A friend gave me some milk kefir and water kefir grains a few months back. Basically you put the grains in a glass jar, add milk or water & sugar and let it sit on the counter for a day or so to culture, or ferment. Then you strain the milk or water so that you have the finished product and the grains to start a new batch (grains can live indefinitely to produce more kefir if you don't kill them.) Sounds kind of creepy in our world of refrigeration, but yogurt is essentially the same process and we don't think that is weird. I have to admit that I didn't culture any kefir during the busy month of December, but I put in the fridge and when I tried again, it still works fine!
Making kefir is waaaay easier than yogurt, and it's really good for you. It's a good probiotic (it has different strains of bacteria than yogurt does) and it's said that it's great for your immune system so you should drink it every day.
Some interesting things I've learned about kefir and kefir making:
Detailed directions - www.culturesforhealth.com has great directions and tips (I got many of these things I've learned at that site.)
Free Kefir- all you have to do is find someone who makes kefir and ask for a starter. Kefir grains multiply, so kefir makers are always happy to share.
Ratios - You need 1 TBS grains for 1 quart of liquid. If making water kefir, you need 1/4 c sugar to 1 qt liquid. You can remove extra grains.
Preventing Death - You can kill kefir grains if you don't feed them. They feed on sugar. You can take a break from making kefir by putting in grains in with the liquid (& sugar, if water kefir) and putting them in the fridge for several weeks. Also, don't let kefir ferment on the counter for much more than 48 hours, the grains will starve, plus the kefir will be gross.
Dehydration - You can save grains for future use or "just in case" by rinsing them off and then putting them on parchment paper and letting them dry out for several days. Then store in a cool dry place for 6 months (or longer)
Permanent Markers - You know how annoying it is when you write on something with a permanent marker and it isn't really? Well, you can use that to your benefit. Use a permanent marker to write contents and date on a glass jar and then it's easy to clean it off later.
Separation - If your milk separates and it looks like curds and whey, you've over-cultured it. (Oops, been there - done that a few times...) You can still drink it, but milk kefir is done when the milk has gotten thick.
Separation, again - If you're culturing more than one product, you have to keep them separated by several feet or else they could cross-contaminate.
Metal - Don't touch the kefir with metal. I don't know why. However, I've read that if you do touch it with stainless steel, it should be ok.
Straining - You can strain it with cotton muslin or a plastic strainer, but I find it easy to use the plastic sprouting lids that just screw onto the jar. Fine mesh for water kefir and wide mesh for milk kefir works well.
Tipsy - Kefir can have a small alcohol content (less than 1%). But watch out because if you culture you too long, the alcohol content increases.
Sweet!- You can make water kefir with almost any sweetener. You can use white sugar, organic cane juice, sucanat/rapadura, or agave. You can't use honey, though. Honey has antibacterial properties, so it fights against the kefir grains and will kill them.
Swimming around - Don't use tap water, chlorine isn't so good for kefir.
Hard rock - Water kefir grains need minerals to grow. Filtered water may have the minerals filtered out, so you may need to add minerals unless the sugar has minerals in it (like sucanat or rapadura.) You can add 1/4 egg shell, a few drops of concentrace or a small pinch of RealSalt (unrefined with the minerals still in it.)
Soda Pop - water kefir is a bit effervescent and can be flavored as a healthy pop alternative. Just strain the water kefir after 24 hours, then add flavoring such as 1/2 TBS vanilla for cream soda. Then let it sit for another 24 hrs on the counter or 24-48 hrs in the fridge. Tighten the lid for more fizz.
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