kefir cheese

Finest Kind teaches you how to make Kefir cheese.

MAKING KEFIR
Before starting to make cheese, one must make the kefir. A white packet is supplied with one silver packet inside. Take one of the silver packets to make one liter of kefir. Kefir consists of bacteria that produce lactic acid from lactose when they come in contact with milk.

Buy 1 liter UHT milk. The temperature of the milk must be between 19 and 22°C. Open one side of the UHT milk packet. Place a thermometer in boiling water to sterilize it. Test the temperature of the UHT milk. Do not contaminate the milk with any unsterilized items. Make sure the temperature is at 19-22°C. Cut open one corner of one packet of kefir from the white packet and add the contents to the UHT milk. Close the UHT milk packet, shake to mix, and cover with cushions to maintain the temperature at 20°C. Leave the milk to stand at 20°C for 16 – 24 hours. When it is thick like yoghurt, place it in the fridge. When chilled, the milk is ready for consumption. A good kefir milk foams and fizzes like beer.

Before using it take three tablespoons of the kefir to add to the next liter sterilized milk to make your next batch.

MAKING THE CHEESE
One can drain the kefir in cheese cloth to make kefir cheese

BAG METHOD
Cut cheesecloth to fit your colander. Carefully ladle the kefir curds into a cheesecloth lined colander, tie the four corners of the cheesecloth together and hang the kefir to drain over the sink. Once the kefir has drained for 1 – 2 days, mix the cheese with some cheese salt to taste and place in a plastic container and refridgerate. One can also add fresh or dried herbs as required.