1. Start with your cultured kefir milk.
I can't believe I have just made soft cream cheese. Crazy thing is that I went back to the land where my kefir grains came from—Thailand!—to learn how to make this soft kefir cream cheese.
2. Seperate the kefir grains from the kefir.
Remember in my previous post I had a friend, SIlvia, who brought me these wonderful kefir gems? She traveled all the way from Bangkok to Paris bestowing me with these lovely gem of grains.
3. Ready-made kefir milk.
While visiting her in her home in Bangkok recently, one of her neighbor-friends popped up with some homemade cream cheese for us to taste. She too shares the same family of kefir grains. I was excited to do the same with my kefir grains.
4. Pour the ready-made milk kefir into a cheesecloth lined sieve hanging over a bowl. Tie it up and place it in the fridge overnight. You will be left with whey, the liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Boy, I didn't realize what my kefir grains were capable of. Not only have these grains grown and been shared across continents, they are now my supplier for cream cheese.
5. After the whey has seeped out, you will be left with a lump of soft cheese.
There was a moment I was drowning in kefir milk. Now, I can take it one step further and make a cheese that spreads easliy on crackers and bread, and can easily be used as dips. The possibilities are endless: herb spreads, vegetable spreads, veggie dips, cinnamon and spice cream...yum! I'll have to try to make a cheesecake with my newfound love too.
6. Soft cream cheese ready to use as a spread.
Homemade Kefir Cream Cheese
PREPARTION
• One cheesecloth or a cotton tight-weave cloth
• 1 plastic sieve
• 1 bowl
INGREDIENTS//Yields one cup
• 4 cups ready-made kefir
INSTRUCTI0NS
Line your sieve with the cheesecloth and hang the sieve over the bowl.
Pour the ready-made kefir into the cloth lined sieve.
Tie up the ends of the cloth and place it in the fridge overnight.
When you untie your cheesecloth on the next day, you will be left with a lovely lump of soft cream cheese. The liquid left at the bottom of the bowl is whey. Apparently there are ways to use this whey. I haven't gotten there yet but when time comes, you'll be sure to know!
NOTE
Homemade kefir cream cheese has more of a sour taste than the store-bought ones. It's also softer. I noticed that if I leave the kefir cheese in the fridge longer to strain the whey it hardens up.