Making Kefir is a simple procedure, requiring only a few minutes of your time. Writing a recipe, however, is a problem. It is easier to start in the middle with the daily routine of making Kefir and then go back to explain how to buy your first Kefir grains.
Assuming that there is a quart jar of 2 or 3-day old Kefir standing on the counter top in the kitchen, this is the procedure:
- Taste the Kefir to see that it is finished to your taste.
- Pour the Kefir through a strainer into a bowl.
- With the back of a spoon, gently press some of the remaining liquid from the Kefir grains.
- Wash the Kefir grains that are in the strainer under the faucet or with a spray. Move the grains around in the strainer once or twice to be sure that the grains at the bottom are also being washed. The grains should be thoroughly clean.
- Put the washed grains of Kefir into a quart of fresh milk. (Do not have the jar of milk completely full. Allow room for the addition of the Kefir grains.)
A tea cupful of grains to a quart of fresh goats milk is just about right for a slightly thick Kefir drink. As your Kefir grains grow past this amount, you can start a second jar of milk. - Stir with a clean spoon, place a saucer on top of the jar to keep out the dust, and set the jar back out of the way on the counter top.
- Pour the strained Kefir that is in the bowl back into the jar that it was made in, put on a top, and refrigerate.
- Allow the new Kefir to stand for two or three days, stirring once or twice a day as you think of it.
- Taste the Kefir milk occasionally after the second day in order to determine when it is done to your taste.
- Repeat this process from No. 2 through No. 9 to start a new jar of Kefir.
Beatrice Trum Hunter has an excellent section on Kefir on pages 75-83 in her book, Yogurt & Other Milk Cultures. She gives the history of Kefir, its unusual health values, and a few excellent recipes. If her directions for freezing Kefir grains (middle of page 79) are followed carefully, it is a simple matter to store your Kefir grains during the winter when your goats are dry.