Product Overview
Ingredients: Active bacteria strains (L. lactis, L. cremoris, L. diacetylactis, L. acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Kluyveromyces lactis), kefir grains, maltodextrin.
Contains live strains. Gluten-free. Non-GMO.
Packaged in a facility that also handles products that may contain wheat, soy, eggs, milk, and fish.
Cultures at room temperature!
Kefir is a cultured drink, traditionally made by adding kefir “grains” to various types of milk. We have gone a step further and freeze-dried the kefir grains into a powder to make our EASY KEFIR starter.
It’s fun and very easy to make! Kefir is a fantastic source of many nutrients, supplying you with calcium, magnesium, vitamins K and B and billions of friendly microbes that help your microbiome thrive and flourish.*
Kefir is even more potent than yogurt, with its numerous beneficial strains of organisms. Over a period of 24 hours or so, the microorganisms in Easy Kefir multiply and ferment the natural sugars in the milk, turning it into kefir.
Kefir has been credited with helping to boost the immune system, and is often consumed in order to help replenish the body with good bacteria after antibiotic use*.
Simple to make: add one packet to a quart of your choice of dairy milk. Let it culture for 18-24 hours at room temperature, and you have a delicious pourable drink. Hippocrates stated that "all diseases begin in the gut." Kefir is the perfect remedy to bring the gut back into balance*.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
And there's a bonus, too! Once you've made a batch of kefir using our Easy Kefir starter, you can use some of it to culture your next batch. This is called 'reculturing' and can be repeated at least 7 times!
Instructions for making Easy Kefir
Makes: 1 quart kefir
Preparation time: 2 minutes preps, 16-24 hours culturing
You'll need:
- 1 packet of Easy Kefir starter culture
- 4 cups (1 quart) pasteurized dairy milk: Most milks are acceptable, including whole milk, fat-reduced, non-fat, and homogenized. Avoid ultra-pasteurized. Avoid raw milk (unless you pasteurize it first). Goat milk may yield a thin result.
- Quart jar with lid
Steps:
- Pour four cups of milk into a quart-sized jar. The milk doesn’t need to be warm, it can be cold from the fridge.
- Sprinkle the entire contents of one Easy Kefir starter packet into the jar and mix well. Put a lid on the jar.
- Let the mixture ferment at 72° to 75°F for 18 to 24 hours. If the temperature is below 72° let it ferment a little longer. You will know your kefir is ready when the milk has thickened and has a distinctive, sour fragrance. Final consistency is akin to a pourable yogurt.
- Place in the refrigerator. Even in the refrigerator the fermentation process will continue, but the chill will slow it down.
Note: Store the starter culture in the refrigerator or freezer until you're ready to use it.
Reculturing your kefir
Kefir made with a powdered starter culture can often be recultured several times. These subsequent fermentations can increase the nutrients in your kefir, and make it even tastier!
The exact number of successive 'reculturings' will depend on the freshness of your kefir. We recommend reculturing within 7 days. Longer periods between batches will decrease the likelihood that the new batch will culture successfully.
To reculture:
1. Pour 3 ¾ cups milk into your quart-sized glass jar.
2. Add ¼ cup kefir from the previous batch and stir gently.
3. Cover with a lid and place on counter for 16 -24 hours, or until thick and tart.
4. Place in your refrigerator when ready.
Need more info?
Go to Easy Kefir FAQs