Simple and Delicious Kefir Cheese

Anyone making kefir on a regular basis will occasionally end up with separated milk kefir. Though it’s the result of over-culturing, it is also a great way to make kefir cheese.  In fact, I often purposely clabber my milk kefir because I love kefir cheese and kefir whey.

Why milk kefir separates

When I make kefir cheese, I usually let the kefir milk separate AFTER I’ve removed the kefir grain. However, occasionally I accidentally make separated milk kefir while culturing. Here are the main reasons why kefir separates:

1. The ratio of kefir grains to milk is off. Check out this post on milk kefir basics for the proper ratio of grains to milk.
2. The milk kefir was cultured too long. It’s best to store your kefir in the fridge if you’re going away on holiday, or take it with you!
3. It was too warm, so your kefir cultured faster than usual. In the winter kefir can sit out on the counter all the time, however, in the summer kefir may start to separate within 12 hours.

What to do with curds and whey

Kefir makes a sour soft-style cheese. You can use it like ricotta for dishes like lasagna and pizzaiola. It can be flavoured like cream cheese and used as a spread. Like cream cheese, it can be used to make frosting and cheesecake.  You can also press soft kefir cheese it into a firm feta-like cheese.

I love kefir whey. In fact, I often make cheese just because I want to use the whey!  I use it for culturing everything: grains, beans, and vegetables.

I usually strain my separated milk kefir through two layers of regular cheesecloth. You can also use one layer of actual cheese making cheesecloth.

When the whey has strained for about 30 minutes, I gather up the ends of my cheesecloth and knot it together around a wooden spoon and hang it over a large measuring cup.

Here’s what the ball of cheese looks like after 6 hours of hanging. It’s firm on the outside, but still quite soft inside. At this point you can finish your kefir cheese by mixing in the salt. This is also when you want to add flavours to your kefir cheese if you want to use it as a spread. I recommend herbs and garlic. The cheese in the photo above has been flavoured with chives and 1 tbsp of olive oil for a delicious and creamy spread.

Print