How To Make Kefir From Raw Milk. A Thorough Guide And Recipe To Benefit Your Health

Table Of Contents

What is kefir?

General info

Kefir is a probiotic drink with many kinds of bacterias and yeasts. It's most often made from either cow, goat, or sheep milk by adding kefir "grains" (see below). Many people also make water kefir with water and various kinds of sugar so it's kind of like Kombucha. All can be naturally carbonated like soda, and the probiotics in them are good for your health.

Kombucha is another subject, so I won't speak of that here.

Everything that follows are guidelines, not rules set in stone. I'll explain why as I get to each spot. But for the best results, follow everything exactly so you get a good baseline to understand how everything works. Once you're comfortable enough with that, go ahead and do some of the other stuff I mention if you want. I just want you to get comfortable with it first, and that will happen by following my ideal directions exactly.

I wrote the following directions in a way to help you avoid problems / prevent sickness, and getting the milk sour within 24 hours is your best defense. So please follow the directions as I say, until you're comfortable with it all, and then apply my other options if you want to have fun.

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What are kefir grains?

They are the "tool" you need to make kefir. If you're using healthy looking milk grains (such as the ones in my video instructions / images): they look kind of like white, gelatinous popcorn or cottage cheese.

They feel soft, but they don't break /rip apart unless you're aggressive with them. Good ones are very slimy, and they should always bounce back to their original size / shape if you squeezed them lightly.

They are the thing that ferments the natural sugars in the milk (lactose) so the milk turns sour, gives you a lot of probiotics, and makes the milk last WAAAAAY longer, even at room temperature so you don't get sick from it. Without them, the milk would go bad and make you sick if you drank it.

The state of these grains can change at various times. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. See section 4 for details on that.

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Where do kefir "grains" come from?

God. Don't believe there is one? Doesn't matter.

Recorded history from the public fool system is still nothing but "his - story"... I.E. "His - opinion" anyway, and looking anywhere else for this question is going to get you things based on hearsay evidence too. And yes, I know, me giving credit to God is hearsay evidence. But I've been through more than enough life threatening and non life threatening experiences to know damn well that there is one. If you knew of those things, you'd say there's NO way that stuff can happen, but they happened regardless.

For those not inclined to believe me on the above: I've heard stories that people found clear looking blobs in a river 800 trillion years ago, or whatever "TrUsT Me BrO!!1" number they could think of, and one day decided to toss them in some milk. I've also heard stories ranging from "it came from them thar hills!!", which is no different from claiming your ancestors came from pond scum and rocks (although "stardust" tends to be the dramatic way of selling you on it)... Again, that's all hearsay evidence too, so don't lie to yourself.

Point being... If you don't believe me, then arguing it is pointless. All that matters is that kefir grains exist, and they do stuff that's good for you. Religion doesn't matter here, though I still believe what I said.

On the topic of bullshit your rulers brainwash you with, don't forget the scamdemic: "TrUsT ThE sCiEnCe!!1", because "tEh WuRlD's DeAdLiEsT ViRuS iS TotAlLy FiXeD By A TiSsUe On YoUr FaCe WiTh YoUr 15th BoOsTeR, BeCaUsE TeH FiRsT OnE WoRkEd PeRfEcTlY!!!", right???... So put that fart blocker on and get boosted if you want. May God have mercy on you, and may your eyes be opened to the scam you fell for.

I'm a proud pureblood. I didn't get their fucking clot shot, didn't wear a mask, didn't lock down, I ignored the 6ft rule, and had cops kick me out. I got treated like absolute shit everywhere I went, and nobody wanted to see the proof on how they were wrong. Yet I'm still fine. So you make up your own mind on who you're going to believe: obvious hypocrites and liars, or someone who defied everything your corporate masters told you to do, and is better off because of it.

The world would be a much better place if people disobeyed obvious evil. I suggest you start NOW, because nothing will get better until you start taking your rights back. Starting with your health is one of the best ways to do so, as that is one of the first levers of power that crooks will use to manipulate you by... Then comes "dO iT FoR TeH KiDs!!!!1", yet at the same time promoting abortion up to the day of birth. So pull your head out of your ass, and stop believing everything your rulers tell you.

The truth is not afraid of competition. So challenge everything they say, and get them to prove their claims to you.

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How to make kefir grains?

I only make them from milk, so here's the gist, but the full directions are further below. Though if you want water kefir directions: go elsehwere.

Long story short: you add kefir grains + milk in a room temperature place around 70F, let it get sour, strain it, and add more fresh milk every day.

Do that consistently, and they will grow over time.

There might be a way to make them some other way, but I've been making my own kefir every week since 2005, and this is the only way I've ever seen them grow.

So I don't know if there is a way to make them from scratch the way you'd make spaghetti from scratch with flour, water, salt, and eggs...

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Do I need raw milk to make kefir?

Short answer: no. As long as you have milk from an animal (ideally from cow, sheep, goat, or buffalo), then you can make kefir with it. I'll bet milk from other animals will make it too, but I don't drink them since I stick to milk from Kosher animals. Not certified Kosher, since I don't care about that, but as a matter of preventing disease.

You can still get sick from the milk of Kosher animals, even if it's raw. I've been drinking raw milk every day since 2005, and there have been a whopping 2 times that the milk was bad. Everyone knew it, and it wasn't hard to fix.

Point being, the reason why I only drink milk from Kosher animals is because those that aren't have a much higher chance of carrying diseases. For example, pigs will eat piss, shit, barf, and dead rotting animals loaded with maggots and parasites.

I'm about to rant a little, but it's relative to the question above, so skip to the next if you want....

Here's a video of an elephant eating some poo straight out of another elephants butthole. Watch him dig for gold and toss it into his mouth at the end.

Here's another of a pig eating a dead rat.

And contrary to popular belief... Animals like monkeys are not vegetarians either. They eat bugs, other animals they can catch, and chimps are cannibals too. I would put another video here of a babboon eating a baby deer / antelope alive while it screams in pain, having it's guys ripped out... But you get the idea that reality is NOT a Disney cartoon with dancing animals.

Trying to be vegan was one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I tried for a short bit in 2004-5, and I have yet to this day, still NEVER seen a healthy vegan.

On a related note, earlier in my life when I had terrible health, I did a lot of herbal cleansing to rid me of a bunch of health problems. I used natural methods to kill off tons of parasites (liver flukes, and worms I saw in the toilet), and a whole lot of other things. After that, I was testing diets to see what worked best.

Now, most people don't mind the scent of their own farts or poo, but when I did that herbal cleansing: even I was repulsed by the spawn of Satan that came out of my own butthole.

Without going too indepth, these are the reasons why the only animals I eat are Kosher animals (again, I dont care about certification), but my life experience is enough for me to stay on this path. If you read around this site, you'd know that 95% of the shit sold in stores doesn't exist to me. It's all garbage, "geenwashed" organic candy that will still rot your teeth.

If you want to get better health: I suggest you start making some changes to what you put on and in your body, because otherwise you will be paying for it in the form of bad health. And if you don't have health, your productibility goes way down.

So your choices = let fear and pain be your teachers, or take my word for it and be better off (it's not like I'm trying to make your life harder).

And even you can't find, nor afford raw milk: fermenting it into kefir still makes it IMMENSELY better for you because you are adding beneficial bacteria, which will help you in many ways.

If you want a good head start on eating better: check out a cook book called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, as well as Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A Price. I would start with the cook book, as it quotes a lot of stuff from the other. Even so, I don't agree with everything in there, but it's a good head start.

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Where can I get raw milk?

RealMilk.com

FarmMatch.com

GetRawMilk.com

There are others if you do a basic internet search.

And many places usually only let you get it when you join something called a cow share or a goat share, etc.

The reason why is because in some places it's still illegal. So when you join one of those, you're not buying the milk. Instead, you own part of an animal, and you are paying the farmer to package and deliver you a product you already own a part of.

It's usually cheap, or free to join, but totally worth it (see below).

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Why would I want raw milk?

It's WAY better for your health, and highly likely to make you not have problems when drinking it.

Before I drank it raw, the pasteurized stuff would always give me a giant clump of mucus in the back of my throat that I'd be spitting up for hours. It also didn't feel good in my stomach, and made me fart a alot.

And the first time I tried ultra pasteurized milk: my lips, eyes, and the rest of my face got so swollen that I could barely breathe.

That was a good enough sign to me that that stuff = bad for you, and no amount of vegan protein, vitamins, and mineral pills ever filled the void.

One time, I even lived off the fanciest sounding supplements you could buy. I won't name it, but it was a really expensive protein powder with an over glorified way of convincing you why their product is the best thing since ever.

You see, when I tried being vegan, I had what I like to call "starving full". It's where you eat, and eat, and eat, and eat, and eat, and you are never full, even though your belly is puffed out like you're fat. I was also very cold, all the time, especially my hand, feet, knees, and balls. And I'm a skinny dude, though ripped, so that looked weird (if you want to see me with my shirt off, go watch my musket video. The cross fade section in the black background is the best shot).

Point being, when I started drinking raw milk, the first thing I noticed was how relaxed I felt. And among eating other things in the various books I mention on this page: all of a sudden I felt satisfied. Surges of love, laughter, and peace flooded my body. Only some of those happened with raw milk, and other foods did the rest. But this was the satisfaction I had always been looking for, and I didn't have to eat a whole field of lentils that made me fart 24-7, and give me a puffy belly on top of it (which again, never worked).

Again, I've been drinking it raw every day since 2005, and... Every. Single. Place. That I have got raw milk from... Have all been raided by government goon squads with full auto weapons, or at the bare minimum, harassed by power tripping assholes that get you to screw yourself... This should make you wonder: who do they think they're going to catch on a farm, commiting the heinous crime of having raw milk? Will they catch a boogeyman from the middle east that the US government created as a tool to screw the public by getting the people to give up more tax money, and more rights, among other scams?

Unfortunately, all this is true. And many of those cocksuckers have been playing God since long before then, and they continue to do so up to this day.

It happens for a number of reasons, and sometimes it may be justified. But for the people I've bought from: it was no different from TV's high priests during the scamdemic telling you to wear a holy tissue on your face...

Because legend has it... That it hath been blessed by the high priests of "sCiEnCe!!!1!!evelen!!1 So GeT Ya 15th BoOsTa!!!!!1".

I suggest you, me, and everyone else start teaching people the truth, and disobey evil orders, just like I did. Grow a fucking pair of balls, learn your rights and how to enforce them, and clog the system legally if they come after you for it. I can tell you from experience, that 99% of crap from the government is bluff, and they use the media as a weapon to screw the people over through non stop lies. Mainstream media outlets are largely to blame, and every 2nd commercial on them is some new drug. So it's obvious they've been bought out from telling the truth.

Raw milk was literally one of the things that saved me from death. I won't go too much into it here, but at one point while vegan, I was severely underweight. It also helped me gain 1 lb a day in 3 weeks. Nothing else worked, other than raw animal products like raw milk, raw eggs, etc. I actually gained more than this, I just didn't start weighing myself until I started feeling the results coming consistently. I wasn't exercising at all either. Just eating and resting.

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Is raw milk dangerous?

If you read the stuff above where I gave a teeny tiny overview of health problems I used to have, did some herbal cleansing, then healed a ton of health problems... All those problems happened LONG before I ever drank raw milk.

You have a higher chance of getting sick from food sold in your local grocery store, or going to a restaurant, than from drinking raw milk.

In fact, the stuff that gave me the endless health problems I used to have were all caused by the modern day diet, and the lies that people tell themselves.

Even so, yeah, you can get sick from it, like I said above. You could also get in a car accident tomorrow. Or with all the Boeing airplane crashes today: an airplane might fall out of the sky and hit you.

So if you're worried, then get it from someone who's been making it for a long time. After watching other people drink it with no problems, you'll probably realize it's no different from any other part of daily life.

Health benefits of kefir

Long story short: probiotics. They make your digestion better, which improves your overall health in many ways.

And being able to make your own probiotics instead of buying refrigerated probiotic pills from the store is a total no brainer if you ask me (and yes, there are refrigerated versions of probiotics, and that makes no sense because they're going in your body anyway).

That's one reason why I've been making my own since 2005. By doing that, I get: probiotics, proteins, vitamins, and minerals all in one go, unlike useless powdered rocks in a pill form that get passed off as a health food.

Powdered rocks (vitamin pills) did nothing for me when I was younger and had a lot of health problems.

I used to eat powdered rock pills and powders which were marketed as the best thing since ever with all their super special proteins and blah blah blah... I even lived off them solely for a time, but they never healed the severe health problems I had back then. Whereas actual food did. Kefir was one of those things, particularly from raw milk.

The day I started drinking raw milk was the day I started growing again, and a whole bunch of other problems healed. Powdered rocks did nothing for me, but with raw milk I'd feel it in my bones, muscles, and energy every day. Therefore, I've been making it ever since.

If you're interested in more on that, consider the Weston A price foundation, Weston's book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, and a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

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Steps to make it / before you start...

Read ALL of these directions in this section 3 before starting. I have a video down below that is meant to be good enough for most people. You actually might want to skip there and watch it first, because it will go over some points that'll be easier to understand by seeing...

But if you skip there, remember that the details in this section 3 are important too, and I kept some of them out of the video in an effort to keep it under 10 minutes. I also have PDF instructions so you can remember how to when offline (if you want them), but they aren't as good as what's on this page.

These directions are also from the point of view that you bought your kefir grains from me, and are making kefir with raw milk. You don't need raw milk to make it (pasteurized will work too), but the little details I say on this page are much more important if you are making it with raw milk, to keep it safe, etc.

Everything on this page are also just guidelines. They are not hard set rules, but the closer you follow them, the more likely you are to get better results. I even show this in the video.

The point of my directions in the video and this page is to establish a baseline with you, so you understand the principles / signs you need to pay attention to. That way, your kefir will end up being silky smooth, because that makes it taste the best in my opinion.

Although, you might have to modify things based on your circumstances. For that, be sure to at least read each title in section 4, and read which ever spot as you need.

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What you're likely to notice when you first get your grains

After your grains have not been fed for a few days at room temperature (during shipping), you can get a couple “problems”. They can get more sour than usual, especially if they shipped very warm (typical in hot months). When that happens, they might smell like “paint” / "acetone" and / or alcohol when you get them.

That is fine since yeasts naturally make alcohol (which contains some acetone), and the bacteria make lactic acid (acids). Certain kinds of acids and alcohols are put into paint too, hence the familiar smell. Except with these it’s not toxic, and it won't get you drunk. It’s all natural too, and there is even such as thing a "milk paint" in case you didn't know.

So no need to worry. You can eat it, but don’t do that yet (read on).

If the grains are left out for long enough without food: the color might also go yellow a little due to being exposed to open air, or not having been fed lately. This also happens when you store them in a jar in the fridge, and the existing milk adhering to the grains drained to the bottom of the jar (so it’s just a little oxidation). A week can do that easily.

Again, all of these things are fine, your grains are not broken or bad, and they will return to their perfect state if you follow the directions below.

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Items you'll need

Most importantly... DO NOT USE METAL FOR ANYTHING THAT FOLLOWS (watch the video that follows for why).

But first, you'll need some kefir grains.

Then, some cow / goat / sheep, or buffalo milk (ideally whole, but 2% will work). Pasteurized will work fine too, I just always do it raw. I don't suggest using skim, because the grains will eventually get more rough, and start feeling the way they do before going bad due to neglect. At that point, there is a noticeable difference when touching them, and having the fat clearly makes them feel better. There's more detail for that in section 4, from the Kefir grains are orangey? spot, and the places it refers to.

DO NOT USE non dairy "MiLk" like soy, almond, etc. either. If you do, the grains are probably going to turn more into water kefir grains, and I have little experience with those.

You also need a plastic strainer, and a glass or plastic bowl with a pour spout. The video below shows good and bad examples of both. Concerning the strainer, I should have said this in the video below, but I forgot, so here it is... Although I say to not use the fine mesh one I show for cow milk (goat is fine since it's naturally homogenized - I'll explain below), that fine mesh style is actually alright as long as you don't ferment and strain in a hot room. The problem I say there with clogging the mesh is more noticeable at warmer temperatures.

EXAMPLE: whenever I ferment cow milk (which is NOT homogenized, since I drink it raw). and I do it in a hot room like 90F +... Because the cream naturally separates, the fat floats to the top. In a hot enough room like that, sometimes that cream separates even further into some blobs of melted butter. When you strain this with a fine mesh strainer, it's going to clog the mesh and become a pain to strain out your grains, because it's no different from smearing butter all over it. That creates a seal so it doesn't strain. That is likely to make you think "If I just stir it, and press it out with a spoon, it'll be fine". There are problems with that. Since milk is now fermented, it will separate into butter more easily. So when you stir it, you're going to turn some more of it into butter, and it will clog it even more. None of this will hurt you or ruin your kefir, it's just not so great when trying to strain your grains. It's also more likely to tear up your grains...

So if you get a fine mesh strainer, I suggest you use your fingers, toothpicks, or anything skinny to help add some extra space in it so it actually strains. Again, this is only really noticeable at warmer temperatures.

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Freshen up your grains

It won't hurt if you skip this freshening up spot... Because the grains will always reach back to their original state, but I suggest you don't skip it, because doing it will make it taste and feel better in your mouth overall. The purpose of this is to normalize the cultures back to their original state, so the flavor isn't off for your next batch. Because during shipment, open air is denied to them since they're in a closed package. Yeasts, which are natural to kefir grains, well they make some alcohol from the natural sugars in the milk, especially when open air is denied to it. This means that during shipment, once you get the grains, they may smell a little like alcohol, acetone, or awkward when you open them up the first time. Like I said above, nothing is wrong with them. It's natural. That only happens because of the shipping.

Now GO WASH YOUR HANDS!!! Scrub under your nails too (better yet: clip them, then scrub). Don't be an uncultured swine that adds cross contamination from the filth under your dirty nails.

Then lightly strain whatever excess kefir and whey is currently adhering to the grains. No need to squeeze them out. Just let a bit of it drain through your fingers so it's only lightly coating them.

Then put the grains in a clean glass jar, and cover them with enough milk so it's just above the top of the grains.

Put a loose lid on top right after that, so gas can escape, but bugs cant get in. An old t-shirt with a rubber band to secure it is perfect. Personally, I use these cheap towels from Walmart called Flour Sack towels. I got 10 of them for like $5-10, and they're perfect for making cheese, or turning this kefir more into thicker yogurt (which are separate topics, so I won't go there now).

DO NOT USE METAL (short answer = metal lids will likely rust, see section 4 later on for details).

Keep it like this at room temperature (ideally between 70-75 F), and stir it lightly 2-3 times a day with a wooden or plastic spoon.

If you stir hard and fast it might tear them, which will make it more of a pain to strain out, since they might slip through the holes. That doesn’t ruin their ability to ferment the milk though, it's just a minor inconvenience.

Once 24 hours is up, lightly stir it your last time so it's all smooth again, then dump it in a strainer over a glass or plastic bowl with a pour spout, and "hop" the strainer up and down to let the kefir through (see the video below for how). I strongly suggest you don't stir or squeeze them while straining, as that's more likely to tear them up.

Doing the above for 1 day is fine, and should return the flavor / scent / color to normal, but there's no need to do it for more than 3 days. You can drink the resulting kefir every time too. Nothing's wrong with it, you just might not like it since it should be very thick and sour.

By doing the above, you will make future batches ferment, and taste better. Time, temperature, and type of milk used will also affect that. I’ll explain more in the following directions.

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How to make and store kefir from here on - VIDEO instructions

You can also watch the above on YouTube, Rumble, Bitchute, Odysee, or Brighteon.

KEY TAKEAWAY: if you only remember 1 thing from this video, let it be this... Ferment it over 24 hours as close to 70F as possible, in a 4 parts milk to 1 part grains ratio. Stir it 3 times during that, evenly spaced out. If you see whey, then stir it.

Stats for nerds: I used to play the drums in 1996-1997, and again in 2001-2003, then stopped. Then in 2023 I learned Western music theory and how to make music with it by using a Digital Audio Workstation. So I wanted to apply what I learned. I could have bought music for this video, but taking the easy route is boring, since I wanted flexibility and more skills. The music in this video is my first song, done as a film score (one giant song for an entire movie, though in this case only about 10 minutes). It was made with Reaper DAW, cymbal samples, Tabla samples on an SFZ instrument, various Vital synths, a MIDI controller, and Edifier MR4 speakers. Since the main goal was to do the music for this as a film score, I wanted my instructions to be the main focus rather than some complex melody that shifts your attention to the melody. So in an attempt to keep it neutral sounding, while being able to manipulate emotions and your focus at important parts: I used Lydian F to carry you through the video peacefully with certain Tabla patterns to create"space". Then Phrygian F is used to accent the threatening "danger" spots, with an "inverted" Tabla pattern. The dark chorus synth with reverb and phaser helps do that too. Also, to help prevent the pad synth chords from flying all over the place in both modes: I inverted some of the high notes in the chords since I wanted it to stay more neutral. For my first song and 10 minute "film" score: I feel I hit my requirements, and I'll probably be making more music in the future.

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How to make and store kefir from here on - text instructions

If you did all the above in this 3rd section, you can skip the following. This subsection is only for people who didn't watch the video, and prefer written directions instead.

Anyways, I suggest you start making this on the night before, so it lands on a day you have no work. I usually do it on a weekend. This will give you the best results, since you'll be able to stir it, which will give you better results.

You can also use smaller / larger ratios than I show here (see section 4)... But for the best results, and to get you acquainted with a good starting point: don't go less than a 4:1 ratio.Such as 1/4 cup grains, to 8oz of milk, since 1/4 cup is 2oz by volume... You can get away with an 8:1 ratio like I show in the video, but it's not as effective. More importantly is if you're using raw milk, then getting it sour more quickly is extra important because that will prevent it from making you sick. Again, see section 4 for more details on this.

Now take 1/4 cup of grains, and loosely strain any excess kefir adhering to them. You don't have to drain it all. I usually do this with my CLEAN fingers and the glass jar I took it from. Your choice. Straining before starting is not required either, but if you want to help prevent yourself from making drinkable “cheese”, I suggest you do this, as it's very important if you ever choose to ferment at a higher temperature. That's because the excess sourness from the yellow whey, and kefir, will help curdle fresh milk instead of fermenting it first. Cheese (that tastes exactly like cheese) can be made with really super sour whey (the yellow part you’ll see when it ferments), but I won’t put directions here for that as it is quite lengthy, and another subject.

Add these grains to 8oz of milk in a glass jar, and let it sit for 24 hours in a 70-75 Fahrenheit place. Put a loose fitting lid on top, or something like a t-shirt / one of the flour sack towels I mentioned, and a rubber band around that so gas can escape, but bugs can't get in.

Before stirring, I suggest you "poke" downward with your spoon very lightly all around, until the part that floated to the top is broken and semi-dissolved into some of the whey below. Then start stirring lightly with a wooden or plastic spoon at least 2-3 times during this period, ideally spread evenly (like once every 8 hours). You will likely see it separating during this time between the whey (yellow) and curd (white). This is fine. Again, the goal of light stirring is to prevent the grains from breaking into smaller pieces, so it's easier to strain out.

And just like the section for freshening your grains, it will get thick and sour by the end of those 24 hours. You can go longer for a more sour result (see section 4), but that's your choice. It's also okay if you miss a stir, it's just more likely to not turn out as smooth and silky as it can. Rather, it might turn out closer to cheese curd. Which is still drinkable, but it's a pain in the butt to strain. You can eat the chunks too (they'll still be soft), but if you do it this way, it's basically just real crappy cheese, not smooth and silky the way it should be.

Now strain your kefir from your grains, and store them separately in glass jars with PLASTIC lids in the coldest spot of your refrigerator, but don't let them freeze. I suggest 32-64oz Ball brand glass jars since they're cost effective. DO NOT USE METAL FOR ANYTHING (see section 4).

If for some reason you had no refrigerator, you can store your grains in milk at room temp the same way you've been using them, but you will eventually have to feed them again, or else they will start to go bad (see section 4 below).

It's now done, and if you made it according to the ideal directions (4:1 ratio, 24 hours minimum at 70-75F, stirred lightly at least 3 times 8 hours apart), then it should feel very thick, smooth, and silky...

You can now technically keep the kefir at room temperature too, but if you do, I suggest drinking it within a week (keep the lid on loosely, or cloth / rubber band to prevent bugs, and explosions due to a a tight lid).

But I don’t like doing that because it gets quite yeasty, and sour enough to need lots of sweet stuff to make it taste better. Although if you do this, and you know you won’t drink it all soon, you really ought to stir it at least once a day, because the cream will float to the top, yeast collects, and it gets more alcoholic unless you stay on top of stirring it every day. Personally, I don’t like that super sour flavor, but your choice... I’ve kept mine at room temp for up to 2 weeks before and it was still fine (no illness, no sore throat, etc).

From here on, I suggest you feed your grains with fresh milk at least once every 2 weeks, otherwise the “problems” in the freshening up your grains section might happen. Though to be fair, when I've gone once every 2 weeks, it's always fine, and there was no need to do that freshening up spot. Just drain the excess whey through your fingers, add milk, and go.

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How to drink it

Like a smoothie with fruit or honey is my preferred way.

I usually do the following: I take 4 raw eggs that had their shells scrubbed with soap and a wire mesh scrubber, make sure they had no cracks by lighting twisting the eggs under running water, then add those with about 1 lb of any kind of fruit I want into a blender. I puree that, and add it to about 3 cups of kefir. These ratios are increased / decreased as I desire.

I've been eating 4-16 raw eggs a day since 2005, and it did nothing but good to me. If you do this too: don't eat raw eggs with cracks in them already. Make sure you scrub them well with soap and water too, otherwise you're more likely to regret it (pain in your tongue, roof of your mouth, throat, ears, coughing, sneezing, etc).

Other times I'll pour off the excess whey from the kefir that floated to the top into another jar (save it, it's very thirst quenching), and use the resulting thick curd with whatever I want. I usually do that in place of cheeese, since making cheese from all this takes far more work than making kefir... Although that's largely due to my setup, which could be improved, but I don't always have space for it as I type this.

I also add unheated honey to the kefir, and drink it solely like that with no raw eggs.

If you add anything sweet to your kefir: I suggest you drink it the same day. Why?? Because the bacteria and yeasts in the kefir will feed off the sugars. Just don't store it like this in a completely airtight jar in a warm place for too long. That will increase the pressure, make it fizzy, and possibly explode due to the pressure if it's strong enough. 1 day usually isn't enough, and I've never had a problem with leaving the above smoothie in my car on hot summer days, and drinking it 1/2 way through... Just don't do it with pineapple, since the pineapple will eventually make it taste kinda bitter and nasty (so only use pineapple if you drink it right away... Papaya is another culprit).

So keep that in mind, have fun, and experiment however you want.

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How to make lots of kefir fast with only 2 Tbsp of grains

The following will show how you can make 1/2 gallon of kefir with only 2 Tbsp of kefir grains within 5 days. Please read it all before starting.

Ideally, I suggest making kefir in a 4:1 ratio (4 parts fresh milk : 1 part kefir grains), though I show in the video above that an 8:1 ratio works too. 4:1 at around 70 Fahrenheit, stirring 3 times a day is just my recommendation. It's fool-proof, and safer for you if you're new to making kefir. My goal there was to also help you get acquainted with it so you know the signs to look for, because as they grow, the times you'll need to stir it will be sooner or later depending on how much milk you add, and how more more your grains have grown. If you haven't watched the video yet: do it now.

But, you can make lots of kefir more quickly by making a "kicker"... All that is, is some ready to drink kefir to help you kickstart the fermentation of fresh milk more than just the grains will.

If you've ever seen those packets of kefir cultures sold for about $30 a box (a giant ripoff in my opinion): that stuff is just dehydrated and powdered kefir. They might add some extra fancy sounding bacteria strains in it, remove some others, hope you're stupid, and trick you into thinking you're buying something special... But I see it more as a middle man that keeps you dependent, because the implication is that you need to keep buying those packets unless you're doing what I say below, which negates the point of buying those packets anyway. In the end, kefir grains are always the better option because it frees you from having to constantly buy bacteria packets you don't need.

But the "kicker" I'm about to describe is the same exact thing as those packets, only it's not dehydrated. It's freshly made by you.

So let's say you bought 2 Tbsp of grains from me or anyone else... Since 2 Tbsp = 1 oz... and 4 Tbsp = 2 oz, or 1/4 cup... Then you need 8 Tbsp, or 4oz, or 1/2 cup of fresh milk to start... Only, put it in a big glass jar that's about 1/2 gallon or more in size, because this will eventually become 1/2 gallon of kefir.

Now, start making it as I said. 24 hours later, once it's thick, and forms the streaks on the wall of the jar when swishing it around: add more milk in a 1:1 ratio. Repeat this process until you have 1/2 gallon.

EXAMPLE: if you had 4oz of milk fermenting with 1 oz of kefir grains, you stirred it properly, and 24 hours have passed so it's thick and forms streaks on the wall of the jar: add another 4 oz of fresh milk. Do not strain anything, but do stir the fresh milk when it goes in. Another 24 hours after this (make sure you stirred during that time), and you should now have 8oz of kefir, plus the grains hanging around at the bottom. Do the same thing again to get 16oz, and again for 32oz, and again for 64 oz. Within 5 days you should have that entire 1/2 gallon fermented into kefir. There is no need to strain your kefir grains out every day. Just stir it like I said, as best as you can. I know I said to stir it 3 times a day, but if you can't, then try to do it at least twice a day, spaced equally apart. 3 is the safer option, or else you risk it being more chunky.

IMPORTANT: personally, I don't like doing it this way, but it is a hackjob, I've done it before, and it's also in line with the section on how to grow your grains fast. But the problem I have with this method is that it's less likely to be perfectly silky and smooth, unless you stir it enough before it clumps up too much, like I show in the video. Remember how I said in that video to try making your kefir on a day you don't have any work, so you can stir it 3x in 24 hours?? Again, if you don't, your kefir might be a little more chunky. There are other reasons in the video, but you get the idea. So try to stir it when you start to see the whey separate from the curd. Do that, ideally spaced out 3 times evenly, and it should be fine. Just don't forget that the temperature, how many grains you have, etc., all play a role in this too, and I don't know your circumstances. So be sure to read the table of contents for section 4 to augment things as you need.

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Important details / Troubleshooting

DO NOT USE METAL TOOLS

Store everything in glass with a plastic lid.

Stir with wooden or plastic spoons.

Strain with wood or plastic strainers. I suggest you watch my video to see what kind of strainer is best, because real tight ones are a giant pain in the butt, especially if you use cow milk.

Why no metal??? I've made truly raw cheese with kefir plenty of times. There are many ways to make it... But one time I used a stainless steel pan, and let it sit in there for 3 days at room temperature. At the end of 3 days it all tasted like metal, so I threw it out since metal is toxic for you to eat. It also tastes fucking horrible, which alone should be enough to convince you.

The same also happened when fermenting just the cream with my kefir grains so I could make cultured butter. I even put the resulting sour cream in a Vitamix blender (which cost $500, and their advertising bragged about it being high quality, including the metal blades. It is and does have high quality components, but it was not immune to this). So I puréed the cream for a minute, and the same thing happened... Pure metal. Disgusting.

Toxic too (very bad for your brain), so don't do it.

The metal composition and length of time are factors in this problem, but it’s best to not risk it, as vinegar rusts metal, and I’ve seen acidic (lactic) bacteria rust those metal canning jar tops plenty of times too. Though to be fair, even plain water from my faucet for washing my dishes did that eventually.

To be safe: just don't use metal.

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Ferments > 24 hours

A longer time always makes the result more sour.

Occasionally, something comes up and I can’t stir, nor strain my grains within the time frame I said above, so I’ll let them sit at room temp for 3–4 days. That's fine. Nothing is wrong with them. Though you might get some of the "problems" mentioned on this page. Particularly the crappy cheese problems, since the curd will be a bit hard to separate from the grains.

When that happens, I always poke the top of the curd down very lightly all around to break it up, then slowly stir until it's as dissolved as I can get it. Then I strain it by hopping as I show in my video. But even then, it's never perfect. You'll often have to go through another ferment to make it less chunky.

Again, that's the sole reason why I suggest stirring it a few times very lightly during the first 24 hours, because that will prevent the chunks, and I like mine smooth and silky.

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Ferments < 24 hours

Less time makes it less sour.

There's nothing wrong with going less time either. As long as the milk was good beforehand, it'll be fine, and closer to what yogurt is like.

If it's nice and thick / silky: you can dump it in a flour sack towel, tie it up, hang it, drain some excess whey, and it'll be more like store bought yogurt. This is true whether sour or not.

Although, I prefer to have it refrigerated, wait a day or so until it separates, and pour off some excess whey since it's easier that way. That's much easier to do if you let it get sour, because then it separates more easily.

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Ferments at cooler temperatures between 60-70F

Anything between 60-70F will produce a much thicker kefir that is slightly sour. Just a tiny hint of sourness. Personally, I like this the best, as it tastes thicker, smoother / silkier, and more salty to me, but still sour. It's also much more forgiving when making it, because you don't have to stir it as often, and it's less likely to become chunky like crappy cheese.

To make it: just follow the same video directions, but do it between 60-70F. Do that, and it'll be fine.

But I do not suggest you go lower than 60F, like into the 50F or less range. You can run into some problems there as I say in the Diseased milk ruined my grains... What do I do? section below.

So long as the milk was safe to drink to begin with... If you ferment between 60-70F, you can stir it later than 8 hours too, but even if you don't see any separation yet, it's still best to do it anyway, because that will help distribute the bacteria to make the rest of it ferment faster, and thus make it safer to drink, and last longer.

EXAMPLE: in the colder months, I’ll often ferment around 60-65 F in a 4:1 ratio. It’ll separate just like I showed in the video. I’ll stir it 3 times, and it turns out nice and smooth as it should. Sometimes I’ll miss a stir, so I only do 2 stirs over a 24 hour period. As long as I stir it at least twice during that time (evenly spaced at 12 hours apart), it’s generally fine, but sometimes there are some chunks. It’s just not super bad. Anything between 60-70F is much more forgiving than temperatures above that. Read the fermenting at warmer temperatures section for details on that.

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Fermenting at warmer temperatures between 75-85F +

If your temperature is warmer than 70F, or your grains have grown more (which they will over time), then you'll probably want to stir it sooner.

Anything between 60-80F is my preferred temperature to ferment at, but sometimes my room can get up to 95F (I hate air conditioning, and would rather sweat because it's good for you). If that happens, it ferments much quicker, and I have to stir it sooner than 8 hours, and more frequently, to prevent it from turning into crappy cheese.

EXAMPLE: many times in the summer months, I often let it ferment in a 80-95 F room (sometimes slightly higher), and I even do it with a much higher ratio of grains to milk. Many times it’ll be a 2 parts milk to 1 part grains, instead of 4:1... And it will still turn out silky smooth as long as I stirred it enough before it separates too much. In a scenario like that, if I see whey separating: I stir it. I might end up stirring it 5+ times over a 10 hour period, and then strain it all, instead of 3 stirs over a 24 hour period. As long as I stir it when I see whey separating, then the risk of it turning into chunky “cheese” is significantly reduced... And then right before I strain it, I stir it enough to dissolve any "chunks" that might be there.

Doing that generally makes it turn out fine. But doing this at higher temperatures like 85F +, and with more grains sometimes comes out bad. If I missed a stir for whatever reason, then it's far more likely to come out chunky. It's also more prone to not be as smooth / silky and salty either. It's still drinkable and not going to hurt you, but can suck if you don't stir it enough.

Hence why I say doing it between 60-70F is much more forgiving, even if you miss a stir by a few hours.

And the way I see it: assuming it's all natural, if it tastes and feels better, it's probably better for you. So I think the activity of certain bacterias at certain temperatures might help to "unlock" certain nutrients that normally wouldn't be... That's just my guess though.

Everything on this page are really just guidelines. So above all: follow your tastes, and modify things as you need. Because sometimes I want my kefir super sour, and other times I want it barely sour, and just thick.

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Diseased milk ruined my grains... What do I do?

First off, you don't need to throw your grains away, buy more, and start growing more all over. If you want to fix your grains: read on, and read all of this section, because I'm going to teach you why it happened.

I only drink raw milk. I've had bad raw milk sold to me a "whopping" 2 times over 20 years. I've been made sick from it more times than that, but those were all my fault since they were intentional, but I will only go through the most important principles here. Problems can happen whether the milk is raw or pasteurized. It can also happen if you had milk that was safe to drink when you got it, and you fermented it at too cool of a temperature, as I'm about to describe.

EXAMPLE: let's say you got some raw milk from a drop off location (raw milk is often picked up at drop off locations, though that can depend on your state), and you don't know how old it is, or even if the last person there closed the refrigerator door all the way after buying. It also doesn't matter if it was raw or pasteurized. So you drink it as is, unfermented, and it was safe to drink when you got it. No pain in your ears, throat, tongue, etc. But then you tried making kefir at a temperature below 60F. Let's say you tried it at 50F over 5 days, in an 8:1 ratio (again, which I advised against as you'll soon find out why)... So as time went by, you stirred it 3 times a day as I said, but never saw any curdling. The whey never separated from the curd, or maybe there was a teeny tiny bit, but nothing significant. Basically, nothing happened like I showed in my video. It just sat there doing nothing over all that time. Then you decided to drink it, and noticed pain in your ears within 30 minutes, like an ear ache. Within 12 hours or so, you also noticed yourself coughing pretty bad...

I have done things just like that before thousands of times, intentionally. I won't go into it now, but here's the reason that milk you drink was bad.

Remember: I said don't ferment cooler than 60F. Pouring cold milk from the fridge into a jar with kefir grains, and letting it warm up due to the ambient room temperature is fine. There's no need to heat that up in a pan... Just don't ferment in a room colder than 60F.

But the reason why is the lactic (souring) bacteria work slower. In perfect conditions (60-75F or so): that souring bacteria preserves and protects the milk. The sourness they create will make the milk last longer, and prevent bad bacteria from growing in it. The good stuff will beat up, and overcrowd anything bad, and they won't be able to establish a foothold. Which is why I say it's best to make sure it's sour within 24 hours. Given the milk was fine to drink as is before turning it into kefir, I've never seen a problem with that time frame.

But when the bacteria work slower due to lower temperatures, like this 50F example over that much of a time frame... Then bad bacteria are able to grow more easily. Then you can get problems like earaches, a swollen tongue, coughing, sneezing, sore throats, etc. I have done the example above before, and that's what happened. I also tried making this same bad milk super sour to see if it would fix the problem, but it didn't work, and I've probably tried it about 50 times. Every time I drank it, those same problem areas would hurt, or get worse. So what do you do with your grains???

Here's how to fix your grains: rinse them with filtered water very well until it runs clean. Do NOT use chlorinated / chemicals in your water, since that might kill the beneficial bacteria off. Expect to use about a gallon or more of clean filtered water. Then redo the section on freshen up your grains, and continue as normal. Just don't drink it until it's done. Let it sour the milk. They are not ruined, I've done this many times, and they always get fixed by this.

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Grain growth and fermenting speed

As you make more kefir, the grains will grow.

When you use more grains, the milk will ferment faster.

So you will have to figure out the speeds that are ideal for you, and aligned with your schedule. I usually time my ferments in a way that I'll be able to stir them once every 8 hours to prevent turning the milk into a bunch of tiny curds.

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Using more or less milk?

You can ferment more or less milk with more or less kefir grains, and it will still ferment. But the more milk you use, the more the grains have to ferment, so it will take longer.

Again, I wrote these directions in a way to help you avoid problems / prevent sickness, and getting the milk sour within 24 hours is your best defense. So please follow those directions until you're comfortable with them, and then apply my other options if you want to have fun.

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How to grow your grains real fast

If you feed 1/2 cup of grains fresh milk every day, and keep the ferment going every day with fresh milk for the next month: you should easily have enough to make about 32 ounces of kefir a day by the end.

You DO NOT need to clean the jar when you do this everyday either. Just use the same jar and scrape down the walls with a rubber spatula, or your CLEAN fingers. Make sure your nails are clipped and scrubbed clean too, as you don’t want to inoculate bad stuff in there. Also, make sure you don’t have kefir clinging to the outside, or the cloth / rubber band on the top, since you don't want bugs to arrive.

I've never had that problem, but it's a good precaution.

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Kefir grains are yellow or smell like paint / Acetone?

They’re fine. Go reread the part in section 3 for freshening them up though. Nothing is wrong with them.

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Kefir grains are Orangey?

Read the subsections below for How to store your grains and How often should you feed your grains?. You'll understand why it's there once you read them.

Though I admit this spot here is more for an SEO thing, people who use ctrl+F, or who only read the titles... But it just makes more sense to keep that info down below.

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How to store your grains

Ideally in a glass jar with a plastic lid, in the coldest spot of your refrigerator. Not metal, as those eventually rust. I've never frozen mine, but logic tells me don't do it since it might kill off some good bacteria.

When I've stored my grains at room temp, or when making real sour kefir whey (for making truly raw cheese, another topic for another time), keeping them at room temp for too long without any extra white part is far more likely to make the grains eventually turn orange-ish. Details in the section below... So I don't suggest storing them at room temp, unless they're given fresh milk at least every week.

I don't have an exact day number either, but I can say I've let them sit at room temp in milk for a week, and they were always fine, so long as they were covered with milk and lightly stirred once a day. Read the warning section below for details on that.

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How often should you feed your grains?

I suggest at least once a week, 2 weeks at the max. You can go for longer, but if you do you might have to “revive” them a bit as I said above in section 3 - Freshen up your grains. That time will depend on how bad you neglected them.

The easiest way to care for your grains is by doing what I suggest in my video above. Just make kefir at least once a week, and store them in a jar in the coldest spot in your fridge, with a plastic lid. Having air inside the jar is fine, so there's no need to store them in milk. But...

Warning: if you don’t feed your grains for too long, they will get hard, have a dull orange-ish color, and will crumble. They will smash if you squeeze them, and not return to their original shape like normal. It will take a while to get there. Sorry I don't have a time frame for that, but before they do, they always start feeling "rougher".

And by "rougher, I mean they just won't feel as smooth / flexible as they do when you give them whole milk.

That is especially true if they are being kept in nothing but whey, (meaning, there is no white part, just the yellow). Skim milk tends to make them feel similar, though not as fast. Whole milk is the safest option. And the reason you might do that is because you're preparing to make some cheese. I'll have a video on how to do that, probably around late February - early March 2025.

So if you ever want to make cheese with the cultures from your kefir grains, you CAN store them in whey for a bit, but I don't suggest going for more than a week. You really ought to feed them fresh milk right after it too. I've kept mine in a 1:1 yellow whey to grains ratio, for 3-5 days at a time around 80-90F+, and they were always fine, but I always fed them fresh milk at the end. They'd feel proper by the time my next batch of kefir was done.

I know I just said I did 3-5 days, but I also said a week before that. The difference between me and you, is that I probably have a lot more grains than you. So a 1:1 ratio at that high of a temp, is much more "stressful" to the grains (they make everything more sour, more quickly) than the 4:1 ratio I suggest when making kefir. And I'm just trying to show you that even when I stress mine out more than yours: they're still fine. Again, All these directions are just general guidelines. Your grains are going to grow, and as they do, they will make the same amount of milk ferment more quickly. So you will have to modify your timings, etc., as needed.

But, if you neglect them enough so they go orange / crumbly... Reviving them from that point can either take a very long time, or you might want to just get some new ones. I also don't know if you can revive them from that point for certain, but I have seen them go away without picking them out, though my best bet is that they eventually dissolved into the milk as I stirred it, and I drank it (that's most likely what happened).

I don’t have an exact number of days it takes to turn them into a dull orange because I take care of mine, but I have seen it happen, and I know it was more common when letting the grains stay in nothing but the whey for too long, and not having the white part available. I just forgot how long it took.

But it shouldn't hurt you even if you eat them.

So again, following what I do in my video is the easiest way I've found to take care of your grains.

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