Any kefir makers among us?

So I bought some kefir grains because I'd hoped to improve my probiotic intake naturally. I long ago recognized that the kefir I was buying in the grocery store is not as good as home-made kefir.

I discovered that most kefir-making sites advise against the use of ultra-pasteurized milk. The organic milk I buy is ultra-pasteurized (sigh)

Well, I have no source for raw milk and am not inclined to use commercial "regular" milk.

To those of us making their own kefir, what do you use?

Has anyone used organic (ultra-pasteurized) milk with success?

I still tried it and have a thick product but am not sure if I'm just dealing with thick sour milk or what lol

Thanks to anyone who is willing to share their kefir adventures ;)

My father has been making his own kefir for months now. I talked him into buying a bottle at a local health store and he loved it.

He never uses ultra-pasteurized. He does use whole milk and two percent. When he can he does use organic. I'll ask which he or the kefir prefers.

He started with the dehydrated grains and I know it took him awhile to get them going. And when they did, boy did they grow.

I made kefir for years!! I love the stuff, although I have to admit what I loved the most was the raw goat milk kefir.

Have you checked this site for cultures and information? I found it to be a very good site and have used the recipes and have bought kefir grains from them as well: www.culturesforhealth.com/kefir

They say you can use coconut milk with success once you have started the grains in "regular" milk for a bit.

I used water kefir for a bit as well, but I definitely felt like the raw goat milk kefir was doing me more good.

I'll be buying more kefir grains soon and looking into the section on how to use previously frozen milk for kefir making, as my son and his wife have that wonderful raw goat milk I can get!!

My understanding is that the ultra pasteurized milk won't offer enough bacteria for the kefir grains to be able to survive - they simply can't get enough nourishment from the milk - although I've read that the direct set cultures. These can be recultured into a new batch, but only a few times.

With that said, more sites are coming out and saying that the Ultra pasteurized milk makes excellent kefir. Here are a couple of those sites:
www.culturedfoodlife.com/how-to-make-your-kefir-creamy-again/


kefirblog.com/types-of-milk-to-make-kefir/ - and don't miss the link at the bottom of the article: kefirblog.com/making-kefir-with-uht-milk-vs-fresh-milk-is-there-a-difference/


Now, in looking for these links, I came across an interesting product that you may wish to consider - it's food for the grains!! It's called Ecobloom: www.culturedfoodlife.com/store/product/ecobloom/

I hope this is helpful!!

Happy kefir making!!

My girlfriend made it non dairy. She used water. She quit making it because she became over run with it and could not drink it fast enough. She is single. The same thing happened with her making kombucha.

She called it Water Kefir. Googling will show you videos too.

So happy this thread was created because I wanted to ask the same question! I don't have access to raw goat milk so I guess water kefir would be the option? Definitely looking into this! Thanks all!

Is there a kefir you can buy in stores that is any good as I want to try it but don't want to make my own.

I've been having smoothies for lunch for many years now and kefir has always been an ingredient.

Trav buys the same brand I've been using but, at $4.99/quart, it's not cheap. Plus, I was hoping for an organic product which I'm not sure Lifeway makes...or at least it's not sold locally.

I'm not 100% sure if commercial kefir has the same benefits as home-made, either.

The instructions that came with the kefir grains I bought are what confused me. They were saying stuff like it would be 6-8 batches before I got "perfect kefir". What's perfect kefir?

And, they mentioned letting the milk ferment in regards to the earlier batches but I wasn't sure what I should be doing with the fermented milk.

A little Googling led me to believe that fermented milk is kefir(ish lol).

Ummm...can you tell I'm an apprehensive cook? ;)

I put the fermented milk (kefir?) in my fridge and plan on adding a little to my smoothie on Sunday. (I will be on the road a lot tomorrow and don't want to take any chances ;p)

Oh, and no, I get no financial or any other kind of benefit for referring to that site!! I just have found it to be the easiest to understand and follow with some good products, as that's where I purchased my last 2 sets of kefir grains from.