Don’t like plain kefir, even though you know it’s good for you?
Well, I have some people like you in my family. 😉 So I’ve been on a mission to come up with fun and yummy ways to eat kefir.
I hope you will help me build up this list. First, though, let’s recap why kefir is so good for you (see the original kefir post for more). Kefir:
- is a natural antibiotic
- does not feed yeast
- doesn’t bother those who are lactose intolerant, because the beneficial microorganisms consume most of the lactose
- provides enzyme lactase, to digest remaining lactose
- coats the lining of the digestive tract, creating a nest for beneficial bacteria to colonize
Now, onto the yummy ways we’ve been eating — and loving — kefir.
(Interested in water kefir? Here’s info on that.)
1. Kefir Cheese
This is much like yogurt cheese, where the whey has dripped out, leaving a thicker consistency that is spreadable like cream cheese.
Simply line a stainless-steel colander with fine cheesecloth or 100% cotton fabric. Put the colander inside another pot. Then carefully pour kefir into the cheesecloth-lined colander. The whey will begin to drip out.
Tie up the ends of the cheesecloth to keep bugs and dust out, but leave it lying in the colander for about 1 hour. Then tie it better, and hang it so the kefir is suspended over the colander. Let hang for about 24 hours — until it has a thick sour cream consistency.
You can retrieve the whey from the first couple of hours and use it for soaking grains or lacto-fermentation. Older whey will have a stronger flavor, but it works too!
After 24 hours, take down the hanging bag and scrape the kefir cheese into a storage container. Rinse the cloth with cool water, then wash in a high heat cycle or boil to sanitize for next time.
Season the kefir cheese with herbed seasoning salt, herbs, or anything else you fancy! Then spread on bread, biscuits, etc.
2. Probiotic Potato Salad
The secret to this probiotic potato salad is the kefir used in the dressing. It is a tangy, delicious potato salad that everyone in my family loves!
3. Salad Dressings
Use in place of yogurt in yogurt-based salad dressings. Experiment with adding it to other salad dressings.
4. Veggie Dip
Season up kefir cheese (see method above!) and make a dip out of it. Just some homemade herbed seasoning salt is all it takes. (Pictured at top.)
5. Ice Cream
Here’s a recipe for Probiotic Chocolate Ice Cream, featuring — you guessed it — kefir!
6. Smoothies
Try my chocolate kefir smoothie or summer fruit smoothie.
7. Popsicles
Use the kefir smoothie (#6) mix to make popsicles (tip from Annette of Sustainable Eats). My friend Amy suggests using an ice cube tray and toothpicks if you don’t have an official popsicle tray.
8. Parfait
Make a kefir parfait, using kefir as you would yogurt and top it with soaked/dehydrated nuts and seeds, soaked/dehydrated oats, dried fruit, cinnamon, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of raw honey or maple syrup. Yumm for a snack, as a salad, or as breakfast!
What about you? What fun ways have you found to use kefir?
For more on both dairy and water kefir, plus what you can do with them, see Traditional Cooking School’s Fundamentals, Lacto-Fermentation, and Cultured Dairy eCourses!
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The popsicle idea is great. This summer I have been using small paper cups when making popsicles. I cut straws in half and use that for the handle, or you could us popsicle sticks. You can’t re-use the paper cups, so that is somewhat of a waste, but the popsicles turn out to be just the right size.
Great idea, Tiffany! Thanks!
Saw your link on Food Renegade – I’m so excited about trying the probiotic potato salad! I don’t have kefir cheese, but I have some yogurt cheese in the fridge. My husband loves potato salad but I haven’t made any lately as my first attempt at homemade mayo did not turn out so good (too runny, too much coconut taste). Thanks!
Mary Ellen
The Working Home Keeper
.-= The Working Home Keeper´s last blog post… From the Market =-.
Hi, Mary Ellen – Hope you and your husband like the potato salad – it is not like the typical potato salad, but really good!
I also use the dixie cups for our freezerpops. For the handle I use plastic spoons. I use the spoons over and over. Most popsicle containers are too big, so I like the dixie cups. I have seen another set, I’d like to try. Just need to order it. It uses the wooden sticks, which I like too.
The chocolate kefir smoothie sounds oh so yummy!
.-= Michelle´s last blog post… Crime Doesn’t Pay =-.
I have only made smoothies with kefir but they are oh so yummy!
thanks for all the great ideas!
.-= Sarah Schatz – menus for limited diets´s last blog post… Tuesday Twister: Our weekly gluten-free, dairy-free, legume-free menu plan and the miracles of our garden =-.
I’ve tried the kefir cheese, kefir ice cream and the kefir salad dressings.. But i have to admit I’ve never tried the kefir potato salad. hehe
the picture looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it out myself.
Thanks for giving me ideas! : )
.-= kefir grains girl´s last blog post… Benefits Of Wheatgrass For Your Pets =-.
The potato salad sounds delicious, and I’d like to try the ice cream!
Wardee,
This question is totally unrelated to Kefir, but I need some advice.
I made sprouted wheat over the weekend. I usually make about half as much as I made this time. So my baking sheets that I put the grain on to dehydrate in my oven are very full and about 1- 1 1/2 inches deep. Well, for some reason the grain smells really bad! My kids say that it smells like stinky feet. I don’t know if I didn’t rinse them good enough before spreading it out in my pans, or what? Do you have any suggestions? Has that ever happened to you?
I did sprout a little bit differently this time. I usually keep the grain submerged in water the whole time. This time I soaked in water overnight then just kept them damp for about another day.
I don’t think I can let anyone in my house today it smells so bad, it kept waking me up last night. Bleck!! My son just walked past talking to himself, “ugh, I hate that smell!!” Poor kid:)
Thanks,
tiffany
Tiffany – if they smell bad, I think you should toss them. However, is it a sweet smell? My grains most often will give off that a sweet smell – just like if you sprout barley to make diastatic malt. If it is sweet, I wouldn’t worry about it. But if it is off, I would. Why do you sprout submerged in water the whole time? I would think you’d risk drowning your seeds that way – and would recommend you soak only overnight and then sprout while damp for about a day to a day and a half. Did you rinse at least every 12 hours while they were out of the water but damp? If the temp is warm, three times a day rinse is almost mandatory to prevent spoiling. I’m off for the day, so won’t be back here until this evening, in case you have other questions.
Thanks, I knew you would have the answer for me. I don’t really know why I was sprouting submerged in water. I am pretty sure I didn’t rinse the grains enough, as it was hot. Ugh!! I lost about 12-16 cups of wheat. Bummer, but a good lesson learned anyway.
Thanks again,
Tiffany
Thank you for this! I’m on a quest to find *some* way to consume kefir. I hope to try your potato salad recipe soon!
.-= Mindy´s last blog post… Do-It-Yourself…? =-.
Wardee, Do you have a kefir ice cream recipe ready yet? I am very lactose intolerant and have GI problems which seem undiagnosable. I have been culturing kefir with kefir grains to supply the probiotics my gastroenterologist wanted me to take in (very expensive) pill form. I am able to tolerate it…thus getting much needed calcium, protein, and calories as well as the probiotics. I would love to make myself some kefir ice cream in various flavors. Do you think it would supply the probiotics in frozen form? Please respond to my email, if you don’t mind. Thank you, Janice
These are awesome ideas. I love drinking homemade kefir daily – and so beyond adding some to a smoothie and putting it in breads , I have not done much with besides drink it straight up! But some of these recipes are making me want to venture out a bit more! 🙂
What a wonderful site you have here!
Re: kefir ice cream: My husband and I like to make ice cream for family get-togethers. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are lactose-intolerant, so for this Memorial Day we got the idea to try frozen kefir instead of falling back on buying Rice Dream or soy ice cream. 🙂
Our ice cream maker is a Sunbeam model 4744. The recipes that came with it were very simple: 2 cups heavy whipping cream to 2 cups whole milk, plus whatever flavoring we wished (fruit, chocolate syrup, raisins, etc.). The rule is to fill the ice cream maker to about half its capacity or a little more (too much and it will overflow). So we kept it simple and just threw 4 cups of raspberry kefir in the ice cream maker, didn’t add anything else to it, and it came out like a very nice and tangy sherbet. Everyone liked it, not only the lactose-intolerant folks. 🙂 Hope this helps!
Mary – Great info! Thanks for sharing what you did. So you didn’t use any sweetener beyond the sweetness of the raspberries? Sounds delicious.
Thanks — glad you liked it! Nope, no sweetener necessary, though I might try adding some next time just to see how much of a difference it makes.
I mean is it possible that we eat Kefir grains? and if so is it useful or not?
Sam – Yes, you can eat them! Most people don’t like them because of the texture, but I quite like them. Like a sour gummy bear. 😉 They’re really good for you — all the organisms of the kefir in a high concentration.
Thank you so much, I appreciat your honest effort
I have found that Kefir really helps with Calcium absorption. Sometimes I just stir some molasses and drink it (molasses also a good source of Ca). Before I go to bed I drink a cup of kefir — straight up.
My older but still very active mother also enjoys Kefir very much (great drink for a senior citizen) she says she has more energy, or maybe she just feels more alive! When I first set her up with the Kefir in a mason jar — she told me she needed more curd grains because she had very little curds left…..
I said, “Mom you ate all the curds — were suppose to save the keifr grains curds as a starter….”
LOL….It is okay to eat the grains but – it is important to reserve some to continue the keifr cycle.
I had to get more Kefir grains for her and give her step by step instructions:
1) Add the kefir grains/curds to the jar
2) Add milk to jar,about 1-1/4 to 2 cups.
3) Cover with loose lid or papertowel secured with rubber band
4) Let sit 24 (longer if needed or desired is OK)
5) When kefir milk is ready,stir & then pour milk & grains slowly into a strainer or colander over a bowl, gently separate the grains from the kefir milk — do not smash grains.
6) TO START OVER: Go back to step (1)
Give the straight stuff a chance. It grows on you. It’s important to let it ferment without the grains for an additional day or two. That changes the taste a fair bit and the texture. It becomes much thinner, less fatty, more nutritious, and sparkily. Very similar to sparkiling lemonade, but much more satisfyling. The other thought is to just dump some over fresh fruit. Mango, or berries go great with kefir.
Anyone have any recipes for getting rid of my extra kefir grains? I know it would be better to eat them than throw them out and don’t have the fridge space (or money) to keep them all going. Growing so fast! Any ideas would be great i can’t find any recipes but ones using kefir liquid. Thanks
Emily — You can just toss them in a smoothie or salad dressing or anything else you’re blending and puree them up. 🙂
I stored mine in the freezer inside a mason jar full of milk. They were great when I thawed them.
Hi There! Thanks for having such a helpful site. Could you do something very basic for me? Could you put up a photo of plain kerfir that it just made and ready to consume? I have had to sort through info and images to figure out which portion to consume. Here is what I have come up with:
1) the grains (little balls) are used to make more.
2) The liquid is whey, which I do not yet know how to use.
3) The yogurty part would then be the kefer…but Can I just sit and eat a bowl of it if I like it that way?
Hi, Wendy!
To answer your questions, you might want to look at this post:
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2009/06/01/why-kefir/#
Also, here are quick answers:
1) Correct.
2) You’ll have whey if the kefir ferments long enough. It spills out as the milk curdles more and more. A shorter ferment may not produce any whey. When you do get whey, you can use it in cooking, add it raw to smoothies, add to bread dough, feed to animals, use in lacto-fermentation as a starter culture.
3) Yes and yes. Or use in salad dressings, smoothies, drip through cheesecloth to make “kefir cheese”. Lots of things you can do!
I leave the whey and kefir together and make a smoothie. I let the smoothie ferment another day in the fridge and it tastes like drinkable yogurt.
The whey is very much like buttermilk and is especially good in a bread made with a sourdough culture. If you do not have a culture, mix 2 TBLS. pure warm pineapple juice (unsweetened) with 3 TBLS. flour or double each ingredient if you like and stir well, and cover with a paper towel held over an old clean yogurt container with a rubber band. Place in the oven with the oven light on. Leave in a few days until it doubles. Each time you take some out or at least every week, feed the starter with 3TBLS. flour and 2 TBLS. warm water. Only use the pineapple juice the first time, never again after that. I am a Cordon Bleu Chef and I used to teach in Portland Oregon at the Cooking School and we used this starter as I found it easy for my students to work with and keep alive. I collect starters and they are amazing and fun. Kefir is great for farmers cheese and cottage cheese as well as sour cream. Just don,t confuse the water grain with the milk grain. It is the most woderful sour cream replacement.
Chef Janice
Kefir as salad dressing. That’s a really good idea. I’m going to try it instead of yogurt. Thanks!
I blended a pint of milk kefir with a handful of basil leaves, the juice from two lemons, and dried garlic, black seed and sea salt for the most flavorful dressing! It was perfect over shrimp salad and I will be making another batch soon!
I blended a pint of milk kefir with a handful of basil leaves, the juice from two lemons, and dried garlic, black seed and sea salt for the most flavorful dressing! It was perfect over shrimp salad and I will be making another batch soon!
My favorite way is with corn flakes and honey <3 it's just divine!
I love kefir with my homemade granola for breakfast. Sometimes I also drink it straight, or have made cheese (everybody loved it!) and mixed it with fruit juice to drink. So many ways to eat it!
My friend made paneer with hers, an Indian cottage cheese.
How do you make paneer with Kefir? I would love to have the recipe.
Hi, Kristin. Wardee shares a link on how to make paneer here:
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/best-real-food-dinners-on-a-budget-tips-for-frugal-meals/
God bless you! 🙂
~Makenzie, TCS Success Team
Great ideas, thanks. I love adding stevia and a little vanilla extract to my glass of kefir-delicious too!
I let kefir sit on the counter until it splits – then I strain the curds or the ‘cheese’ from the whey, store the whey for some other use; and mix the cheese with olive oil, herbs and crushed garlic and salt enough to strike out the deep ‘putrid’ taste of the cheese. It is sublime.
I use the whey left over after straining the kefir to make cheese. The whey has all kinds of uses. I add a TAB or 2 to homemade mayo and let sit on the counter for a few hours before refrigerating. It inoculates it with the good probiotics and prolongs the refrigerator life. Same goes for homemade mustard. When making homemade bread, instead of adding water for the liquid, add room temperature whey….it conditions the bread and is extremely wonderful for pizza crusts. Barb
Kefir makes great ranch style dressing. Even my kefir hating children eat it like it’s good. Just use it in the place of the buttermilk.
The cheese might work for me, if you didn’t tell me what it was till later and seasoned it (like homemade Boursin). I’m the picky eater of the family so I don’t eat potato salad, raw veggies, parfaits with fruit, or smoothies either. I’m doing good to eat yogurt and kombucha.
I recently found the joys or organic kefir and I love it!! We are just in the smoothie stage right now but I am branching out and this post will help me greatly. Thank you Wardee.
I make my kefir smoothies by blending a ripe fresh or frozen banana, natural peanut butter, stevia (and sometimes a bit of real maple syrup and raw oats), and a drop of pure, food grade peppermint oil. Yum!
Question…. I break out with a really bad eczema rash when I consume too much dairy, so I try to avoid it. Would I have the same reaction to milk kefir? Or cultured butter or cream?
Hi Lisa,
You may or may not be able to tolerate cultured dairy. Some people can, some can’t. If you wish to try it, proceed with caution and a very small amount. Also, it’s important to note that some people are able to tolerate raw dairy that is cultured as opposed to pasteurized and homogenized dairy that is cultured.
Millie
Traditional Cooking School
Thanks! I decided to give GAPS a try and will be starting next week. I’ve been doing Whole 30 for the past 3 weeks with a coworker to get off dairy, grains and sugar. Since starting, I’ve had major die-off symptoms, mainly a red, scaly, and very itchy rash on my hands and wrists. I tried to refrain from using the cortisone cream, but it was so bad, the skin was cracking and bleeding. So I plan to use it every couple of days until I finally get rid of it.
I use kefir to make my chia seed pudding for breakfast. I just replace the milk in the recipe. It’s delicious and a great way to start the day!
I make a beet broth by boiling grated beets with dill, I let the soup cool a bit and then add a good amount of kefir and top with fresh dill. I used to think borcht was made with pickle juice and topped with sour cream, but kefir gives the tang of pickle juice, and since kefir is so big in the same areas that make borcht, I think kefir maybe the original ingredient –but that’s just a musing, I have found nothing to substantiate 🙂
In addition to the ways listed above we use our kefir as a sour cream, or cream replacement –
On top of nachos to keep the heat down, same for a topping on spaghetti when green chilies have been added:)
I make a mock beef stroganoff using the kefir as the sour cream and sometimes replacing the noodles with cabbage – it is always a big hit with everyone. I also make a mock fettuccine with alfredo sauce using the kefir in place of the cream, and our own cultured butter. In fact I’ve never made the real versions of these dishes. I’ve even added kefir to my own cheese sauce for mac ‘n cheese. I always try not to cook the kefir, just add it at the end after the heat is turned off.
Great ideas! Thanks!
That sounds great! I have a load of dehydrated kefir grains, any idea whether eating these mixed with other things would still give the benefits of drinking kefir beverages? The grains themselves are dehydrated and hard
I’ve been making kefir orange juice for a long time . Its a way to get family to drink kefir . Take frozen o j and mix with kefir instead of water .
My super picky, cynical husband will drink kefir I’ve let sit another day after straining out the grains and adding a 2-3” strip of orange rind. After 24-48 hrs add a few drops of vanilla and a little maple syrup or stevia. Tastes a bit like a creamsicle.
I love to boil some good chai mix in a bit of milk and wate and steep as I usually do, then strain and stir the cooled chai into sweetened kefir and sometimes a little vanilla, too. Now that I’ve read the suggestion about chia pudding I plan to try it using chai kefir! Thanks!
Hi, I’ve just been given some kefir grains. After an initial 24 hours ferment, I strained the kefir into a jar and used the old grains for a new batch. The jar of kefir I left out for another 24 hours (as this is what my friend said she did). The kefir has separated into whey (clearish liquid) and what i assume is kefir (white thicker liquid). Do I stir these together and drink? Or am I to separate the whey out somehow? Thank you!!
Hi, Sarah:
It sounds like your kefir fermented a little too long if it separated. It would be best to discard this batch and strain out your kefir grains to start a new batch. Try a shorter fermenting time, and see if you have better success.
Sonya Hemmings
Customer Success Team
I substitute it for buttermilk in cornbread recipes.
Hello! For the kefir cheese, do you strain out the kefir grains first, then do the strain in the cheesecloth or just include the grains in the cheese?
Thanks!
Hi, Raye: I’m happy to help! Definitely remove the kefir grains to make future batches before proceeding to make the kefir cheese. 🙂 —Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
I took a few classes yesterday to learn about kefir/yogurt and mozzarella/ricotta cheese.
I had a smoothie this morning.
After reading your list, I was wondering if I can you use kefir to make coleslaw?
Hi, Cindy,
That is great! I don’t see why you couldn’t substitute the sour cream or diary portion of the recipe for kefir. I would try it. If you do let us know how it turns out. ~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
How much honey would I add to my goat milk kefir (quart )
Hi, Debra.
You can sweeten it to taste, maybe a tablespoon. I’d start out small and increase based on your likes.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team