On how much milk kefir to drink there is no dose, because it is a food and not a remedy. A 200 ml glass with a meal is what most regular drinkers settle on. Worth knowing: 110 to 130 kcal a glass from whole milk, and 0.2 to 1 per cent alcohol.
The figures on this page
This page has been rewritten. The previous version was presented as a dosage guide and attached reasons of health to the amounts. Those formulations are not permitted, and a dose does not belong to a food.
The page that used to sit here was titled as a dosage guide, and that is the wrong word. A dosage belongs to something intended to have an effect. Milk kefir is, legally and practically, a food. A fermented milk drink.
No health claim about kefir is authorised in the European Union. So a recommended amount with a reason attached, such as for digestion or for your immune system, would be doubly unlawful. A claim, and a dose for that claim.
The honest answer to how much milk kefir to drink is therefore: as much as you enjoy. A 200 ml glass with a meal is what most regular drinkers settle on, and there is no reason to drink more.
There are three checkable reasons to keep it moderate, and none of them is a claim about health.
The energy. A glass from whole milk is 110 to 130 kcal, roughly a glass of milk. A litre a day is 550 to 650 kcal, which is a meal. Anyone not counting that is counting wrong.
The alcohol. 0.2 to 1 per cent, as in any fermented drink. In one glass it is negligible. In a litre it is more, and anyone who has to avoid alcohol entirely should know the figure.
The habit. It is a tart drink with a distinctive taste. Anyone not used to it does better starting with half a glass, simply because it is unfamiliar. That is sensible with any new food and has nothing to do with building up a dose.
10 to 20 g of grains per litre of milk, no sugar, 24 hours. For a milder result, 10 g and 20 to 22 hours.
| What goes in | Water kefir, 1 litre | Milk kefir, 1 litre |
|---|---|---|
| Culture | 30 g of grains | 10 to 20 g of grains |
| Liquid | 1 litre of unchlorinated water | 1 litre of milk |
| Sugar | 4 tablespoons, about 60 g | none, the lactose is enough |
| Dried fruit | 1 fig or 2 dried apricots | none |
| Citrus | 1 lemon or 1 orange | none |
| Duration | 24 h, up to 48 h | 24 h |
| Temperature | 20 to 25 °C | 20 to 25 °C |
There is no time of day that is demonstrably better, and the claim that it should be taken first thing on an empty stomach appears on almost every page with no source whatsoever.
With a meal is the most practical for most people, because it then belongs to eating rather than to a programme.
With fruit is the commonest variation. A few berries, a mashed banana, some apple. It softens the acidity noticeably, and it is why many children will drink it this way rather than plain.
With honey or maple syrup if it is too sour. A teaspoon is enough. It is added afterwards and has nothing to do with the fermentation, so it does not affect the culture.
Chilled tastes milder than at room temperature. Into the fridge after straining, and drink within three to five days. It keeps fermenting slowly and turns a little sourer each day.
A litre a day is more than most households drink, which makes the question of how much milk kefir to drink partly a question of what else to do with it. It works very well cold in cooking.
The mistake: heating it. It curdles and turns grainy. In a soup that is still boiling it is lost. It always goes in at the end of the preparation, once the heat is gone.
What works well: a dressing with herbs and lemon, a dip with garlic and grated cucumber, a cold vegetable soup, or as a buttermilk substitute in a dough that will be baked. There the heat is the point, so it is not a problem.
And as a fresh cheese: hung in a cloth for twelve hours in the fridge. A spreadable cheese stays on top and whey drains below, which goes into dough or a marinade. Nothing is wasted.
One important point. If you have a diagnosed intolerance, an allergy or a treatment, no change is decided from a web page. We cannot state a residual lactose figure and we cannot claim tolerability.
Five mistakes account for almost every question we receive. They have nothing to do with skill and everything to do with assumptions that are reasonable and wrong.
First, cutting the sugar. By far the most common. The 4 tablespoons per litre feed the grains, not the drinker. After 24 hours a good part is gone. Halving it starves the culture, and within three cycles it stops multiplying. For a less sweet drink, extend the time.
Second, chlorinated water. Chlorine is made to kill microorganisms, and it does the same to your culture. Bottled water, filtered water, or tap water left uncovered for 12 hours all solve it.
Third, a jar that is too small. A litre of drink needs a 1.5 litre jar. The carbon dioxide has to go somewhere. A jar filled to the brim overflows and smells unpleasant within two days.
Fourth, rinsing every cycle. The grains are rinsed only when visibly coated, in cool unchlorinated water. Rinsing at every turn takes away the film that protects them.
Fifth, metal. A plain metal sieve or spoon reacts with the acidity. Plastic or stainless steel solves it, and it is the only point where equipment genuinely matters.
Many people write to us after the second cycle, because the drink is not what they expected. That is normal, and here is the usual course.
The first day is only a wake-up. 30 cl of water, 40 g of sugar, 24 hours, no fig and no citrus. The liquid from that cycle is poured away. It is the run-up, not a drink.
The first week is uneven. One jar flat, the next too sweet, the third already better. The grains are settling into your water and your kitchen temperature. Strain daily all the same, with unchanged quantities.
By the second week the rhythm holds. Bubbles at the rim, a tart taste, the fig at the top. From then on you do not need the clock, you can see it.
Between weeks three and six you divide. The grains have multiplied, and the surplus starts a second jar, or is dried on baking paper and kept.
The most useful answer to how much milk kefir to drink is often to make less of it, and the recipe scales cleanly.
| Quantity | Grains | Jar | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 ml | 3 to 5 g | 0.5 litre | 24 h |
| 500 ml | 5 to 10 g | 0.75 litre | 24 h |
| 1 litre | 10 to 20 g | 1.5 litre | 24 h |
| 2 litres | 20 to 40 g | 3 litres | 24 h |
The ratio stays the same: 10 to 20 g of grains per litre of milk, and a jar about one and a half times the volume. The duration does not change with the quantity.
If you want to ferment less often, leave a bottle in the fridge and run a cycle every other day at 36 hours instead of 24. The result is sourer but the culture stays healthy.
What not to do: leave the grains in the same milk for three days. Past 36 hours the mass separates, and past two days the culture runs out of food and slows down.
This is the commonest reason people stop, and it is a recipe problem rather than a question of quantity.
Strain earlier, at 20 to 22 hours rather than 24.
Use fewer grains, 10 g per litre rather than 20. Fewer grains means a slower, milder ferment.
Find a cooler spot. Above 25 °C the culture works noticeably faster.
Most people who want a consistently mild result end up on 10 g of grains and 20 to 22 hours. That is a good starting point, and from there you adjust by tasting. On how much milk kefir to drink, a milder drink is usually the thing that makes a daily glass sustainable.
| Previous wording | Why it is a problem |
|---|---|
| «dosage guide» | a dose, which belongs to a remedy and not to a food |
| «200 ml twice a day for best results» | a dose attached to an implied effect |
| «drink it on an empty stomach» | advice with no source |
| «a four week course» | presents a food as a course of treatment |
| «rich in probiotics» | restricted term, treated as a claim |
None of those sentences was written in bad faith. They came from copied articles. But on how much milk kefir to drink a dose does real harm, because it turns a drink into a regimen that people then abandon.
The health claims authorised in the European Union are listed in the register of the European Food Safety Authority. Guidance on home food hygiene is published by the Food Standards Agency.
Live cultures, water and milk
Shipped hydrated and active, ready for the first cycle on the day they arrive.
See the culturesThe shortest answer to the question of amount is. As much as you enjoy. Anything more specific would be a dose, and a dose belongs to something else.
And if you take one practical point from this page, let it be the heat. Milk kefir goes in at the end of a preparation, never into something still cooking. That is the difference between a dressing and a curdled mess, and it costs nothing but the order of the steps.
There is no dose, because milk kefir is a food and not a remedy. A 200 ml glass with a meal is what most regular drinkers settle on. Anyone not used to it does better starting with half a glass, simply because it is a tart, unfamiliar drink.
There is no demonstrable basis for that. The claim appears on almost every page and on none with a source. Drink it whenever suits you, most practically with a meal.
110 to 130 kcal per 200 ml from whole milk, about 90 from semi skimmed, about 70 from skimmed. A litre a day is 550 to 650 kcal, which is a meal and should be counted.
Yes, in traces: 0.2 to 1 per cent, as in any fermented drink. Negligible in one glass, more in a litre. Anyone who has to avoid alcohol entirely should know the figure.
Three possible causes, in this order. Fermented too long, too many grains, or too warm. Strain at 20 to 22 hours, drop to 10 g of grains per litre, or find a cooler spot. A consistently mild result usually comes from 10 g and 20 to 22 hours.
No, it curdles and turns grainy. In a soup that is still boiling it is lost. It always goes in at the end of the preparation, once the heat is gone. In a dough that will be baked it works fine.
Three to five days at its best. It keeps fermenting slowly and turns a little sourer each day. That is not spoilage, it is the same fermentation at a lower temperature.
Scale the recipe down: 500 ml with 5 to 10 g of grains, or 250 ml with 3 to 5 g. The ratio stays at 10 to 20 g per litre. Or leave a bottle in the fridge and run a cycle every other day at 36 hours.
With fruit: a few berries, a mashed banana, some apple. Or a teaspoon of honey. Both are added afterwards and do not affect the culture. Chilled, it also tastes milder than at room temperature.
Yes. Hang it in a cloth for twelve hours in the fridge. A spreadable cheese stays on top and whey drains below, which goes into dough or a marinade.
