Kefir Grains for Cheesemaking and Fermentation (with Recipe)

Reader Contribution by David Asher and Black Sheep School Of Cheesemaking
Published on October 1, 2020
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Kefir (rhymes with deer) is a traditional yogurt culture from Central Asia. Often described as a fermented milk, kefir is a flavorful, drinkable and slightly effervescent yogurt.

Kefir, though, is made somewhat differently than the yogurt most of us are familiar with. Like yogurt, kefir is made by adding culture to milk and encouraging a fermentation that sours the milk and thickens it into kefir. But unlike yogurt, when kefir is ready, the kefir culture is taken out!

Kefir is not one single bacterial culture, but a community of diverse species of bacteria and fungi that live together in kefir grains. A Symbiotic Community Of Bacteria and Yeasts (SCOBY), kefir grains are known to contain dozens of bacterial and fungal cultures, each species playing a different role in the community, and all of the cultures together transform milk into kefir.

Many of kefir’s cultures are closely related to those found in both raw milk and our digestive tracts, making kefir an excellent probiotic, as well as a superb source of culture for cheesemaking.

Where to Find Kefir Grains

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