Plain Milk Kefir taste not for you? Flavour it!

After first 24 hours of fermentation you are presented with fantastic probiotic drink. Kefir is well known and celebrated for its health benefits. However, taste (and smell) of plain milk kefir is not pleasant to all.

Taste of kefir highly depends on health of your kefir grains, on type of milk you are using and the ratio between grains and milk. There are also other things which effect end result, but overall, kefir tastes a bit sour and has a very distinct smell.

What can you do?

There are plenty ways of using kefir. Drinking it plain is just one, which does give you most benefits, since healthy bacteria are introduced straight to your digestive system. You can of course use kefir in smoothies and many other recipes (many on this blog under Recipes).

One option is also flavouring kefir. This can happen in second fermentation, when kefir grains are removed and bacteria in kefir age on their own. At this point of preparation, you can simply add ingredients which will add flavour to it.

It is important not to add flavouring ingredients in the first 24 hours, when you still have kefir grains in the milk. By flavouring kefir in the second fermentation, you avoid contaminating kefir grains. Specially ingredients like ginger can significantly affect your grains.

What flavours can I use?

Well there are very little limitations. It’s completely up to you and your tasting buds. Here, we highly recommend experimentation. You and your family might find perfect combination for all of you.

Here are some ideas:

Citrus fruit peels
Ginger
Mint
Fruits (chopped or mixed) – peach, strawberry, berries, banana…
Vanilla
Cinnamon, honey

When flavouring kefir make sure to use ingredients which can be easily removed after second fermentation (except mixed fruits). It might help if you use tea bag which can be removed afterwards, however, make sure to mix kefir every once in a while.

Second fermentation

Second fermentation can be up to 24 hours and could be done with airtight lid if you want a bit of fizz. You can second ferment on room temperature and then chill before serving.

Second fermentation time:

Watch out – milk kefir with addings of fruit ferments really fast – there are a lot of microorganisms in it and additional sugar boost them so much – that it can be well fermented also in a few hours.

You can do second fermentation also simply to get even higher bacteria count and remove even more lactose.

Check other benefits of second fermentation: https://kefirko.com/blog/kefir/benefits-and-flavours-of-the-second-fermentation/

Get your second fermentation supplies here.