fridge for up to a week? What other things do you use ecobloom for?
Lori
I didn’t know about ecobloom at the time I made the video.
I put it in my kefir sometimes but mostly after it is made and you can put it in veggies too.
Hi Donna. I’ve read about concerns with pasteurized milk because of the heating process that kills all the nutrients in the milk. It seems that you’re not concerned with using pasteurized milk versus raw milk to make kefir. Wouldn’t raw milk provide a more beneficial bacteria for the kefir? Thank you for your positive efforts and insight 🙂
Carolyn
Raw milk does have beneficial bacteria and works great to make kefir but some of the strains to compete a little with all the strains in kefir.
Hello again Donna! I eat cultured veggies several times a day and would like to add kefir to my diet as well. I don’t eat dairy – have you ever made kefir out of coconut milk?
Yes and I have recipe for it. https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/my-coconut-kefir-is-better-than-yours/
Hi Donna, I’m new to this and it is hard to get to the store sometimes, could I use milk that has been frozen?
You can try it but I have not done this so I actually don’t know how it would turn out. Let me know if you do!
Hi Donna,
Why is it that the instructions on the kefir starter powder suggest fermenting in a jar covered in a cloth or coffee filter, and your instructions suggest fermenting in a jar covered tightly with a lid? Which is best?
Thank you in advance for clarifying.
Oscar.
Use a lid. here’s a blog to help. https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/fermenting-tip-use-a-lid-or-cloth/
Hi, I’m allergic to cow’s milk, but supposedly I’m not allergic to goat’s milk. Can goat’s milk be used for the kefir?
Yes, you can use goats milk to make yummy kefir.
Can you use pasteurized lowfat 1% or 2% milk or is whole milk the preferred method when making kefir?
Yes you can!
Thanks, Donna! I am so happy with the kefir grains I got from your class last November! But I am even more happy to say that a told/showed/tasted my kefir with 8 ladies that were at my house this morning for Bible Study. One of them got so excited she asked if I had enough to share so she could start making her own at her house! Your message is spreading and I’m so grateful to play a small part in trying to help fulfill your dream of the whole world drinking kefir! I also convinced my husband to start using it for his shakes/smoothies every morning, so we are both on the road to happy, healthy guts!
Many blessings to you for all you do,
Sherri
Yea, good job keep spreading the good news.
Excellent photography. Such a happy kitchen ! Loved the tips on second fermenting and giving the grains enough milk. I’ve been drinking kefir every morning. Thanks for sharing.
So i thought ’20 MINUTES! I’ll have to skim through it’…well i watched every second lol. You are very informative. Your information is very clear and easy to follow. Thank you 🙂
Donna, Great video! I have recently started using “FairLife” milk which has twice the protein and half the carbs (sugar) and no lactose. It has no rBST+. It has dawned on me that maybe I cannot use this product for Kefir? can you advise? Thank you.
It is best to use milk with all the lactose as this is what the bacteria uses to make probiotics with.
Great video Donna ,didn’t realize you could make cheese .Thankyou !!!
Hi Donna!
I was on Food Republic the other day, and saw this recipe for kefir
pretzels.
http://www.foodrepublic.com/2014/09/02/get-fermented-kefir-pretzels-recipe
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
Hi Donna.
Thanks for this video.
Have you ever tried second fermenting your kefir with ginger? Just wondering whether you have any experience with this since I love ginger and of course it’s great for digestion etc but I’m not sure about trying it in case it doesn’t work.
Thanks
Julia
Yes I have and it is great!
Does commercially bottled pasteurized milk make kefir as well as raw milk? In our state, there is a law against selling raw milk and I don’t know anyone personally who sells it. I would prefer the health benefits of raw milk, but since I can’t get it–will milk I buy at the grocery produce the many strains of good bacteria?
Yes you can use pasteurized milk and it works great!
Thank you Donna, great Video.!!
Thank you for sharing this!
Great video! Could you do a video on alternative milk kefirs( ie coconut, almond, etc?)
Also is the bacteria as prevalent in the alternative milks?
Thank you!
I have dairy free kefir videos on my membership site. http://members.culturedfoodlife.com/the-trilogy/kefir/dairy-free-kefir/
What kind of milk do you like best? I am now using raw and have tried both whole and skim, pasteurized and homogenized. It seems the raw whole milk smells strong like yeast and has a yellowish oily film on the grains. I switched to raw skim milk but is not as creamy. What do you suggest and what is better health wise for us and the grains in keeping them nourished. Thank you so much for all your knowledge!
I use raw and also whole pasteurized milk too. If you take the cream out of the raw milk then it eliminates this yeasty taste.
Hi, I have been making kefir but it is always so sour and lumpy, never smooth or creamy. It has a very strong vinegar smell. Any idea what I’m doing wrong? Thanks for this video, it was very informative.
What kind of milk are you using and how long you are you fermenting? How warm is your house?
Great video, Donna, thank you. Can the strainer you spoke of also be used to strain the kefir grains?
Can you do a video of making cultured vegetables? I know it is so simple – but I cannot figure out how to use the airlock. I’d like to make vegetables that turn out a lot of juice, because I feel the juice provides incredible benefits beyond the vegetables. So, I’d love it if you could address this. I send everyone to your site if they’re interested in anything fermented! Thanks for everything.
I’ve been making kefir for about a year. You show in the video lots of kefir grains for a cup of milk. I probably make 3 – 4 cups at a time and only a small amount of the grains, not even a teaspoon. It take a little over 24 hours to make and my kefir looks like yours. Would it have the same make up and number of good bacteria?
If it works like this for you than its perfect and keep it up. Often it depends on geography temperature and milk.
How do you get the the kefir grains to start?
You need to buy or acquire kefir grains. http://store.culturedfoodlife.com/product/donnas-kefir-grains/
Donna, thank you SO much. That answered some of my questions. My kefir has set in the fridge for several weeks & I was discouraged because it was always so sour. I hope I can revive it. I wish you could come out here to California & teach us all some more about the vegetables. We are by Chico, could you come? I will help with whatever I can, Juanita
Great video! I’ve been making kefir and kefir cheese for about 6 months now. So excited to try a second ferment and kefir soda. Thanks for sharing so many great ideas.
What temperature is your kitchen? The room I have my kefir is in is at 65 or so degrees and I end up letting it sit for 3 days or so – is this normal at this temp? Also, mine is more of a ball (now bigger than a golf ball) and I don’t strain it – I just pick out the ball and transfer… I tended to shy away from the straining since it dirtied up more dishes… lol Should I really be straining or at least breaking down the size of the ball? Thanks, Chris
My house is around 70 degrees and yes 65 would take much longer to culture but that’s ok!
Hi Donna!
Do you ever make kefir out of coconut milk and if so how?
thank you. I have your book and have been making kefir and enjoying this wonderful beverage, and your video is excellent for some new ideas. Thanks again.
Dear Donna,
Lately I have been making Kefir with powder starder but I see that I do not get grains like the live started. What am I doing wrong? How can I get those beautiful grains. Is it just as valuable as yours? Please help.
You don’t get grains from the powder starter.You need to buy or acquire kefir grains. http://store.culturedfoodlife.com/product/donnas-kefir-grains/