First, let’s tackle the taste part, no matter what the consistency or smell of the kefir is. This is by far the easiest to remedy as the consistency and smell of the kefir will eventually follow. The general rule of thumb that I follow, is to simply add more milk when the kefir that is strained off from the batch is too sour. Remember to strain the kefir grains every 24 hours and to put into a fresh batch of milk. If the resulting taste is just right, use the same amount of milk the next time. If after you’ve doubled the milk and it’s still too sour, you might be having a little too much grains in your jar, so the next best solution is removing some of the grains.

When doing this trial and error or experimentation phase, be sure to only change one thing at a time. If you’re going to add or lessen the milk OR you’re going to remove some of the grains. Don’t do both as you not know what really effected the change. Learn to be patient, everything comes with practice as they say. : )

Next is the consistency part. After a while of growing your kefir grains, you may just find your kefir turning into a whole different consistency. With the top being curdy and very watery near the bottom, and separates more once strained and left in the refrigerator. Definitely not the smooth and thick kefir you’re familiar with.

So what are we doing wrong now?

The simplest explanation to this is that you’re kefir grain’s growth is outpacing you supplying them with their food. You’ve been giving them the same amount of fresh milk when they have already grown so much. At this point, the kefir is simply separating because it has become too acidic. Like the taste, the remedy is to simply add more milk to the kefir grains or to remove of the grains and use the same amount of fresh milk.

Again, I would just like to point out that making Kefir isn’t exactly an exact science. The fun thing about Kefir is that it’s very much like any other recipe you try out. You don’t necessarily have to follow it to the letter and there is still a lot of room for experimentation.

Don’t get me wrong though, there is one step that you do need to follow. And that is taking in mind the little probiotics or the good bacteria in the kefir grains. Since these are little live organisms that need most likely traveled a long distance, the best way to kick start them to life so that they will eventually multiply in number is to feed them by getting them into fresh milk.

If you want your Kefir grains to multiply, the best way I’ve found, is to leave them in room temperature and with a regular change of delicious fresh milk.

As a summary I’ve listed below some of my posts that are relevant to making kefir.

Always remember that Kefir is a drink with a consistency similar to liquid yogurt or evaporated milk. Basically, you just need to add some Kefir Starter to milk and wait around 24 hours (or less) to make it. There is a catch though. Kefir starters are not as good as Kefir Grains and I’ll be telling you all about it right now.

Real kefir grains are hard to kill. They keep on multiplying on and on which means you have an endless supply… for life. Just remember to take care of them and you’ll be fine.

Kefir starters, which are commonly sold in your grocery stores, don’t have the full complement of probiotic bacteria and yeast found in natural live Kefir Grains.

What does a Kefir Grain look like?
If you know how a cauliflower looks like, then just imagine that and you pretty much have an idea of what kefir grains look like. They’re cauliflower like grains that are colored white, sometimes yellowish and somewhat slimy and squishy.

Why shouldn’t I buy Kefir Starter? Isn’t it easier!
As I’ve said before, with natural live Kefir grains, you won’t need to keep on buying. It’s easy to take care of them and they last you a life time. A bonus is, kefir grains keep growing. So after just a few weeks, you could actually give or even sell those to other people. Talk about a return on investment!

You see, Kefir Starters are just that! A starter! It needs to be replaced over and over again. If you really want to test out kefir starters click here to buy from Amazon.

Tell me now! How can I make this?
A kefir starter is placed into heated milk. Then you simply follow the instructions on the box. Which is usually just that. Place it in heated milk.

Live grains are placed into cold or room temperature milk which is what we usually have in our house. Another type is where you just put sugared water.

What? There are other types?
Yes! There’s what we call water kefir grains, which look like transparent grains because they’re prepared with water and sugar or fruits, where the micro-organisms metabolise the sugar from the water. This is PERFECT for people that don’t like the taste of milk. The one we’ve been talking about is milk kefir. It’s white cauliflower looking grains, and these kefir grains use the lactose and milk sugar. As we’ve said before, being lactose intolerant is not a problem when drinking this, because the yeast and bacteria consume the lactose.

Can you give me a step by step guide to making Kefir?
Like I said last time, Kefir can be made from ANY milk, be it a cow’s, a goat’s, a sheep’s, an ox’s or even a coconut’s! Every single one is healthy for you so don’t worry. Just experiment and see what you like!

First, you need Kefir Grains. They are the squishy cauliflower looking stuff I was telling you about. Put them in room temperature milk or cold milk. They need to break it down to produce the Kefir. The grains are then removed with a strainer when the kefir is ready. Put the grains into a new batch of milk and let them grow again and reproduce.

Now, here’s what I typically did before:

1. Get a quart sized glass jar or anything similar.
2. Add around 1/4 cup of Kefir Grains. It could be more or less. It’s up to you.
3. Add the cold or room temperature milk. Make sure it’s just right which is around 3/4 full of the jar or depending on the container you use.
4. Here’s the defining moment. You’d want to cover it just right. Not too tight, making it lose will be ideal. Close it too tight and it will be carbonated. People actually enjoy it like that especially when they use fruits and not milk. If you did close it tight, remember when you left it because it will “explode”
5. With the Kefir Grains in the milk, wait for 18 to 24 hours. You will know when it’s ready when the milk has thickened.
6. If after 24 hours and it still hasn’t thickened, you will have to add more kefir grains. Use less milk next time.
7. You will know if you waited too long. How? When you see that your Kefir is on top and the produced whey is on the bottom. No worries though, just remove some grains or just add more milk.
8. When it’s finally thick enough, use a strainer and pull out the grains from the kefir. Plastic strainers are ideal but cheesecloth is also great for this job. From my experience,  I’ve have no problems with using metal utensils. I have friends though that really stand by the “Don’t Use Metal Stuff” with your Kefir Grains.
9. Drink your all natural, easily made, fresh glass of kefir!

I did that before, but I strongly suggest you check this out for even easier, step by step and better results. Click here for How to make kefir video

Wait! What should I do with the leftovers?
Well, it’s not really a problem! Just keep it in the ref! So it’s ready to drink anytime or to be used for other kefir recipes!

How about the kefir grains?
That’s the best part! Just move it to another container and pour milk or whatever you choose to this time. It’s a never ending cycle and they keep on multiplying.

If this is your first time making Kefir and you think it’s really complicated, don’t sweat it! As you’ll find out it’s easier than it looks.

What you’ll need:

• 1-2 tbsp natural Kefir grains
• 1 quart whole cow or goats milk (preferably raw milk or pasteurized whole milk)
• 1 liter jar
• lid for jar or clean cloth
• plastic strainer
• plastic spoon
• cup

Steps:

1. Place natural kefir grains in a jar.
   Notice how i mention “natural” so check my post on kefir grains and kefir starters to find out why this is important.
2. Add the fresh milk.
   There is no need to boil or do anything with the milk. And although any type of milk will do, we’ve found it best to use raw un-pasteurized milk. Other suitable milks are pasteurized whole milk and non-fat milk. You can also use milk from a wide range of animals, like cows, goats, sheep, even camel and buffalo milks.
3. Cover the jar.
   You can use the lid of the jar or a clean cloth. Doesn’t really matter. As long as you don’t cover it air-tight. Leave some space or some breathing room. The living orgranisms in kefir need oxygen to do its magic.
4. Place jar in a room temperature of 18oC – 25oC (65oF – 77oF) and away from direct sunlight.
   Since scientific researches have found atleast 30 different bacteria and 25 different yeast in kefir cultures, this is found to be the best temperature range for kefir fermentation.
5. Leave for 1-3 days.
   Depending on your preferences you could have a mild tasting milk kefir after 12 hours, a tart flavor after 24 hours and a milk kefir with a zesty taste to it after 48 hours.
6. Separate the kefir from the kefir grains.
   Using a plastic strainer, pour out the mixture onto the cup. The remaining solids caught by the strainer can and should be used for your next batch of kefir making.
7. Drink your kefir / milk kefir
   The liquid you strained onto the cup is now your Kefir. You can drink this right away, refrigerate it for later or use it for some other kefir recipes. You can subscribe to our email list to get your free and EXCLUSIVE kefir recipes. It’s on the right side of the page. Just put your name and email. You’ll get your special kefir recipes every month.

**You might have noticed I placed a plastic spoon in the beginning. If you can’t help yourself and you just want to stir the kefir mixture during fermentation, you can. But don’t do it too often so you don’t disturb those nice little bacteria from doing their magic.

**What to do with the left over kefir grains? Place it in a jar with some milk and refrigerate or repeat the kefir recipe process for another batch.

**Lastly, as you might have noticed you didn’t lose much kefir grains during the process. In fact you might have actually gained more! This is what’s amazing with kefir. You only need one batch of kefir grains… for LIFE.

- If you are looking to learn more about kefir (basically everything you need to know) from the beginner’s stage to the advanced stage, we couldn’t recommend anything better than the kefir video course and kefir grains combo.

The Yogourmet kefir maker’s biggest advantage? You can make big batches easily. It’s also friendly to kefir starters which they also produce.

Kefir makers are not for everybody and I still support doing it the old fashioned way with kefir grains but if this is your thing, using a kefir maker and a kefir starter, then by all means, try it out. If you don’t like it, you could always use the Yogourmet as a yogurt maker. Yummy homemade yogurt and kefir. Mmmmmm….

People usually buy this combination of Kefir starter and Kefir Maker from Yogourmet