Basic All Purpose Kefir Ice Cream
A tangy, probiotic-packed frozen treat that blends the benefits of milk kefir with the indulgence of homemade ice cream.
The Science of Lactose Reduction in Kefir
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar made up of two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. For people with lactose intolerance, the trouble comes from not producing enough lactase, the enzyme needed to break lactose down in the gut.
When you make milk kefir, the kefir grains (a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts, also known as SCOBY but usually only called that in relation to kombucha) do the hard work for you. During fermentation, these microbes produce their own enzymes, including lactase which break lactose apart. They then consume the glucose and galactose as fuel, converting them into lactic acid, small amounts of ethanol, and carbon dioxide.
The result?
Lactose levels drop dramatically—often to near-zero if fermented for 24+ hours.
The milk becomes tangier, creamier, and easier to digest.
The lactic acid helps preserve the kefir naturally.
This is why many people who normally react to milk can enjoy kefir without discomfort, your microbes have done the pre-digesting for you.
So, when you churn your kefir into ice cream, you’re not just creating a decadent dessert, you’re making a gut-friendly treat that many lactose sensitive people can enjoy. I am not lactose intolerant officially, but I do prefer this ice cream nowadays especially if indulging before bed as it doesn't give me any clogged up throat or nose like non kefir ice cream can.
Need
-
The Basic Ice Cream or Ice Kefir!
- 800 Grams Milk Kefir divided Recipe
- 100 Grams white caster sugar (for the best colour result!)
- 1 Pinch pink salt flakes BUY
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste BUY
- 400 Grams Creme Fraiche (homemade) or sour cream Recipe
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Flavour Options
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Lemony
- 15 Drops doTERRA lemon oil BUY
- 2-3 lemons finely grated zest
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Chocolate
- 200 Grams Melted Chocolate dark Recipe
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with a little hot water BUY
- some chopped chocolate to add at the end of churning, (optional)
-
Burnt Honey
- 80 Grams honey to replace the sugar
- 100 Grams macadamias roasted and roughly chopped BUY
-
Raspberry Ripple
- 75 Grams Raspberry Coulis added during churning Recipe
Do
- 1
Place half the milk kefir into the Thermomix bowl with the sugar, salt and vanilla.
- 2
Blend 2 min/speed 10 or until the sugar has dissolved.
- 3
Add the remaining milk kefir and sour cream and blend 10 sec/speed 10. Pour into an ice cream churner and churn until frozen.
- 4
To make it Lemon, which really suits the sour notes of the kefir, mill the lemon zest with the sugar before you begin. Add the lemon oil with the second amount of milk kefir. Proceed with freezing as instructed.
- 5
To make it Chocolate melt the chocolate before you begin making the remainder of the recipe. Mix the cocoa with some hot water until smooth. Add both during the first blending.
- 6
To make it Burnt Honey cook the honey without stirring in a large flat frying pan on a medium heat until just smoking and smelling toasty. Quickly add it to the Thermomix bowl and proceed with the recipe, WITHOUT using any sugar. Toasted macadamias are a great addition to this one, stir through prior to churning or after the blending if using the Thermomix method.
- 7
To make it Raspberry Ripple, make the entire recipe and add the cold coulis to the churner when it is almost frozen. If you are using the Thermomix blend method below, (no churner) then drizzle the coulis through the hold in lid, right at the end. (See below.)
- 8
NO CHURNER: Thermomix Method If you don't have a churner yet, freeze this mix in an ice cube tray, and when frozen, blend in your Thermomix for up to 1 min/speed 10 with the aid of your Thermomix spatula. (Add the coulis at the end and don't over mix.)
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Gut Instinct Protocol: The Power of Fermented and Cultured Foods
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
