I’ve decided today to go over the basics of cultured dairy in a real food diet. Because heck, who doesn’t love yogurt?!
Yogurt & Kefir are both cultured dairy products. They both contain beneficial bacteria needed for a healthy gut. Why?
Inside our intestines are little organisms, often called good bacteria, that helps us digest and absorb our food. We want this good bacteria, we NEED it.
Many things can cause our intestinal flora to become out-of-balance. Stress, illness, prescription medication, anti-biotics and even eating a Standard American Diet (SAD) including genetically modified foods(GMOs) can reduce the number of healthy gut bacteria. This is why it’s so important to include probiotics in our diet.
Some symptoms of poor gut flora are:
Gas
Bloating
Cramps
Indigestion
Headaches
Food Allergies
Seasonal Allergies
Frequent Colds & Flus
Joint Pain & Stiffness
Some benefits of having a clean, balanced gut flora?:
Resolution of above symptoms.
Helps digest sugars, proteins, minerals & fats.
Resolves digestive issues aka bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation.
Strengthens the intestinal lining to help block out pathogens, allergens & toxins.
Strengthens the immune system.
Aid against the overgrowth of certain microorganisms, like yeast(candida).
Produce specific vitamins.
You’ve probably heard of probiotics before and have chuckled at the familiar Jamie Lee Curtis commercials promoting Activia (a brand of yogurt) to ensure a regular bowel movement every day.
Well Miss Jaime Lee Curtis is both right and wrong.
While yogurt IS exactly what you need to improve your digestion, store bought versions are not optimal.
Store-bought Yogurt & Kefir CONS:
1) It is fermented for a very SHORT amount of time (on average one hour) which greatly reduces the number of beneficial probiotics.
2) Thickening agents are added to make the yogurt look like, well real yogurt. I wouldn’t worry so much about gelatin being added, but I avoid products containing carageenan, guar gum and dry powdered milk.
3) Fruit and/or sweeteners added are usually refined and not of good quality.
4) Artificial dyes are often added, ESPECIALLY to kid-targeted yogurt. Artificial dyes are linked with hyperactivity, allergic reactions, & tumor growth.
5) Most yogurts sold today on the market are “low-fat” or “non-fat”. Remember what I said about those words!
Homemade Yogurt & Kefir PROS:
1) Typically Yogurt is fermented for 8-10 hours and Kefir is fermented for 24 hours producing copious amounts of beneficial probiotics!
2) When you use REAL WHOLE MILK, you don’t need to add any thickeners at all, plus you get all the benefits of a full fat product! Read why whole milk is best HERE.
3) YOU control the sweeteners and YOU can avoid any nasty dyes as well! It’s an awesome feeling not to stuff your kids with junk, let me tell you! Probably the easiest way to feel like wonder woman.
4) It’s WAY cheaper than store bought! Woot woot!
5) Real live probiotics are about a million times better than probiotic supplements you find at your health store.
The difference between YOGURT & KEFIR:
Yogurt contains transient beneficial bacteria meaning yogurt PROVIDES food for your good gut bacteria and keeps your intestines clean.
Kefir is different in that it can actually COLONIZE your intestines, something yogurt cannot do. Kefir can be made from MILK or WATER. Remember my homemade soda? Yep, it was simply water kefir.
So which is best? Well, they BOTH are awesome. Kind of like Batman & Robin. Or He-man & Battlecat. Or Captain America & Bucky. You get the point.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of having to produce 2 different cultured dairy every day, don’t worry! You don’t have to be making yogurt & kefir left and right!
My best advice on getting great amounts of probiotics in your diet? Switch it around a bit!
I’m assuming you have milk, right? By now I hope you’re buying WHOLE milk and none of this low-fat nonsense, right?
Well, just take that milk of yours and turn it into a powerful probiotic! Here’s how ya’ do it…
Homemade Yogurt
Step 1) Start with the best milk you can find. Remember …
GOOD = Whole milk, with no-rBst(meaning not treated with hormones)
BETTER = Whole milk, organic & no-rBst
BEST = Whole milk, raw & organic, mostly grass-fed & no-rBst.
Step 2) Purchase a starter online here.
There are 2 different kinds = DIRECT SET means you can make a batch then use a couple tablespoons from your first batch to make subsequent batches. BUT, direct set starters can only be reused 2-3 times. These usually come in packets of 8 and assuming you make a few batches from each, you have the potential to make about 24 batches of yogurt. HEIRLOOM VARIETY means you can make a batch and then use a couple tablespoons again and again and again potentially lasting for years and years until the end of time.
I purchased a direct set at first and kept all the packets in my freezer because I didn’t know how often I would make yogurt. Works great!
Step 3) Make your delicious yogurt! The recipe for yogurt is very simple. You first MUST heat the milk to 180 degrees while stirring constantly. This is not to pasteurize it, but to break down the proteins in the milk so that they will thicken. Then, you let it cool to 110 degrees then quickly add the culture (whether it’s a 1/4 tsp. of your powdered starter or 2 tablespoons of your old batch of yogurt) and stir. Now all you have to do is pour it into a glass container or mason jar and incubate this milk at this temperature for 8-10 hours. How do you do this? Well, you could wrap it in towels and stick it in a cooler. You could purchase a yogotherm, like me. Or you could buy an electric yogurt maker, which maintains that temperature for you.
Homemade Milk Kefir
Step 1) Start with the best milk you can find.
Step 2) Purchase a starter online here.
Step 3) Make your delicious milk kefir! This recipe is EVEN simpler than yogurt! First you have to rehydrate your kefir grains. Kefir can only be made from a mother batch meaning it ALWAYS needs the initial culture to work. Kefir grains look like tiny little pieces of cauliflower. You must take 5-7 days and let your dehydrated grains rehydrate in pasteurized milk. Basically this means once you get your packet in the mail, you simply toss in a cup of milk, leave it on your counter, and then every 24 hours strain out the grains and put them in fresh milk. At first, the milk will look nasty and separate into curds & whey. By day 5, your milk should look thick, not separate into curds & whey and smell fresh and taste clean & tart.
Now, you can make kefir by basically doing the same thing. No need to heat your milk or incubate it. Just place the kefir grains in however much milk you want and let it sit on your counter at least 24 hours. When you don’t want to make kefir, just store the small grains in a cup of milk in the fridge. While it’s in the fridge you will have to replace the milk every week to keep them fresh.
*NOTE* Milk kefir grains can double in size if you use raw milk. This means you can share with friends! YAY! Kefir for everyone!
Homemade Water Kefir
Step 1) Purchase water kefir grains online here.
Step 2) Make your delicious water kefir! We LOVE LOVE LOVE water kefir here! We call it Homemade Soda Pop because it gets fizzy just like regular soda! Check out my homemade soda pop recipe here!
How often do I make homemade probiotics?
Milk kefir is constantly culturing on my counter. I pour a cup into a small jar and strain out those little kefir grains every morning, then start a new batch. Why so often? Well, seasonal allergy season is here in full force and we are upping our intake of probiotics to give our bodies a strong immune system. It’s working awesome so far!
I make Homemade Yogurt a couple times a month. My kids LOVE it, especially with honey & bananas or granola.
I make Water Kefir every weekend for our homemade pizza night. My kids love that stuff and so do I! I love that fizzy flavor!
So how do you feel about homemade probiotics? Love ’em or hate ’em? Does this make you excited to get started? Well, then what are you waiting for?
Sources:
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/search-results?page=1&q=fermented%20dairy&fl_SiteID=6122&SearchSourceType=1&allJournals=1
https://www.kefir.net/kefir-vs-yogurt/
This post is a part of: Motivation Monday
Can the kefir with the grains be put in the instant pot or make the 24 hour kefir (that way it is consistent every time) or will that ruin the kefir and grains?
Hi Kristine-
Kefir grains like to stay at temperatures around 71 degrees and not go above 82 degrees. So, if the Instant Pot heats them above that it can damage the grains and diminish some of the probiotic properties.
Thank you-Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I make my own kefir with store bought whole milk. My kefir is powdered kefir bought on line. Bring 1 liter to a boil. Let it cool until it is hardware. Add the powdered kefir, mix it well, pour in two jars and put it in the oven with the light on for 24 hrs. It is nice and thick. The next times I do the same but use 3 tblsp of the kefir mix well and put it again in the oven for 6 hrs. I do this several weeks with the same kefir until I notice the kefir becomes more liquid then I use a new powdered starter. We use it everyday with fruit, hempseeds and grounded flaxseed, yummy!
Can I set the kefir in my yogurt maker instant pot? Otherwise my house is too cold this time of year? Thanks!
Hi Kristine-
Yes, you can use your instant pot for this. Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Hi. I’ve bought an electric yogurt maker and some kefir grains. I set the temp to 42c. I followed the instructions on the grain pack. 1 pack of grains with 1quart of milk. I left it in the yogurt maker for 14 hours. The consistency is runny. I’ve now transferred the warmed kefir to the refrigerator. As I’m new to this, I’ve no idea if I’ve done it correctly. Any tips would most appreciated.
Hi Claire-
Kefir is runny, it does not set up like yogurt. It’s more like a drinkable yogurt. However, cooling in the fridge for kefir or yogurt will firm them up a bit.
Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
So where is your recipe? How much milk to the 2 tablespspoons of store bought kefir?
Hi Yvonne-
There are directions on the starter that DaNelle suggests to purchase in the article. Although, starting with about a quart is usually pretty doable. I hope that helps. Thanks -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
Do you know the probiotic or nutritional value of kefir cheese? I put a 24 hour kefir ferment back into my strainer with a coffee filter because I wanted the whey for another recipe. I put it over a bowl and overnight I had about a cup of whey the next day. I decided to taste the cheese left in the coffee filter because it seemed ridiculous to waste it. It tasted like nothing, so I mixed in some strawberry preserves and it wasexactly like greek strawberry yogurt. That seems much easier to me than making yogurt.
Hi Pamela-
Yes, making kefir and kefir product is pretty simple. For about an ounce of kefir cheese you get around 70-75 calories, 7-8 grams of fat, 1-2 grams of carbohydrates, and a couple grams of protein based on what you started with. Your kefir will most likely have several different species of yeast and bacteria such as Saccharomyces species, Kazachstania species, and Kluyveromyces species (yeasts) and Lactobacillus species, Leuconostoc species, Pseudomonas species, Acetobacter species, and Streptococcus species (bacteria). I hope that helps. Thanks and Happy Fermenting! -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I loved it and I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing this blog.
What if I don’t want to purchase a starter? I read somewhere else that you can use a bit of store bought yogurt (as high quality as you can find) that has the probiotics in it. Then just add that to the warmed milk. Also how does leaving milk out for a day not make you sick? Is there a risk of getting food born illness from it?
Hi Jamie, I’d definitely recommend getting a starter!
I just made yogurt and it tasted so much like kefir that I was wondering how you make kefir. But I just used about 1/2-1cup store bought yogurt for a gallon. Worked great! And as for leaving the milk out all day, you’re basically fermenting it so nope, you will be fine:)
So, I can’t use my yogurt maker? I’m creeped a bit because I get fresh, raw cow milk! Won’t this breed all manner of bacteria leaving it out all those days?? I’ve heard however that kefir is superior to yogurt (which is what I’ve been making for 3.5 yrs, at a 24 hr ferment)
Thx,
Donna
Hi Donna,
When making yogurt, you usually heat it to 180 degrees first, so hopefully this will make you feel better about using your raw milk:)
I just found this post. Can I use Kefir to make yogurt in my instant pot? Thanks!
Hi Dena,
Kefir only makes more kefir, so you won’t get a yogurt from a kefir starter:) You can make both in your instant pot.
The instructions I got said to hear the milk to 80 degrees before adding the strained kefir grains. Is this step necessary? Can the milk come right out of the fridge or does it need to be room temp before the grains are added? Thanks!
Hi Kiyomi,
Usually those instructions are for when you’re starting your first few batches of kefir. The grains can be overtaken by the beneficial bacteria in the milk. So, it’s a good idea the first few times to heat it first.
I was hoping to find a way to make my own kefir yogurt starter at home and save the money.
Hi,
Great blog – and in answer to your question, here’s a list of the probiotics we take daily. We buy 10 litres (quarts) of raw Jersey milk weekly from our local farmer and make 5 litres Kefir and 2 litres yogurt set with gelatin from grass fed bovines. The balance is divided between our green smoothies (made with Amazing Grass green powder/prebiotic/probiotic and baobab powder) and our ‘fatty lattes’ (made with coffee, grass fed butter, coconut oil, grass fed gelatin and zylitol natural sweetenerI. And, if there’s any milk left at the end of the week, we let it sour into bonny clabber soft cheese from which we use the whey to ferment vegetables. We also make kefir from store bough coconut water and kombucha made from red bush tea and raw Bulgarian honey. I’m just about to start making natto from organic soya beans for a further dose of probiotics and a great source of the vital Vitamin K2.
I strongly believe we’re providing our bodies with pretty much everything they need to stay healthy and it has certainly worked up till now!
Best regards
Alaister
I am so glad I reread this today. I have way more kefir than I know what to do with.
I have had kefir yoghurt. Can you make this in the same way as you make normal yoghurt or do you need the grains?
You always need the grains with kefir yogurt:)
Is the yogurt starter you recommend (Y-5) an heirloom starter? If not can you recommend one?
Hey, I am wanting to make homemade yogurt and have some supplements in the cupboard; I am thinking about using them instead of yogurt…. What do you think?
Thanks,
Jackie
hey there! why did you choose the yogotherm over the yogurt maker? what are the benefits? is a yogurt maker not recommended? the yogurt maker is actually half the price of the therm!
Hi Heather, I actually have both and it just depends on what I’m in the mood for:) Lately I’ve been using the yogurt maker.
I just read this and it’s fantastic because my kids are chroniclly sick. My question is…does the yogurt have to stay warm/room temperature? I doubt my picky 2 & 3 yr old will eat it warm/room temperature? Also can you add stevia and fruit to sweeten?
Hi Amanda,
Yes, you can absolutely use fruit & stevia!
I started making milk kefir 5 years ago!! I use kefir grains and they stay alive so well if u take good care!! I also make water kefir and yogurt, u can use the whey for so much of other things like culture veggies!!! Yum! I love kefirs I think they are so important for health!!!!
Could I use raw goats milk to make the homemade yogurt?
You can start with raw goat’s milk, but you need to heat it to 170 degrees first to make sure the good bacteria in the milk won’t overpower the yogurt culture:)
I’ve been making yoghourt for a few months and it really works best when I start with a full cream starter yoghourt from the health shop. My cat and I both love it.
I make it with skim milk and it is really tasty. I’m now venturing into making kefir but want to try and get the grains locally in Johannesburg. Seems crazy to have to import them online.
Hi jessica. There is a supplier in Pretoria.
if you can buy kefir locally then you can make your own kefir. it is very easy, in a saucepan bring 0.9L pasteurized milk to 40C (if not pasteurized then to boil and let it cool down to 40C) pour into glass jar, add 0.1L bought kefir, stir well; let it rest in warm place while being wrapped and covered by a cloth, better to do it overnight, leave it for a minimum 14 hours, then you can try it every 12-24 hours, the longer you leave it out the more sour it gets, once you reach a phase where you like the taste and the consistency, place it in the refrigerator. after that you can use your own kefir for future kefir making. Kefir yogurt is even easier, put bought/homemade full fat kefir in a plastic zipper bag in the freezer, let it freeze. remove frozen kefir from the zipper bag place into muslin/cheesecloth and hang it with a bowl under it and leave it overnight/14 hours, you will get very 0.2L thick yogurt and .8L whey, if it is too thick you can add a little bit milk.
Jessica, Hi! I am a teacher in George (W.Cape) and a few of us have kefir grains and make yoghurt. you don’t have to import them. Please leave your details at our school and I will see that you get some of our kefir! Woopee to good health! from Louise from York High.
If you don’t want to buy one of the Yogurt maker thingies, plus my storage space is very limited so I am trying to keep my gadgets to a minimum. So can you put it in your oven? My oven has a bread proofing setting, so the temperature stays really quite low, but it is still warm, would that work or would it be too warm for the bacterial cultures?
Hello!
Do you sweeten your homemade kefir? If so, what do you use?
I typically just throw it in a smoothie, so my smoothie may have honey or fresh fruit to sweeten it.
I am so glad I reread this today. I have way more kefir than I know what to do with. Time to put it away for a while!
My husband has been making homemade yogurt for a few months now, and we love it. I think it tastes better, and I like that we know what goes into it (especially since we have an extremely picky 2 year old, and yogurt is one of her favorite foods). Great post…learned some new things that I will pass on to him!
We love our homemade yogurt! I make several batches a week usually.
I tried making milk kefir last year and had no success with it. I should try it again when the kids are out of school.
Thanks for sharing your tips at Motivation Monday! I feel so inspired!
How is homemade soda made with water kefir different from a homemade soda made from carbonated water. Carbonation makes me sick. I wonder if water kefir would have a similar effect with the “fizzy-ness”?
Also, What might you suggest if i dont like the flavor of milk? I think it’s the fat because raw milk is much worse to me.
I really do want the benefits. My digestion has been horrid since becoming pregnant!
You can get proboitics in pill form if you can’t handle eating or drinking dairy or the water kefir. The most common is just lactobacillus, but you can also get probiotics that combine several probiotics. There is also the possibility of eating various fermented vegetables and fermented tea, known as kombucha that can be made very inexpensively and with almost no limit to the flavors you cane add in the loose tea mixture. Fermented foods are a good source of probiotics. Personally, I don’t like the taste of fermented foods/drinks, so I avoid them and I don’t drink tea really, so I go with yogurt and kefir, but there are many options for adding probiotics to your diet.
Modified corn starch is also a frequent, unfortunate ingredient in many store bought yogurt brands…
How do you like your Yogotherm? I have heard mixed reviews on the product and would LOVE to hear your opinion!
Also, totally unrelated to yogurt and kefir (or maybe sorta related since we’re talking about probiotics?) but do you guys still use the squatty potty? What’s your opinion on that product now that some time has passed since you purchased it?
I love my Yogotherm, but it does take some getting used to. You have to get the temperature of the water(that you pour around the jar of yogurt) about 110 degrees and then close it quick to lock in the heat, but as long as you do that you’re fine!
Oh, and I LOVE my squatty potty! I seriously hate going #2 without it! You really go so much more and that is definitely always appreciated!
I use a yoga block to go to the bathroom–even though I currently can’t go. . . . I read the Yogotherm was plastic. I’m more of a glass lover 😉
I have made Keifer. I cant even gag it down. Would take a cup of sugar to make it edible. I do like raw milk yogurt however. My kids are way to used to the sugary yogurt and getting them to eat it is tricky. I will have to try water keifer.
Oh no! I love Kefir! It’s definitely sour, but you can add a sweetener or throw it in a smoothie:)
So, you’re not heating it to 180? Because then it would no longer be raw. How’s the texture? Thanks.
I used to make yogurt once a week until I discovered kefir. Now, I make milk kefir everyday. Making kefir is so much easier than yogurt and there is so much you can do with it.
For my first attempt at making milk kefir, I used the Cultures for Health kefir starter but did not have any luck with them. I then ordered kefir grains from http://www.timelesshealth.net. When the grain (about the size of a pea) arrived, I seriously thought there was no way this pea sized kefir grain was going to amount to much. Was I wrong!!! The kefir grain turned into beautiful abundant, creamy kefir grains and I have given away tons of them to all my friends.
I use the excess grains to make kefir pancakes, kefir creamy dressing, chocolate kefir bread, and sprinkle them in my herb garden. They are wonderful!
I am so happy I found out about kefir. I wouldn’t miss a day going without having kefir.
Awesome, a fellow kefir lover!
So glad to hear that I wasn’t the only one who had problems with Cultures for Health kefir grains. I couldn’t get past the rehydration stage.