Whether it’s sauerkraut, kombucha or sourdough, more people are trying their hand at fermenting foods at home. In this second of a two-part series (see our last issue for the first part), we’re exploring how to make yogurt and kefir, delicious ways to increase beneficial gut bacteria, get creative with flavours and save money. Both start with a “mother”, a microbiological culture colonized by specific microorganisms which produce the enzymes that cause fermentation.
Fermentation is Experimentation
- There’s no right or wrong amount of grains to use for making kefir—it’s just a matter of personal taste.
- Temperature is a factor. Warm summer heat can cut fermentation time in half when compared with winter.
- If your kefir is fermenting too quickly, add more milk and take out some grains.
- If your kefir is fermenting too slowly, remove some of the milk and move the jar to a warmer location.
- Kefir grains contain living microorganisms that sometimes need time to settle into the new environment in your home. You may need to make a few batches before the grains produce consistently and well.
Fermentation history
For about 8,000 years, people have preserved food through fermentation. In fact, ancient fermentation vessels have been found in Eastern European archeological sites, dating back to the Paleolithic era.
Fermented foods made up about 30% of traditional diets. These were nutritionally beneficial because they produced probiotics, were more easily digestible, improved access to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities of foods and made people less susceptible to bacteria and infection.
Homemade Yogurt
Creamy, sweet-tart yogurt—no fancy equipment needed
- 2–4 litres fresh, organic milk*
- 2 tbsp store-bought, live-culture yogurt
- saucepan
- food thermometer
- ladle
- measuring cup
- bath towel
- sterilized jars
- Preheat oven to 180°F. Add milk to saucepan and warm over low heat to 180°F, stirring gently.
- Transfer milk to an oven-safe bowl and cover. Heat in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Transfer bowl to the fridge to cool (place on a hot pad to protect the shelf). Leave oven on.
- When temperature reaches 115°F, remove the bowl from the fridge. Ladle about 1 cup of the milk into a measuring cup and stir in the store-bought yogurt. Stir the innoculated milk back into the bowl of milk.
- Turn the oven off and turn the oven light on. Cover the bowl and wrap with a towel. Place the bowl in the warm oven to incubate 8–12 hours.
- Transfer the yogurt to the sterilized jars and let cool in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Enjoy!
*The lower the fat percentage of milk used, the more liquid the yogurt. Whole milk makes the creamiest yogurt.
TIPS
- Set aside a few tablespoons of your finished yogurt in a sealed container in the fridge to use as a starter for your next batch.
- To thicken, strain in a cheesecloth-lined strainer for 2 to 4 hours in the fridge. Reserve the nutritious whey for smoothies.
- For sweetness, stir in fruit, honey or maple syrup.
- For a quick tzatziki, add smashed garlic and finely chopped cucumber.
Homemade Milk Kefir
This zingy, creamy dairy drink is high in protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and vitamins B, A and D for bone and gut health. Kefir contains more strains of probiotic bacteria than yogurt and is lower in lactose than regular milk because the fermentation bacteria feeds on the sugars, turning lactose into lactic acid.
- 1 cup fresh, organic whole cow or goat milk
- ½–1 tsp kefir grains*
- 2 sterilized wide-mouth glass jars
- wood or plastic spoon†
- plastic strainer
- Strain the kefir grains, discarding any liquid. Lightly rinse with a little fresh milk.
- Add the grains to a sterilized glass jar that’s big enough to hold at least 1 cup of milk. Add milk. No need to stir or shake.
- Cover the top of the jar with a clean cloth, paper towel or parchment paper held by elastic. Do not use a tight, sealed lid. This allows the grains to breathe while protecting them from contamination.
- Place jar in a cupboard. The kefir should be ready in about 24 hours (the room temperature can affect the exact time). Test by slightly tilting the jar. It’s ready if:
• It looks more gel than liquid.
• The whey has separated (look for pockets of clear liquid).
• It smells yeasty and a little sour. - The longer you ferment it, the more acidic the taste. When the kefir is to your taste, pour the kefir through a plastic strainer into a bowl. Gently stir the grains with a wooden spoon but take care to not mash the grains through the sieve.
- Stir the kefir to smooth out the texture. It’s now ready to drink, or store in the fridge.
- Store the grains in a separate jar in the fridge for up to a month. They can be used again and again for more batches of kefir. The grains will lose some potency the longer they are stored, so it may take making a batch or two to reactivate them fully.
*There’s no consensus on the ratio of kefir grains to milk, variations of which can affect flavour, texture and probiotic count. A good place to start is ½ to 1 teaspoon kefir grains to 1 cup of milk.
†Kefir grains should not come into contact with metal or be rinsed in water, which weakens their potency.
TIPS
- Storing kefir 6–12 hours before drinking makes the kefir thicker and produces more B vitamins.
- If you’d like fizzy kefir, put a tight lid on the jar for one or two days, “burping” it once a day by loosening the lid to release pressure so the jar doesn’t explode.
- If you are new to drinking kefir, start with a tablespoon in the morning and work up from there to make sure your body tolerates it well.
- Add extra grains, a rich source of probiotics, into a smoothie.
Article was published in The Good Life magazine.
