killed my milk kefir grains

[BedHead]

I guess that I am resigned to using the packets instead of trying to keep grains alive. I am the only one who drinks kefir, and a quart lasts me a week. So I can't really keep making it on my counter top, since I end up with ten times more than I need. I tried storing the grains in the fridge between making batches, but they died

Is there another way to make only a quart of milk kefir a week and still keep grains alive? I would like to reap the benefits of the grains as opposed to the powder.

[amcal]

I don't make it anymore because of this.

I tried making it on the counter and then moving it to my fridge and then just taking out what I wanted to drink and then when I was done, I just added more milk, moved it to the counter to culture and then when done, back to the fridge.

This worked for a while but then my kefir started going funky - not the taste but the texture. It's was runny and grainy and just unpleasant. Nothing at all like the kefir I buy at the store.

Same thing happened with my water kefir grains. I couldn't get anyone to drink them. I tried hiding it in everything and no one would drink it. And they multipy like crazy. Sigh.... I really, really wanted to have fresh kefir but, it's just not meant to be.

[pixiepunk]

just use a small amount of grains and a small amount of milk (like a cup or two) each day, then pour the finished kefir into a container in the fridge (or drink it that day) and then make more. every couple of days separate the grains and get rid of the extras (give them away, grind them up in your smoothie, pop them in your mouth, feed them as a healthy treat to pets or farm animals if you have them) so you only have a small amount of grains at any given time.

or you could do a small amount of grains and a larger amount of milk so that you don't have to manage it daily (because it will take longer for the small amount of grains to turn the large amount of milk to kefir). that way you could probably do it every 2-3 days instead.

and the first time you split the grains, instead of getting rid of the extras, freeze-dry them so that if you accidentally kill your grains you still have some to revive! i don't do that, though, because i have given so many grains to so many people that i would just call somebody and ask for some grains. i'm a horribly lazy kefir mama and i have yet to actually kill them. they might take a week or so to get back to being fully awake and productive, and you might have to throw some weird intermediate batches away, but they're pretty darn hardy!

[swood]

I am usually making more than I can keep up with too. I only make two cups at a time, and sometimes I have to stick it the fridge for a few days while I try to catch up. Sometimes refrigerating them has made them sluggish, but they always came back to life after a few regular brewing cycles at room temp. So are yours truly dead?

[IsaFrench]

pixiepunk, thanks for addressing this matter, I've been having more or less the same problem ... (being the only one drinking it ... making too much)

my question is how little grains (as in half a teaspoon, or a teaspoon, heaped or not ???) for a cup (250 mililitres = a cup ? = a quarter of a litre, I think a quart in America is about a litre metric, not 100% sure .... ) of milk

+ if the amount of grains is too little in relation to the amount of milk, how much time (hours/days) is it safe to let it sit on the counter + how does one know if it doesn't "kefir" properly (just by smell/taste ?)
TIA

[BedHead]

Originally Posted by IsaFrench

+ if the amount of grains is too little in relation to the amount of milk, how much time (hours/days) is it safe to let it sit on the counter + how does one know if it doesn't "kefir" properly (just by smell/taste ?)
TIA

I was wondering this too. I use raw milk, so how would I even know if I have kefir vs sour milk? I don't know what sour raw milk tastes or looks like, or how long it takes to sour when sitting at room temp.

[pixiepunk]

i'm not sure there's an exact grains-per-quart ratio because i think since the grains are living some are more productive than others, i think it just requires some experimentation to find the happy ratio that works best for you (that took me a while, and changes if i let them hibernate in the fridge for a while).

i do use raw milk and IME the look and taste and smell of milk that's turned is totally different than that of kefir. i think it's going to depend on how fresh the milk is and what the ambient temp in the room is as to how long it would take the milk to turn. but i've never had a problem with it doing kefir (meaning, never felt that the milk had turned before it had sufficiently turned to kefir). i suppose you could also do that as an experiment, leave some raw milk on the counter to see how long it takes to turn. though of course it will still be longer if it's in kefir grains because the grains will start working on the milk right away. and i would think giving it a good stir/tipping the jar regularly would help prevent that too, to make sure there isn't milk at the top that hasn't gotten near enough to the grains to start the process.

of course i keep chickens, so if i ever leave it out too long and find it slightly questionable, i just give it to the chickens they've never had any trouble with it, and actually love the stuff and seem to lay better when they get it regularly. anyway, this leads me to believe that even if i might find it questionable it's probably just fine to ingest, though it might have a stronger flavor than you prefer.

[WuWei]

Ya' about can't kill the kefir grains, unless you heat them.

Just freeze or dry the excess. http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Mak...g_kefir-grains


Pat

[Koalamom]

Whoa, I have gone several weeks and even a few months and my kefir grains have always came back to life. When I was pregnant, I was not interested in kefir fir a few month (like 3) and I just had to change the milk like 3 times and they came fully back. Now I make it only about once per week on average and it is fine.