Ingredients: Dairy milk or plant substitute, kefir grains Brewing Time: 24 hours Difficulty: Easy to set up Cost: Relatively cheap Preparing kefir is much easier; the process involves fermenting either water, dairy milk or plant-based milk with kefir grains or powdered kefir starter. The process is much faster and takes about 24 hours to The natural starter for kefir production is kefir grains, which house many yeast and bacterial species in a polysaccharide matrix, called kefiran. Kefiran has many beneficial properties, including therapeutic and rheological, that make it a valuable biopolymer with widespread industrial applications, including food packaging, food stabilizing Kefir can be made in two ways and by using two different fermentation agents: Kefir grains and Kefir starters. Kefir grains are living symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeasts, while Kefir starters are lyophilized (freeze-dried) powders made of bacterial extracts. While Kefir grains are packed with more probiotics and are reusable, they need Instructions. Place the Kefir in a gallon of milk in a large pot and bring it to 80°F, cover it with a lid. Then let sit for 24 hours or until you see a thick curd form. The next day, bring the pot to 100°F ever so slowly over low heat (about a degree every minute – 15-20 minutes), stirring every few minutes to break up the curds on the The major characteristics of kefir are as follows: acidity (pH 4.6), alcohol content 0.5‒2%; its organoleptic parameters include acid taste and yeast aroma. According to the recommended standards, it should contain at least 2.8% protein, below 10% fat, and at least 0.6% lactic acid (GOST 31454-2012). Compared to yogurt, kefir tends to have a higher probiotic count and more diversity of bacterial strains and yeasts. The presence of yeast especially makes it stand apart from yogurt. According to Lifeway (maker of kefir products), “kefir has 12 different strains of live and active cultures and 25–30 billion Colony Forming Units (CFU Kefir grains thrive in temperatures between 22°C and 30°C (72°F and 86°F). You have to maintain balance in temperature, as a farmer would when hatching eggs. Again, you are fostering live bacteria when storing the grains. Don’t deep freeze, either. Some sugars may contain anti-caking additives or other ingredients that could affect the health of the water kefir grains. Look for plain sugar with no added ingredients, for best results. (Our Water Kefir Starter Kit not only includes Water Kefir Grains but plain organic cane sugar. We take take the guesswork out of picking a sugar and make it xjlroJ.