Reviving kefir grains question

[MyLittleWonders]

I'm trying to bring my grains out of hibernation (I've done it before, but that was a while ago). Usually I would use raw milk with my grains, but right now we are only buying a 1/2 gallon a week, and that is for my boys to drink. So, I bought pasteurized but non-homogenized goat milk for them. The first "batch" I tossed (I left them for 36 or so hours). For the second "batch", I added some goat milk kefir (from the same little company) to the goat milk in hopes of kick-starting the grains. This morning, the kefir/milk is still thin, but it definitely smells like yogurt (more mild than what I would usually get when I would kefir raw milk). I've left the grains in there about 24 hours again. (Our house has been cool at night - last night the house was about 62 degrees inside.)

My question is this: can I use the kefir from this batch to drink? I hesitate because the goat milk was originally pasteurized, so if anything good is growing in it, it would only be from the grains maybe reviving and/or the added goat milk kefir I used. If it were from raw milk, I wouldn't hesitate because it would already have had a positive bacteria count. But, I haven't used pasteurized milk with kefir grains for so many years that I'm not sure if the milk in there will have enough positive bacteria to make it safe to drink. Should I toss this batch too and see if tomorrow I can get only the goat milk to kefir without adding any supplemental kefir to the grains?

[dogmom327]

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders

My question is this: can I use the kefir from this batch to drink? I hesitate because the goat milk was originally pasteurized, so if anything good is growing in it, it would only be from the grains maybe reviving and/or the added goat milk kefir I used. If it were from raw milk, I wouldn't hesitate because it would already have had a positive bacteria count. But, I haven't used pasteurized milk with kefir grains for so many years that I'm not sure if the milk in there will have enough positive bacteria to make it safe to drink. Should I toss this batch too and see if tomorrow I can get only the goat milk to kefir without adding any supplemental kefir to the grains?

Ultimately do whatever you are comfortable with. Normally I tell people that if it looks and smells okay, to use it for cooking or something but I completely understand your hesitation. Pasteurized milk makes me nervous (although of course that is what the vast majority of people use to make kefir). The safest course is to toss it, but just go with your guy. One thing I've had really good luck with is adding to the milk versus tossing the whole batch. So if it looks like it is kefiring, maybe add a little more fresh milk, stir and give it another 24-36 hours (especially since your house is cool at night, I would let it go 36 hours). This seems to make the grains very happy (similar to what you did by adding the kefir). I'd toss it when you are done since it would have set for quite some time but it may be the kick start the grains need.

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally Posted by dogmom327

Ultimately do whatever you are comfortable with. Normally I tell people that if it looks and smells okay, to use it for cooking or something but I completely understand your hesitation. Pasteurized milk makes me nervous (although of course that is what the vast majority of people use to make kefir). The safest course is to toss it, but just go with your guy. One thing I've had really good luck with is adding to the milk versus tossing the whole batch. So if it looks like it is kefiring, maybe add a little more fresh milk, stir and give it another 24-36 hours (especially since your house is cool at night, I would let it go 36 hours). This seems to make the grains very happy (similar to what you did by adding the kefir). I'd toss it when you are done since it would have set for quite some time but it may be the kick start the grains need.

Thank you for your response! I think I'll end up tossing it just because it was with pasteurized milk. It smelled really good (slightly tart yogurt smell), but I'm working on healing my digestive system (hence why I want to make my own kefir again), so I'm leary of something that has a slight chance of working in opposite ways. Next week I should have access to two things of milk (for a total of one gallon), which will be enough for me to use for kefir (I'm only kefiring about 1 cup a day) and the rest for the boys to drink fresh.