SOYA KEFIR

​I have been making kefir for a few years now, I make dairy kefir using organic full fat milk, which I separate into curds & whey, which I use for my skin and hair.
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I also make organic soya kefir and coconut kefir, which is the most delicous thick and creamy probiotic food on the planet!
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Think yoghurt on steroids and you have kefir!
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Yoghurt only contains 2 or 3 strains of probiotics, whereas kefir can have up to 40 different ones, so its the gold standard of probiotic foods!
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Its also the most simple to make!
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I have been experimenting with different plant based milks and have had consistently great results with both Provamel and Sojade organic soya milks.
These contain no emulsifiers or other dodgy additives which can damage the kefir grains. They are purely organic soya beans and water.
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So all you need to make your own delicious plant based kefir is a tablespoon of milk kefir grains and 500mls good quality plant milk.
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Simply add the grains to the milk in a glass jar, give it a stir, cover it with a cloth and give it a shake every few hours to distribute the kefir grains evenly throughout the milk. The grains tend to clump together at the top so shaking the jar helps to move them.
Leave at room temp.
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Then just wait 12 to 18 hours until your kefir has thickened, pour it through a sieve to catch the grains, pour the kefir into a bottle, and put the grains back in the original jar and add more milk to start the process again.
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If you want to slow the process down then just put it into the fridge, then your kefir will be ready in around 3 days! You can see when the kefir starts to form wee whey pockets, if you overferment it, it will separate out into 2 distinct layers. It's still fine to use, it will just be more sour and not quite as delicious, but just give it a good shake to mix it before you strain it to remove the grains.
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I add a strip of lemon peel to my kefir for flavour and extra nutrition. Then I use it in smoothies, poured over fruit, in overnight oats, probiotic chocolate or salad dressing! I have tried blending the kefir with fresh fruit but have found that it separates out and doesn't stay nice and thick. So just blend what you need and drink it right away. 
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Its also more versatile to flavour kefir with lemon, you can then use it in sweet or savoury dishes. Lemon zest is a fabulous source of polyphenols which our gut bacteria love. 
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I use organic lemons to avoid any toxic pesticide residues which may affect the beneficial probiotics.
Also remove all the white pith from the peel, it imparts a bitter taste. All I do is go round a lemon once with a sharp knife to remove a inch or so of peel. I tend to leave the peel in the kefir, it develops more flavour that way.
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Bear in mind if you heat kefir you will kill the probiotics so I tend to use it as it is.
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Kefir will become more sour the longer you leave it so I tend to use mine within 5 to 7 days.
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If its a bit too sour then it makes a great salad dressing blitzed with sun dried tomatoes, basil, fermented garlic and some good quality extra virgin olive oil!
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You can buy kefir grains from Happy Kombucha or ask someone who is already making milk kefir for some grains.
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I use Grace cartons of coconut milk for deliciously thick coconut kefir, which is 75% coconut extract with no additives. It's a bit more expensive but it won't damage your grains.
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Alternatively Aldi cans of full fat coconut milk are also 75% coconut extract and only contain xanthan gum and guar gum, which are actually beneficial for gut health, and can promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut, by acting as a prebiotic food source.
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So by all accounts Aldi coconut milk should be great for the kefir grains! 
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I shall try my kefir grains in Aldi coconut milk for a few weeks and see how they fare!
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So in conclusion, just don't try to make kefir with cartons of plant milk, which are mostly water and dodgy additives, with little food to sustain the kefir grains.
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Like everything else they can adapt but may not do quite as well as they would with their natural food source, which traditionally is lactose from full fat milk.
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The grains also don't grow as vigorously as they would in full fat dairy but so long as they make lovely kefir then it doesn't matter. A tablespoon is enough to make 500mls of kefir every few days, which is enough for most of us.
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​Happy Fermenting!