by Amber Rose
Depending on the warmth of your kitchen, kefir can ferment quite quickly. This is not a problem, it will just make the taste a bit more sour. I like to leave mine for 24 hours, but you can ferment for less time or longer, depending on the level of sourness you prefer.
If your kitchen is warm your kefir grains will multiply quite quickly – this is a sign that they are healthy, but the more grains to milk you have, the quicker the milk will ferment. If you find it is fermenting too fast, just remove some of the grains when you next strain the kefir and give them away to your friends, or you can freeze them for later use in case you accidentally kill the ones you have on the worktop. If you forget about your kefir and leave it for over ten days it can die off. If this happens, you will need to start again, so it’s worth keeping some in the freezer.
My family is quite small, so I don’t always use a lot of kefir every day and sometimes, to slow the fermentation down, I put the strained grains into a clean jar with fresh milk and then sit the jar in the fridge. The cool temperature of the fridge slows down the process, and the grains can ferment like this for up to a week before you need to strain them and give them fresh milk. The milk that has fermented in the fridge is perfectly safe and good to use.
If you want to make a big batch of kefir, bigger than what your grains would ordinarily be able to ferment, you can achieve this with a clever little trick. Simply pop 2–3 tablespoons of kefir grains in a sterilised 2-litre glass jar and add 500–750ml milk. Cover the jar and let it ferment for a good 12 hours, stirring occasionally, then top up the milk with an extra 1–1½ litres of room temperature milk. The kefir you fermented first will act as a starter culture for the extra milk added and the whole lot will be done in the normal 24–36 hour timeframe. Making a big batch this way is handy if you want to make kefir cheese, or if you have guests.
When making kefir for the first time, your grains will take some time to adjust to their new home and the new milk, so just be patient, you may need to make a few batches before they really kick into gear and start working at top speed.
Some people with a low level of healthy bacteria in their gut can experience ‘die off’ symptoms when they start taking kefir. This means that the Kefir with all its good bacteria is killing off the high levels of bad bacteria within the gut. If this happens to you, it might not feel that great at first but it is indeed a wonderful thing as you are getting your gut bacteria levels back in balance. It is for this reason that it is advised to start with low amounts of kefir when first introducing it to your diet. If you are not sure if you have low ‘good’ bacteria levels in your gut just start slowly anyway and see how you feel. As a general rule, start with 1 teaspoon a day and keep increasing the dose as long as you feel fine. If you feel any die off symptoms, stick to the same level until the die off recedes and then gradually up the dose again until you are able to consume as much as you like in your smoothies and whatever else you want to put your kefir into.
Kefir cream.
MAKES 500ML
This cultured cream is heavenly, soft and delicious, with a lovely tang. You can use it as you would ordinary cream or you can take it one step further and make cultured kefir butter.
The fermenting process increases the amounts of immune-boosting probiotics in the cream, lowers levels of lactose and gives it extra flavour. It lasts well in the fridge and goes with all sorts of things. I love adding a little raw honey and chopped stem ginger to a small bowl of kefir cream. It’s really good!
EQUIPMENT
1 plastic mesh sieve
2 x 500ml glass jars (or ceramic bowls), sterilised
1 wooden or plastic spoon
2–3 tablespoons milk kefir grains
500ml double cream (or whipping cream)
Place the kefir grains in a glass jar, pour over the cream, give a gentle stir to mix the cream with the grains, cover and set aside on the worktop for 12–36 hours to ferment – I find 24 hours ideal in the temperature of my kitchen. If your kitchen is cool, it may take up to 36 hours, but if your kitchen is warm it can take as little as 12 hours, so taste it often to see how you like the flavour.
When the fermenting cream is to your desired taste, set the plastic sieve over a bowl and push the cream through it using the spoon, leaving the kefir grains in the sieve.
Pop the kefir grains into the second clean glass jar or bowl to make your next batch or try the milk kefir or coconut milk kefir.
I find that if I use double cream, by the time the cream has fermented it’s the perfect softly peaking consistency to use just as it is for decorating cakes and serving with scones, but if it’s too thin, gently whip it until you have the desired consistency. Store in a glass jar or ceramic bowl in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
If you are using the cream to decorate cakes, add a little coconut sugar, raw honey or maple syrup to sweeten. Be sure to sweeten the cream before you whip it.
Kefir butter.
MAKES 600G BUTTER AND 600ML CULTURED BUTTERMILK
In recent years I have seen some of my absolute favourite chefs, including Skye Gyngell, use kefir butter in their restaurants. Cultured butter has a very distinctive flavour and is full of added nutrients. It’s not a butter I would use for everyday eating but it is an amazing treat for a special occasion. Freshly baked homemade sourdough with kefir butter is an out-of-this-world start to a very special meal. You could also use this to make herbed kefir butter.
EQUIPMENT
1 pair of butter bats
1.2 litres kefir cream
1 teaspoon sea salt, not too coarse
Follow the method for the plain butter and store the kefir butter in the fridge until ready to use.
Kefir cheese.
MAKES 300–400G
Kefir cheese is a lovely soft cheese that can be eaten plain, if you like its sour taste, or with added fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic. It’s delicious served alongside salads, roast vegetables, or eaten with my Spiced almond crackers or crudités.
The thickness of your kefir will determine how much cheese you get. The thinner the kefir the less cheese it will yield.
Because the fermenting process removes almost all the lactose, people who are lactose intolerant can enjoy this and benefit from all the probiotics and vitamins it contains. It’s very easy to make and is a great way of using up surplus kefir. When you make this cheese, a lot of whey is produced but it doesn’t go to waste – see the tips below for ways to use it.
EQUIPMENT
Plastic-mesh sieve
Large muslin cheese cloth, doubled over
Large bowl
TO MAKE THE KEFIR CHEESE
800g milk kefir
TO FLAVOUR THE CHEESE
(optional)
A handful of finely chopped fresh soft herbs, such as dill, parsley and chives
A glug of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely grated or mashed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Use the muslin to line the sieve in a double layer hanging over the sides and place over a large bowl. Pour the kefir into the lined sieve, then gather up the sides of the muslin and tie them together tightly with a long piece of string.
Suspend the muslin cloth with the kefir in it over the bowl by tying it in a position where it can hang so that the whey drips into the bowl. (I often hang my muslin bag on one of my cupboard handles with the bowl underneath.)
Leave for at least 5–6 hours or overnight – the whey will continue to drip into the bowl. If you like your kefir cheese thicker, just leave it for longer – anywhere up to 24 hours. If it has stopped dripping, it is probably fully drained, in which case it is ready.
Unwrap the cheese and pour the whey into a clean glass jar and store in the fridge for later use. You can leave the kefir cheese plain or tip it into a bowl and mix in the flavourings. The cheese will last well for up to 10 days in the fridge.
If the kefir is dripping through the muslin, not just the clear-ish whey but th
e milky white kefir too, you may need to make a triple layer of muslin in place of the double. It depends on how fine your muslin/cheese cloth is.
Leftover whey can be used to soak/activate grains, nuts and seeds. If you don’t have time to use the whey immediately, simply pop it in the freezer until you need it.
Whey can also be added to lacto-fermented veg as a starter culture. The whey is full of good bacteria, which prevent the growth of bad bacteria and speed up the fermenting process.
Kefir: a second ferment.
MAKES 500ML
Kefir is great on its own, added to smoothies or used to cook with, or you can create a second ferment. This is very easy to do and gives tasty results. If I’m adding kefir to smoothies I keep it plain, but if I want to drink it as it is or use as a yogurt to serve with fruit I like to flavour it as per below. No kefir grains are required for this recipe.
FOR THE BASE
500ml ready-made kefir (you can use coconut milk or animal milk)
FOR THE FLAVOURS:
Hibiscus and rose.
Add 1 tablespoon of dried hibiscus flowers and 1 teaspoon of rose water to a 500ml jar of ready-made kefir, and stir. Cover and leave to ferment on the worktop for 12–24 hours, stirring occasionally. Strain out the hibiscus flowers, stir in 2–3 tablespoons of maple syrup, and pour the flavoured kefir into a clean jar. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Vanilla and raw honey.
Add 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out and the pod, to a 500ml jar of ready-made kefir. Cover and leave to ferment on the worktop for 12 hours. Add 2–3 tablespoons of raw honey, stir and then pop in the fridge until ready to use.
Orange and cardamom.
Add the seeds from 2 cardamom pods (whole pods lightly toasted in a dry frying pan, then crushed to a fine powder) and 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water or 2 thumb-sized pieces of orange peel to a 500ml jar of ready-made kefir. Cover and leave to ferment on the worktop for 12 hours or overnight, then add 2 tablespoons of raw honey, stir and refrigerate until ready to use.
Coconut milk kefir.
MAKES 500ML
Coconut milk makes delicious kefir – thick, creamy and tasting just like coconut yogurt at a fraction of the price and, in nutritional terms, it’s even better for you as it contains over 20 times more probiotics. You can use canned coconut milk or make your own (see here); either way, be sure to use full fat – coconut fat is extremely good for you. Your kefir will set a bit in the fridge as the coconut fat hardens on cooling, but just give the kefir a bit of a stir when you bring it out of the fridge and it will very quickly become creamy again. Coconut kefir is a lot thicker than dairy milk kefir, which is why I tend to make it more often because I like to use it instead of yogurt to have with my fruit in the morning. I find cow’s milk kefir, being thinner, is good for making cheese and adding to smoothies, while coconut kefir is good to use in place of yogurt.
EQUIPMENT
2 x 500ml glass jars, sterilised
Plastic-mesh sieve
Wooden or plastic spoon (not metal)
2 tablespoons milk kefir grains
400ml full-fat coconut milk
Put the kefir grains into a glass jar, pour over the coconut milk, stir well, then cover and leave to ferment on the worktop for 24–36 hours. When your kefir is to your desired taste, strain through the sieve into the second clean jar, and it is ready for use. Wash the original jar, pop the strained grains back into it and start again with another batch.
Store the coconut kefir in the fridge until you are ready to use it. It will keep in the fridge for at least one week, if not two.
Homemade creamy yogurt
MAKES APPROX 800ML
This is the easiest way I have found to make yogurt at home without special equipment or warming drawers or strange additives. It makes a delicious, very creamy yogurt, perfect for using in all manner of ways. I like to use raw organic milk, but that can be hard to find and expensive; the next best thing is to use organic whole milk that has not been homogenised.
EQUIPMENT
Digital thermometer
1-litre Thermos flask, cleaned with boiling water to sterilise it
4 heaped tablespoons organic thick, natural, live yogurt
650ml organic whole milk
150ml single cream
4½ tablespoons milk powder (optional)
1 probiotic capsule (contents only, capsule discarded)
Start by placing the yogurt into a perfectly clean and dry glass or ceramic bowl and allow it to come up to room temperature; this will take about 30 minutes.
Next place a medium saucepan over a low heat and pour in the milk and cream. Stir until it reaches exactly 46°C on your digital thermometer, not one degree more (if it gets hotter than this it will kill all the live cultures in the yogurt when it is poured over it). Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle in the milk powder, if using, whisking to combine. Set aside to cool for 2 –3 minutes, no more.
Add the contents of the probiotics capsule and whisk again. Carefully pour the milk mixture onto the yogurt and gently stir to thoroughly combine. Pour the mixture into the flask and screw the lid on as tight as you can. Leave the flask on the worktop overnight.
In the morning you should have lovely thick yogurt in your flask. Pour the yogurt into a glass jar or ceramic bowl with a lid and transfer to the fridge. Best eaten within five to six days.
To make little creamy fruit and yogurt pots, simply spoon some seasonal fruit compote into a small pot with a lid, filling about one-third of the pot, then spoon over your natural homemade yogurt to fill the pot. If you like you can sweeten the yogurt with a little raw honey or maple syrup before spooning it on top of the fruit. These make great snacks for kids or adults alike as part of a healthy lunchbox or casual after-dinner treat.
Cashew yogurt (cashew-gurt)
MAKES 1 450G JAR
This stuff is seriously smooth, creamy and decadent. It has a distinct flavour of cashews and is quite different from dairy or coconut yogurt, much richer and creamier – more unctuous, I would say. It still has that lovely distinctive yogurt tang because it is lightly fermented. The fermentation process adds a plentiful amount of immune-boosting probiotics and, of course, it is lactose-free. I love to add vanilla as here, but you can also keep it plain and that means you can use it for both sweet and savoury dishes. The sweet version is great to have with fruit for breakfast or on top of puddings for dessert. The yogurt works best if you blend the nuts with a high-speed blender. It still works just as well with a regular blender, but it won’t be as smooth. The texture of cashew yogurt is slightly different from cow’s milk yogurt or coconut yogurt: it’s more pourable and doesn’t set into curds, but is equally delicious in a nutty-creamy kind of way.
EQUIPMENT
sterilised glass jar
150g raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight
1 tablespoon lemon juice
A pinch of fine sea salt
225ml filtered water, more if needed
1 probiotic capsule (contents only, capsule discarded)
FOR A SWEET VERSION (OPTIONAL)
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped out and reserved
2 teaspoons raw honey, maple syrup or stevia
Drain and rinse the cashews, then put them in a blender along with the other ingredients and blitz for several minutes until you have a completely smooth paste. If you want a sweet version, add the vanilla seeds and sweetener of choice and blitz again to incorporate.
Pour the cashew mix into the jar and cover with a breathable material, such as a linen napkin or greaseproof paper with knife slits in it. Wrap a rubber band around the mouth of the jar to keep the cover secure. Place the cashew-gurt somewhere warm and dry to ferment for 6–24 hours or up to 36 hours, depending on the temperature of your room. The cashew-gurt is ready when tiny bubbles start to appear and it has a lovely tangy, sour taste. Replace the cover with a secure lid and refrigerate until ready to eat.
; Tip: If you live in a very hot or humid climate, you will only need to culture the yogurt for 5–6 hours as the warm temperature in your kitchen will speed up the culturing process very fast.
Coconut yogurt.
MAKES ABOUT 500ML
This delightfully creamy and smooth yogurt is a great alternative to dairy yogurt. When I have tropical fruits for breakfast I prefer to enjoy them with coconut yogurt rather than cow’s milk yogurt – the flavours just work better.
Most commercial brands of coconut yogurt are thickened with tapioca starch, which is not great for anyone with digestive issues as it can cause havoc in the gut. Making your own is a great way to get all the coconut goodness and none of the nasty thickeners.
3 x 400g cans full-fat (and additive-free) coconut milk, chilled upside down in the fridge overnight
2 capsules of probiotics (contents only, capsules discarded)
Take the coconut milk out of the fridge, turn the cans the right way up and open. Carefully drain off the thin liquid that forms at the top into a bowl and reserve.
What remains in each can is the hardened coconut fat, which you can spoon out into a separate clean bowl.
Using a whisk or hand-held electric beaters, whip the solid coconut fat into a soft cream. This should only take 1–2 minutes. If it’s too thick, you can add a dash of the reserved milk to loosen the mix.
When the coconut cream has a lovely soft consistency of whipped cream, pour it into a glass jar and add the contents of the probiotic capsules, stir with a wooden spoon, then cover the jar with a breathable lid such as a paper towel fastened in place with rubber band.
Set the jar in a warm place to ferment. The linen cupboard is great or a warm spot in the kitchen. Leave for 24–36 hours. Taste it after 12–24 hours to see if it has reached your desired level of tangy sourness. Little bubbles will start to appear, which will tell you it is ready.
