Comments on: Glorious Kefir Grains

By: Walter

Walter — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 01:20:39 +0000

Being somewhat new to the Kefir world I first tried fishing out my little Kefir grains by hand. Sure not very efficient and a little messy. Then I tried different strainers… I think you all know that strainers have their pros and cons. After meditating (LOL) over my little critters I doubled up some cheese cloth, made a bag about three times larger then the amount of grains I use, and tied the bag with a nylon string. When it’s time I lift my grains on the string out of the milk and a moment later they sit in the next batch of milk. No straining, no cleaning, no time wasted, and my Kefir is ready to drink or goes for second fermentation.

Once a week I hang my bag for about 30 minutes over my next batch of milk and let gravity do the job to drain the curd. As the curd is already fermented milk this batch is finished in about 70% of the normal time! Every few weeks I lovingly wash my “babies” and put them in a new bag. My grains get never disturbed or manhandled and they grow like crazy.

One thing you should avoid! Cut the end of the cheese cloth close to the knot of the bag. If the end of the cloth hangs out over the edge of the container the wick effect makes the ends dripping wet (and my loving wife was not to loving anymore).

Have fun and good health!

By: Fight Back Friday March 4th | Food Renegade

Fight Back Friday March 4th | Food Renegade — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:47:23 +0000

[...] Healthy Kids Food blogs cited together!31. Breastfeeding Moms Unite! (Nachos and Guacamole)32. Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS (Glorious Kefir Grains – Kefir in the Winter)33. Sara @ Plays Well With Butter (Reclaiming food power thru knowledge)34. Please Be Edible’s [...]

By: Yolanda

Yolanda — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:03:22 +0000

Dani, I guess I don’t know what you mean by “curds on the grains.” To me, the grains ARE like curds. If you don’t wait another 24 hours (depending on the weather, of course) before you drink your kefir, it will not be AS good for you.

The sourdough kefir bread is not very sour. Just mildly. I do not know what would happen if you let it sit longer, as I’ve never done that.

By: Dani

Dani — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:33:11 +0000

Yolanda, I can’t WAIT to try your “kefir sourdough bread” from your 5th Kefir post. However, I LIKE my sourdough bread sour; can I let it rise longer or another rise to make it more sour? I can see adapting this recipe for biscuits, too! I think I’m going to check my kefir after 24 hours–usually, it’s still a pretty milk-like consistency, but with heavy curds on the grains. Of course, if I had any patience at all, I’d wait until we get to that part of the ecourse…

BTW, I meant to respond to LaniQ from a few posts back: Kefir has like 30-35 different probiotics in it (bacterium AND yeast, hence the grains; just like a Kombucha scoby); while yogurt, depending upon the strain, will usually have between 3-5, and bacteria-only biotics (no grains or scobys, so no yeast). The bacteria feed on the lactose in milk, whereas in kefir the bacteria and yeast are in symbios with each other (which is why it gets more and more cultured & sour the longer you ferment it). Kefir also has more folic acid in it, which is why I originally started making it; we were (and are again, after my recent return to health) trying to get pregnant and didn’t want a synthetic version.

By: Yolanda

Yolanda — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:29:48 +0000

Dani, please go over to my blog and read my “chapters” on kefir. http://www.simplyhomemaking60.blogspot.com

I think that will clear up some things.

I use a plastic strainer and sort of shake it up and down to drain the kefir. And the liquid kefir sits on the counter another 24 hours before we drink it. I think maybe you’re making this more difficult for yourself than is needed. Good luck.

By: Dani

Dani — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:08:03 +0000

Alright, everyone; I’m trying my hand at kefir again, after having tried twice before. When culturing, my grains have tons of curd on them, and to get the curd off of them, I have to get pretty rough. The kefir is so thick and “curdy” that I have to really work to get it thru the strainer. Could I be damaging my grains? The bigger pieces seem to have broken up a bit, but I don’t think that’s a problem (I think of grains kinda like worms: if it breaks, it’s not like the heart is over here and the lungs are over there and now it’s been decapitated; no, it’ll still work, right?). Also, the kefir ends up being pretty runny after all that rough handling. I work long days, so typically get to stir or shake only morning and night, and it’s about 70 in our house, so it’s not like I have to let it sit out forever to finish culturing… It just doesn’t seem like it should be so hard to do this, and my grains aren’t nearly as beautiful as yours. (did I not mention in my earlier post that I am a little bit jealous of yours?)
Maybe I’m just supposed to leave more of the curd on the grains? it seems like there’s a LOT of curd, to the point that the grains can’t do their job because they’re not in good contact with the milk. *sigh* maybe I should just wait til this part in the ecourse!

By: Tammy

Tammy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:13:21 +0000

FINALLY! I’ve had a successful attempt at kefir…just this morning. I’ve been trying for weeks. Guess I’m not as patient as I thought I was. It took 38 hours to get it where I wanted it. I was only letting it set out for up to 24…it wasn’t very appetizing, let’s just put it that way. LOL! Now…even my kids will drink it. What a feeling of accomplishment! I’m doing a happy dance.

Thank you Wardeh for your gentle encouragement all over this site and in the eCourse. I really appreciate all the effort you put into it…just so others can reap the same rewards.
.-= Tammy´s last blog post… It’s SOURDOUGH week in my kitchen! =-.

By: Wardeh

Wardeh — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:13:49 +0000

Michelle – I never answered your question. I’m sorry! Yes, mine will separate into curds and whey if I let them go too long. Right now the kefir goes 48 hours and there is just a bit of yellow whey at the bottom that mixes back in when I swish the jar around (after taking out the grains).

By: LaniQ

LaniQ — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:06:48 +0000

Thank you, that is exactly what I wanted to know. I think my 2 year old would love it…if I would let him he would eat sour cream with a spoon!

By: Barbara Grant

Barbara Grant — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:43:42 +0000

My grains seem to be culturing faster this winter. I guess I am the oddball. The kefir is a little grainy. It does seperate into curds and whey. I just shake it up when ready to use it. Sometimes I put it into cheesecloth and drain it to make kefir cheese.