Hemp Milk Kefir

Tara Carpenter, NC.

Nutritional support for people healing on The Body Ecology Diet.

Written on April 27, 2016

Hemp milk kefir has a life of its own and needs more attention then say whole milk kefir. You will not be able to make this one before going on vacation and push to the back of refrigerator. Nope. This is the queen of kefir, the oh so spoiled one that will demand utmost care; in return you receive a delicious, bubbly probiotic-rich beverage.

I discovered the immense health benefits of unsalted, probiotic food in 2010, when I started Body Ecology Diet (B.E.D) to heal my Candida (yeast overgrowth). These fizzy, sour foods helped bring my inner ecosystem into balance and conquer my cravings and digestive issues (bloating, etc.).

Soon, I was cracking coconuts for young coconut kefir. shredding cabbage for cultured vegetables, sourcing raw milk for milk kefir, and churning cream into cultured butter. I was h-o-o-k-e-d. These foods opened a door to my achieving greater health and now, years later, I rarely go a day without consuming one of them. Try my jam kefir!

Hemp Milk Kefir

Yields: many batches

Ingredients

1/2 packet of kefir starter*

3/4 cup hemp milk (Pacific original brand, sweetened)

1 tsp EcoBloom (optional)

Method

Gently warm hemp milk in pan until 92 degrees F (skin temp). Do not overheat or living flora in starter be hurt.

Pour in sterilized one cup-size Mason jar, leaving an inch for expansion.

Add kefir starter and EcoBloom if using.

Screw the lid on tightly and gently shake.

Kefir about 3 days at 72-75 degrees F until bubbles rise and has life (see our Oven Kit to maintain consistent temp.)

As it kefirs, the probiotics in the starter will wake up and feed on the hemp milk.
Once done, the kefir should be slightly sour, fizzy, and separate a bit.

Store kefir in fridge.

Feed kefir every day or so with fresh hemp milk or ½ tsp of EcoBloom.

Reserve up to 1/4 cup to start a subsequent batch (see below).

Transfer Instructions

The above recipe is #1 starter batch; to make another batch (highly recommended), follow these instructions:

Transfer 1 1/2 Tbsp of #1 starter to new 1-cup Mason jar of warm milk (3 Tbsp. to pint/4 Tbsp. per quart).
Follow above instructions to kefir new batch; only exception is to kefir it overnight only and not 3 days.
This is now your #2 starter, drink and save some for another batch.
On you go using some of each previous batch to start a new batch.
If a batch spoils, start fresh again with a new packet of starter.

Tips & Tricks

Pacific brand, original flavor works best to make this recipe. The unsweetened version DOES NOT work, has to have sweetener, in this case it’s brown rice syrup. Don’t worry though, as the flora in the starter use that sugar as their food and will leave behind a sugar-free, probiotic drink.
Some say to use the starter to make 7-10 batches, but I find that if you take good care of this starter it will make great kefir for many months. Take care of it by “feeding” it on a regular basis and keeping your jar clean and sterilized.
Once this kefir gets going you might find that a subsequent batch kefirs up in as little as 4 hours. So, watch carefully until you get the hang of things. I like to feed my hemp milk starter and put it right in the fridge (instead of leaving on the counter for a bit) because it will kefir in the fridge, just at a slower pace.
If you’re in the initial stage of healing on stage 1 of B.E.D. then it’s best to start with a fresh packet of starter after 7 batches.
You can use this recipe to start amasake kefir.
Delicious with vanilla extract, stevia, and sprinkle of nutmeg.

Do you want a cup of hemp kefir? I asked my son age 8, he said “who wouldn’t mom?”

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Yes, live kefir grains are a different method than the one used here. I don’t have experience with them myself. I am most comfortable with the starter packets and I find that one packet gets me several quarts of transfers and so I am happy with this 🙂 I will say that what you use really depends on what you have going on as far as health conditions. I was introduced to this way of preparing kefir when I was diagnosed with systemic yeast overgrowth and started on The Body Ecology Diet to correct this issue. The idea is that the starter packets are sterile and contain specific strains of probiotics that are known to target the harmful yeast (and bacteria) pathogens living in the digestive tract and move them out of the body through elimination. These microflora have been specially chosen to be in the starter packets because they heal the intestinal lining, which is especially important to those with a permeable gut or a permeable blood brain barrier like with autism, Chrones, ADHD, irritable bowel syndrome, Celiac, etc.

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6 replies on “Hemp Milk Kefir”

Good question, this is not something I have calculated but if you do please let us know!

Do you know how many teaspoons in a half a pack of BED kefir starter?

Can you use live milk kefir grains to make this kefir? I have done this with milk for a long time. When I continue the batches I only have to transfer the live grains to the next container of milk.

Hi Olivia, I did try this and it didn’t catch. Something about the hemp milk sweetened with the brown rice syrup has the right thickness to it to get a really great kefir going!