Yemoos Blog

One of the biggest questions asked for those starting out is - Can you use milk straight out of the fridge or does it need to be warm / room temperature? The short answer is that YES you can definitely use milk directly out of the fridge when making milk kefir.

I really like this study as it compares kefir made from real grains to a commercial starter culture, similar to what you would find in yogurt or anything store bought that contains lab based probiotics.

When you ferment milk kefir correctly, it doesn't necessarily need to be stirred or shaken up to make a good kefir. However, it can taste more balanced and less yeasty with 1-2 stirs mid way through.

If you want to lightly ferment some tea or juice, then a ginger bug is a fun choice. If you are looking for significant probiotics and diversity of strains, than an authentic ginger beer plant is recommended.

Both milk kefir and water kefir are known for their probiotic prowess. Even though most people agree that milk kefir is the king as far as the number of probiotic strains as well as the amount (CFU), water kefir should not be dismissed either.

When you think about letting milk sit out for a day, you may be concerned about mold. However, when it comes to kefir, both milk kefir and water kefir, the chances of mold contamination is incredibly low (especially for water kefir).

Water kefir can be fermented aerobically (with oxygen / open lid) or anaerobically (without oxygen / closed lid). Both have the advantages and disadvantages and it comes down to personal preference.

Milk kefir can be fermented aerobically (with oxygen / open lid) or anaerobically (without oxygen / closed lid). Both have the advantages and disadvantages and it comes down to personal preference.

Vegetable juices are typically not as sweet or as tasty as fruit juices, but they have their own host of health benefits. Combine that with the power of water kefir fermentation and those vitamins and benefits can become even more readily accessible.

The amount of kefir you should drink ultimately depends on the individual. Kefir is a natural nutritious food, so it's okay to trust yourself to know how much to drink. Just like eating one banana usually sounds great, but that 2nd banana usually does not for most people.

When we wrote our history of milk kefir about 10 years ago, the origins of kefir grains pointed to the Ossetians in the northern Caucasus Mountains about 2000 years ago. Since then, new evidence from the early Bronze Age cemetery of Xiaohe (1980 BC to 1450 BC) shows that they also made kefir.

Does Homemade Kombucha have probiotics? The surprising answer is that experts are not really sure if it does have probiotics or not.