Homemade Kombucha Kefir/Yogurt Experiments

Fro-yo girl here. Kefir is typically made with kefir cultures but it is possible to make something like kefir with kombucha SCOBY. I’ve read that kombucha kefir can be made with any type of milk, dairy or non-dairy. Since I love yogurt and kefir, I was very excited to make my own kefir kombucha or yogurt kombucha.

I tried making kefir kombucha using three different methods.

Method 1: Add SCOBY to milk 

I started with Whole Foods brand 2% milk. After preparing the kombucha yogurt by adding a SCOBY directly to the milk, I checked on it every day. It never smelled pleasant and the SCOBY curled up and looked like it had died. After three days at room temperature, the mixture separated and remained in liquid form. The bottom half of it was whey. It smelled and looked awful, so I threw it away without trying it. 

In retrospect, it seems odd to put a SCOBY in refrigerated millk, since the SCOBY prefers a warm environment. It seemed like a good idea to try Method 2, scald the milk first and incubating in a warm place. 

Method 2: Scald the milk, then add SCOBY 

This time I used 2% milk from Aldi (Friendly Farms brand). I scalded half a gallon of milk, and let it cool to a warm bath temperature. I added a SCOBY around 9 PM. The next day I warmed the oven three times (at the lowest temperature setting) and put the jar of milk w/ the SCOBY in the oven. About 24 hours later, the mixture separated. It was still liquid but there was whey on top. It didn’t smell as bad as what I created w/ Method 1, so I gave it a try. It tasted okay but didn’t have much flavor or tang. Since it didn’t get thicker, I don’t think this method worked for me. But small curds had formed and they tasted okay. I didn’t like the texture. 

Method 3: Incubate your SCOBY first using kefir, then add milk 

This method involves creating a hybrid kefir/kombucha mother first. Since it involves buying commercial kefir first, I tried this method last.

Basically, you put your SCOBY in a jar and pour a layer of kefir on top, swirl it and leave it for a few days. Repeat the process until you’ve used up the bottle of kefir. This creates a hybrid kefir/kombucha mother.

I used a quart of unsweetened, original Lifeway Kefir made with whole milk. I poured some in for five days straight, swirled it around, and on the fifth day, added a quart of 2% milk from Aldi. I waited two more days before pulling the SCOBY out.

The SCOBY was definitely doing something to the kefir. The kefir smelled warm and yeasty and it looked bubbly. When I tasted it, it was very sour. It was a bit thicker than milk and it had curds, but the whey hadn’t separated out. It smelled similar to my batches using Methods 1 and 2 but it looked better since the whey hadn’t separated out.

I made this kefir during the summer, when the temperatures were in the high 90’s during the day and the 70’s at night.

It tasted okay – it was too sour even for me. When I sweetened it, it tasted better but it still didn’t seem worth the effort because I like commercial kefir better. I could have strained it to thicken it up, but it didn't seem worth the hassle.

Method 3 was the only method that worked for me.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

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