Stomach pains can really suck! Being Unable to eat like you used to, or feeling bloated all the time, are all something that most people experience in their lives at some point. If you have tried yogurt and it hasn’t worked as you would have liked. Or you simply feel like you need to kick your stomach into high gear again, milk kefir is one of my personal favorites for improving gut health. If you’ve ever bought kefir at the store, you might have wondered how this peculiar probiotic drink is made. It would seem that milk kefir is hard to make and is a long drawn-out process. But in reality, it’s pretty simple to do. I’m going to show you the whole process and give you all the tidbits on how to make your own tasty homemade milk kefir.
Milk Kefir is basically a more liquefied yogurt, to explain it in layman’s terms, which is packed with more probiotics and good bacteria than yogurt. Think of it as yogurt on steroids. It would be similar to a kombucha or obviously water kefir. Milk Kefir is just another option to give your gut the good bacteria it needs to run effortlessly.
All you need to make homemade milk kefir is milk, kefir grains, a mason jar, and something to cover the jar (preferably a cheesecloth or paper towel). That’s it, once you have those items you are already another step to having some tasty kefir. You will add your kefir grains to the milk, I will give measurements in the instructions, cover the jar, and let it set for 24 hours or so. Then voila! Your milk kefir is ready! Just strain out the grains, which can be reused for other batches, and it’s ready to enjoy. No fancy equipment, most of the things you will probably already have in your kitchen.
Milk kefir has been around for thousands of years. It would seem the earliest discovery was in ancient China 4000 years ago! Because of milk’s short shelf life and ancient people’s obvious lack of refrigeration, they had to come up with other options to keep it from spoiling. Besides cooling it, they realized they could just ferment it. Eventually, civilizations realized it had health benefits. It then started to be considered a divine gift to certain groups. They even considered the grains to be “magic”, so they even kept it a secret. They believed no outsider should learn the power of these grains or they would lose their magical properties. Over time this was simply passed down, as they would take a little milk kefir from a previous batch and pour it into fresh milk.
Not only does milk kefir help your gut, but it also can be a great preventative for many other health issues. What are those things?
Without a doubt, you can be certain if you make your own milk kefir, you can improve your health as a whole.
The main reason is why not? It’s super simple! Requires very little effort and time. Most of the time making it is the milk having to sit to ferment. That means you can go about your day, and just check on it when you get a second. The other reason is you can ensure a quality product. I know I have gotten some store-bought milk kefir before, and it just didn’t seem to have the effect that the kefir I make at home does. I’m not saying that there aren’t any good brands in the store. However, it is something to think about when you want to buy milk kefir at your local market. You can also make it your own. I will show you later in this post how you can spice it up, give it flavor, and make it with other recipes.
As I said before not much is required to make this tasty milk kefir so simply. You probably already have most of this at home. If not no big deal everything can easily be found at a local store and at an affordable price. No need to break the bank here.
Just like that you have your tasty homemade milk kefir. Give it a try. Now I realize some of you probably won’t like the taste of it plain. I don’t blame you. I have tons of ways you can make your kefir taste delicious.
If you want to take a break from making kefir and are wondering what to do with the leftover kefir grains. You don’t have to throw them away. You can store them so you can use them again. Short-term you can put them in a container and in the refrigerator after straining them, and they will keep for about 2-3 weeks. Long-term you can dry them and put them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Before you do this you want your grains to have been activating kefir for about 3-4 weeks preferably. This makes sure your grains are very much alive and healthy, almost super-charged before you store them away for a while.
You don’t have to stick to boring milk kefir! No seriously, have a treat every once in a while. Starbucks coffee style! This caramelized whip cream topping is my favorite to add when I am trying to spice up the taste.
There are many ways that you can enjoy milk kefir and make it tasty. You can prepare it like you would plain yogurt with honey or maple syrup, and just drink it that way. You can mix it in with a flavored yogurt. Something I love to do though is mix it in with my smoothies. Just replace the milk with milk kefir, or you can do half and half, and you still have a delicious smoothie to enjoy with even more health benefits. Another way is you add some fruit juices to it, either store-bought or you can blend in fruit after you strain it. Any kind of berries are really good, also bananas are delicious as well.
You know have everything you need to make milk kefir at home. It’s as simple as can be and can be enjoyed however you like. If you drink milk kefir consistently you will probably notice a massive difference in your gut health, and perhaps other health areas of your life. Just a small change of drinking milk kefir instead of regular milk at times can change your health greatly. Yet it will still be delicious, and won’t take hardly anymore of your time. I hope you enjoy your milk kefir, and have great success making more in the future!
Loving kefir or interested in making yogurt more cost effective? Try making it at home! Check out this blog post on how to make yogurt easily at home!
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