What is Milk Kefir?
What is milk kefir?
Milk kefir is a probiotic fermented milk drink that is made by fermenting milk at room temperature with milk kefir grains. Milk kefir grains are not true grains. In fact, they’re not grains at all but a colony of bacteria and yeast. Technically, milk kefir grains are a form of scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Milk kefir grains can vary in size, shape, growth patterns, and taste. No two set of grains are alike. This greatly impacts the flavor and quality of the resulting milk kefir.
Milk kefir benefits
I can sit here all day and list all the reasons why milk kefir is liquid gold but to take pity on my readers I’ll settle to summarize my favorites.
Milk kefir has amazing antibacterial properties.
Powerful probiotic powerhouse.
Aids the immune system.
Improves bone health.
Heals all types of gut health issues.
Why go through all the trouble?
Why go through all the trouble of fermenting your own when you can buy store bought already made milk kefir. Easy right? Sure! WRONG! Homemade milk kefir is teeming with probiotics while store-bought may contain around 7-12 bacterial strains. Most store-bought kefir does not contain yeast and for good reason. CLEANUP IN AISLE 2! Commercial companies use a special blend of probiotic strains and is mostly void of the beneficial yeasts to help combat busted bottles. Milk kefir will continue to ferment even in the fridge (just more slowly). Without the yeast the store-bought kefir can withstand sitting on the dairy shelf for quite some time without busting through its bottle.
What does it taste like?
Some places will tell you to try store-bought before considering purchasing grains. I cant tell you how many times I’ve heard customers say they do not taste the same. Of course they don’t! In my opinion store-bought and homemade are two completely different products. Milk kefir is not your traditional run of the mill yogurt drink. While we are on the subject, most milk kefir doesn’t really taste like yogurt. Its flavor is much more complex. Some have a tart and tangy flavor while others have a potent cheesy flavor.
Milk kefir is just a drinkable yogurt right?
Both are fermented milk products, but that is where the similarities end. Yogurt has between 2-7 bacteria whereas milk kefir can have up to 60-70 different bacteria and yeasts that can actually colonize the gut. Yogurt is great for short term probiotic needs but kefir is king when it comes to gut health.