Necessary Equipment

• One quart whole milk
• Kefir starter
• Sterilized jar
• Thermometer

Monday evening I started the kefir making process. I had bought some kefir at city market previously and had noticed they had kefir starter there so I just decided to buy that and follow the directions for my kefir project. 

After buying the kefir starter I did some research on other blogs online and most of them recommended to get kefir grains from an online source instead of the kefir starter which I had already bought. The reason for this was that the kefir grains can be used again and again so I decided it wasn't that big of a deal and the kefir starter pack came with 6 packs anyway it would be fine for this project. I then noticed the online directions were different a bit than what the back of the kefir starter box depicted. That's okay, I'm going to follow the boxes directions. 

1. The first thing I did was heat one quart of milk to 180 degrees F. 

I used some local organic whole Vermont Milk. I typically would buy a lower fat milk and low fat kefir/yogurt but since the fat content of the milk has a lot to do with the outcome of the kefir I decided to start with the full fat. 

Taking a picture of 180 degree milk is not as easy as it looks. Fortunately what I thought was going to be a debilitating steam burn went away after minimal icing. 

2. Next I took the hot milk off the burner and let it cool down to 73 - 77 degrees F.  Meanwhile I was also sterilizing my mason jar. It is important to sterilize your equipment because while we want to foster the growth of beneficial bacteria we don't want other bacterias creeping in there that could cause harm. 

3. Once the milk has cooled down, the next task is to take a small amount of it in a separate container and add a packet of the kefir starter. Mix the kefir starter with the milk well and add it all to the large container of milk and mix well again. Then you simply pour the milk with the blended kefir starter into your clean mason jar and let it sit on the counter for 24 hours. 

4. On Tuesday evening I looked at the Kefir I had started that was sitting on my counter and it looked like this.

Chunks of curd, yum, just what the directions had said would happen. It looked more like very thick yogurt, than a liquidy drinkable yogurt but the process wasn't done. The next step to stick it in the refrigerator to stop the curdling process. 8 hours in the refrigerator and it will be ready to enjoy. 

5. Wednesday morning the kefir is still pretty thick not drinkable like the kefir I've bought in stores but it tastes good despite appearances. 

The directions did not tell me to strain it, they just said to stir to liquify and enjoy. I don't have a strainer so for this attempt I didn't strain it but I will next time.