Kefir Grains - Living Probiotic Enriched

When these grains, I say that with tongue-in-cheek, because there were no "grains" in the small plastic envelope, that arrived in my mail box but what I saw was about 1/4 tsp. of a small mushed up paste in the bag. I doubted whether the grains were alive and would they do anything once I put them in milk, which I did right away.The first three 1/2 c. batches of milk didn't yield much but by about the 4th effort I started to get something happening! Hooray, they were alive! I probably have made at least two dozen or more batches now of the Kefir milk and I have about 1/4 cup of the gains that are big white fluffy pillows of what looks like large curd cottage cheese.So, the moral to this review is don't give up because it might take 2-4 batches or more before they become fully active. I suggest while waking these guys up to not waste a lot of milk so place them in 1/4 to 1/3 c. of milk, leave over night or for two days and check by sight and taste until you see something happening. Not much happening after 2 days? Then strain your milk into a glass bowl and capture the knifer grains in a plastic sieve to place in another fresh cup of milk. Don't see any grains, then pour another small amount of milk into what you have already, cover and wait another day or two. Once you see activity or grains then start a fresh container of milk to maybe 1/2 c. and then eventually you can fill a whole quart or even a half gallon jar almost to the top with milk and drop in your grains. The way to tell if your knifer is ready is to check the bottom and sides of the jar and if you see clear patches in the milk next to the glass then it has clabbered.I might also note that milk kefir tastes very much like buttermilk so if you don't like buttermilk then if you plan to use it then think smoothies, pancakes, waffles, salad dressings or where you might use some form of milk where you won't taste the clabbered buttermilk flavor. My husband likes it with a little sweetener and vanilla added and he's happy otherwise he won't drink the stuff! I happen to love thick, rich buttermilk so I love the finished knifer. Keifer will also continue to ferment in the refrigerator and become more sour so don't be alarmed by the taste. I frequently have numerous glass milk bottles filled with kefir in my refrigerator and I have yet to open the last of the batch and found anything but healthy, sour tasting kefir.Another suggestion: If you have never consumed milk kefir or even water kefir before start out slowly drinking this because it can really upset your gut and you will wind up paying for it. Start with 1/4 cup the first and second day and if you don't have any problems then you can up the amount you consume on a daily basis. Better to be safe than sorry and wind up spending a lot of time in the bathroom for a couple of days! Chill the milk kefir and use it to drink, make salad dressings and hundreds of other tasty treats!January 2015 Update:Here are a couple of tricks I have learned along the way with a growing supply of grains and making kefir:1. I keep 1/2-1 cup of grains and give away or throw out the rest.2. I fill a glass half gallon jug with my grains and top off with milk, stir. Cover with a paper coffee filter and a rubber band and sit on counter to ferment.3. Best results for taste and thickness to my liking has been about 48 hours in a 64 degree kitchen in the winter in Maine. Might be shorter in the summer months.4. Strain off kefir grains from liquid in a large glass measuring cup through a plastic sieve. Spoon unwashed grains into another clean 1/2 gallon jug and top off with milk. Some people say to never wash the grains but if you have left the grains too long in milk in the refrigerator and the milk has started to spoil then washing will remove the tainted milk so you don't contaminate your next batch of kefir, just make sure you use cool/cold water. Fill smaller glass bottles with fermented kefir milk. Start the process all over again.5. If you have more kefir in the refrigerator than you can drink in the next week then put the grains along with milk in the 1/2 gallon jug with a lid screwed on in the refrigerator for no more than about a week. The grains will continue to ferment the milk but at a much slower rate cutting about 24 hours off the process of sitting out on the counter and you don't waste any milk that they are being kept in. If you leave the grains in the refrigerator more than a week or longer you might find they will start to spoil so stay aware of how long your grains and milk have been in there. Label the jug with a date to remind you.6. I usually make kefir for about 3 cycles which gives me approx. 1-1/2 glass bottles each time that holds 32 ounces each (Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni 33 3/4 Canning Bottle). After 6 days or 3 cycles I then put the full half gallon with fresh milk and kefir back in the refrigerator for no more than a week. Remove the milk/kefir jug to the counter and let sit for approx. 12-24 hours, stir. If nice and thick then strain, bottle and refrigerate and start the process over again.7. Only one person drinks the kefir in my house and I drink about 6-8 oz. per day but I also use it to make waffles and pancakes for two, salad dressings, ice cream, smoothies and anywhere I can substitute the kefir for regular milk or buttermilk. Kefir doesn't work well in scrambled eggs because it has a tendency to curdle and separate when cooking. Remember also that if you use heat you are probably killing the live bacteria in the milk. Mostly the texture will remain the same, except the cooked eggs, but otherwise I avoid putting the kefir milk in things that will be baked or cooked on the stove.This method of cycling of the fermentation process has worked out great for me so take from it what works for you, how many people in your home and how much you drink or use the kefir.

I purchased these in March 2021 from MrandMrsKefir. I had been periodically buying flavored Kefir at the store and I figured I wanted to try making it myself.I keep my grains in a loosely covered pint jar (started in a quart jar). The temperature in my apartment is kept roughly in the vicinity of 70F/21C. My cycle is approximately (VERY approximately) 24 hours, which means that the kefir produced is on the tart side of the spectrum. I feed the grains with 1 cup (sometimes 1.5 cups) of whole milk purchased from Food Lion or Sam's club. I have not observed a noticeable difference in the taste amongst the various brands of whole milk that I have used. I do not feed sour milk to my grains.I typically supplement the kefir with various kinds of fruit or berries. I have eaten it without adding anything, but I much prefer flavored. If I'm in a rush, I occasionally mix in approximately 40g of a honey and oats cereal.If you are a berry person : raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries seem to mesh well with the unflavored kefir. If the raspberries are tart (and they usually are, in my experience), a little honey helps. Crush the berries and let sit in the kefir to help the flavors blend. Overnight is best. I have not observed mold from letting harvested kefir sit on the counter for up to 48 hours (let me tell you, though, I had to add honey). Your mileage may vary. Personally, I do not like letting the harvested kefir sit on the counter for more than overnight.If you are a fruit person : peaches, nectarines, and bananas (crush in small pieces with fingers!) seem fine; I'd steer clear of store-bought grapes and oranges; in my opinion, the flavors mesh badly. It seems that, in general, citrus doesn't do well as an additive. I do not, in general, let fruit culture for any length of time in the kefir. I haven't observed any real benefit from doing so.If you have concerns with the number of grains you got, well... I probably got the same amount as you. In the 4 months that I bought them, they have reached the point that in one week they grow from approximately 40g to more than 60g. I typically maintain my clump of kefir grains at 40g (measured weekly, typically on Sunday). I am considering moving down to 30g (because the produced kefir is already pretty tart!). The issue with sending lots of grains through the mail is that these guys are pretty hungry. They need to eat EVERY day (this can be slowed down in the fridge). Have patience, the little guys will grow... eventually more than you want them to. Just remember : they NEED to eat daily!For my purposes, this has been a worthwhile purchase. I wanted to see if I could produce Kefir at home. I was able to do so, and the grains seem to have maintained their strength with whole time. I was also looking for something to potentially help with my gastrointestinal biome. I will second the warning provided in the attached instructions : your gut will take some time (approximately a week, for me) to get used to the Kefir. For me, at least, the waiting was worth it.Would recommend!