Kefir is a fermented milk drink made by kefir grains, a symbiosis of different types of bacteria and yeasts such as bifidobacteria, lactobacilli and saccharomyces. The average quantities of these beneficial bacteria in kefir could be up to several hundreds billion per litre! This makes kefir a great probiotic food for supporting gut health. Commercial kefir is usually made from cow's milk which may not be well tolerated for dairy-sensitive people, especially with milk proteins. Did you know you can easily make kefir yourself using milk alternatives such as coconut milk, soy milk or nut milk? No special equipment is required, only a glass jar and a spoon.
Ingredients
500-800 ml Coconut milk
5g Kefir starter culture
Warm up the coconut milk slightly to a room temperature (25 degree C).
In a small bowl or cup, mix the starter culture with some of the coconut milk to make a smooth paste, then add more coconut milk and keep stirring until there is no lumps.
Transfer it to a clean jar and add the coconut milk until it 4/5 full. Cover the jar and leave it to ferment (i.e. in the kitchen cupboard) for 24 hours (it may take a bit longer or shorter depending on the room temperature). The coconut milk will become thicken and tasted slightly sour. Store the kefir in the fridge until use.
Tips:
You can make another batch of coconut milk kefir using the previous batch (use 100ml kefir per 400ml coconut milk) for a few times. However, you will need to use new starter culture at some point as the culture will become weaker each time.