Kefir to make yogurt?

Hello, first post, long time Permies reader. For Sarah: I have been making and using raw milk kefir into smoothies, ice cream and cheese over the past year, wondered if I could take completed Kefir, and then use it (instead of straight raw milk) to make yogurt. I was thinking it would add another 3 to 6 live cultures that may not be in the kefir grains. Also do you use colostrum? I have been either making it into Kefir or drinking it in an AM smoothie. Thanks, love your emails and you tube videos.
Also, I am in New England, would love to make the trek to Buffalo, NY.

Using raw milk kefir to make ice cream?! That sounds so incredibly good - not entirely sure why I never thought to try that. Definitely jotting that down on my to-do list w/ my brand new ice cream maker!

Anyone have suggestions on where to buy high quality kefir grains/cultures? I've never fermented food before, and I've been a bit hesitant of buying just any kind of kefir grains.

Sasha Baxter wrote:Using raw milk kefir to make ice cream?! That sounds so incredibly good - not entirely sure why I never thought to try that. Definitely jotting that down on my to-do list w/ my brand new ice cream maker!

Anyone have suggestions on where to buy high quality kefir grains/cultures? I've never fermented food before, and I've been a bit hesitant of buying just any kind of kefir grains.

I am not a huge fan of it, but my wife loved my last batch of Kefir/Pumpkin ice cream, used 2 cups raw (Jersey cow ) cream, a cup of Kefir, and a can of regular pumpkin. Didn't use the pumpkin pie (can) mix, so I did use a combination of honbey and brown sugar to sweeten it a little. Also forgot, I added Pumpkin Pie spice.
Like you, we just got an ice cream maker, every trip to the dairy, I bring home a quart of cream.
As far as finding Kefir grains, I have a surplus at this moment, and ran an ad on Craigs List, got two responses within and hour, giving away those next week. If you are near Massachusetts, I can help, if not, keep an eye on CraigsList for kefir. You can also buy them on line, I got them from a vendor at Etsy.com.

Good to know - thanks! And I'm in Washington, otherwise I'd totally take you up on that offer. I'll keep an eye out on Etsy.

The cultures in kefir are much more numerous and quite different from yogurt so no, you can't get yogurt from kefir. You will get kefir from kefir.

Colostrum is fine and yes a wonderful food to eat.

Resurrecting an old thread but:

You can use kefir as a thermophilic starter for your yogurt.

I incubate about a tablespoon of kefiran (strained kefir without the gems) in 1 litres of milk in an electric yogurt maker which keeps the temperature at 43C constantly. Mesophilic bacteria dies off and thermophilic ones stay alive.

My yogurt has the traditional structure and aroma of the Turkish yogurt we miss. A day old, you can tell there is lactose in it as it feels like sweet.

2 weeks old, it is just slightly tangy but still you can feel the lactose's sweetness. It keeps in the fridge for long but we usually finish it in 1 week or so.