Milk Kefir

Ever wondered about a probiotic drink which you can prepare at home with all the benefits of minerals and vitamins in it? Do you prefer home prepared probiotic drink than milk Kefir drink can be your choice? But to understand what milk Kefir drink is we must first understand the grains used to make Kefir i.e. Kefir grains in India.

Kefir grains are tiny and rubbery textured knobby-looking cell structures which contain the bacteria/yeast mixture that is thicketed together with milk proteins as well as complex sugars. Due to the presence of yeast and bacteria together, Kefir grains look like cauliflower and are white in color.

What Is Milk Kefir Drink?

Kefir is the drink which is tangy in taste, thick and creamy as a smoothie. Its consistency is that of drinkable yogurt which is tart and effervescent, full of those good-for- you probiotics benefits which we have heard so much about.

Milk Kefir is a fermented dairy product similar in many ways to yogurt and buttermilk. But here, instead of heating the milk, adding a culture, and keeping it warm as you do with yogurt, all you need to do to make milk kefir is milk kefir grains and room temperature milk. It can be prepared by inoculating cow, goat, or sheep milk.

A Glimpse of how it works

Let’s discuss the ways to prepare Milk Kefir Drink at home:

• You could start with adding a teaspoon of kefir grains to usually a cup of milk. Cover the glass and leave it as is for about 24 hours at room temperature.
• The bacteria and yeast present in the kefir grains that are the healthiest will help in fermenting the milk. Also, it will help prevent it from spoiling during the transformation process of grains into kefir.
• Once done, we will be having a product which is coagulated to buttermilk’s consistency. It tastes noticeably tangy just like yogurt.

Yes, we get freshly prepared homemade Milk Kefir drink.

Yet another benefit of Kefir is that you can reuse the same batch of milk kefir grains to produce Kefir milk drink one after another. The more you make Kefir from the grains, the healthier, they
will stay.

You can make a new batch of milk kefir roughly every 24 hours just by putting the kefir grains in a fresh cup of milk.

One question that might pop up in your mind is that where can you buy Kefir grains in India. For your convenience, you can buy Milk Kefir grains online in India here with us that will be delivered at your doorsteps.

What Milk to Use?

The milk kefir grains are best with a whole-fat animal milk of cow, goat or sheep. You can also try the other way around with reduced fat milk but if you notice that grains are behaving stagnantly or moving slow i.e. taking longer time in fermentation, refresh them by putting back in a whole milk jar.

Is it that you prefer a non-dairy option than give coconut milk a try for making Kefir although you would not get the same proteins and nutrients in coconut milk. Also, you will miss the properties of animal milk. Furthermore, the milk kefir grains will end up losing their vitality in some time. Therefore in case you are thinking of refreshing them then add them to any animal milk for a batch or two. You will be able to use them again.

Guess what, you can use milk kefir grains with almond milk, soy milk, or other dairy-free milk. What varies is the taste and texture as against animal milk. You can take milk kefir without adding it to anything or you can also try combining milk kefir to lassis, smoothies, and other beverages as well.

Feeling the urge to buy live milk Kefir grains? Pondering where to buy milk Kefir grains online in India? Let us ease it out for you here.

Steps to prepare Milk Kefir

It is always said that to create something extraordinary, you need to be accurate and précised towards it!! Let us go through with those steps and ingredient as well which will be helping us to prepare the Milk kefir more easily.

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk, preferably whole fat
• 1 teaspoon active kefir grains

Equipment

• 1 pint-sized glass jar
• Cheesecloth, paper towel, or clean napkin
• Rubber band
• Small plastic strainer (metal can also be used)
• The storage container that has the lid

INSTRUCTIONS 

Why Milk Kefir?

Milk Kefir holds many health benefits of yogurt and other cultured and fermented products of milk. It is full of probiotics which aid in healthy digestion and are super healthy for the overall gut. Some people who can't tolerate milk or are lactose intolerant often find it as a substitute to drink. The reason is that the fermenting process changes certain milk protein structures that ease out its digestion.

Also, due to the presence of complete proteins in kefir, it is partially digested. This makes it easier to be utilized by the body. Furthermore, Kefir grains contain advantageous bacteria and yeast in addition to essential amino acids and minerals for enhanced healing and body maintenance functions.

Few other related benefits

• • It helps in fighting depression and avoiding a migraine.
  • It cures bad breath.
  • Stomach related issues like diarrhea, constipation can also be treated with enhanced
    digestion.
  • It helps to reduce high blood pressure.
  • It helps in curing a cold or flu.
  • Effective in skin related problems like acne.
  • It promotes faster healings from wounds, illness etc.

Furthermore, an added advantage that comes along is that Kefir is fantastic for baking, too!!

CAUTION ON CONSUMPTION

Getting tempted to buy milk Kefir grains? Go on however here is some piece of caution on consumption too:

• Not everyone’s digestive system is the same so take it easy since your body can take time to adapt itself to Kefir drink. So better start with 50-100 ml per day for first 15 days and slowly increase the quantity of your system to adapt since it contains the very large amount of probiotics.
• It is best consumed with breakfast. Make a smoothie by simply adding any fruit like berries/banana /apple/grapes or any other seasonal fruit to it.

You can also making Kefir Cheese by simply keeping milk kefir drink in s muslin cloth and leaving it overnight to let all whey drip through it very similar to how we make hung curd at our homes . Kefir Cheese can be used to makes dips or cheese spread and can be relished with any meal . Add oilve oil , salt and seasoning to taste .