Frozen kefir - does "good stuff" survive?

[martaluna]

I'm making my own milk kefir now and mostly use it for fruit smoothies. My 2yo though for some reason doesn't like smoothies. He will eat it though if I make it into a popsickle, hmm. I was wondering though if freezing destroys the good bacteria in kefir or not. Does anyone know? Thanks!

[gardenmommy]

I wouldn't think so.  I'm not an expert, but you can freeze the grains, and they will survive.  I don't know why freezing the kefired milk would damage the healthy bacteria.

[JMJ]

Freezing isn't a problem, but over time, if you leave it frozen, the cultures will deteriorate.  I would try to eat it within a couple months of freezing since that seems to be about how long you would want to freeze the grains.

[Johntodd]

Hi! This is my first post.  How are you?

I freeze my extra Kefir grains whenever I have too many.  I've kept some in the freezer for over two years and they reconstituted nicely.  The secret is:

1.  Rinse them in tap water,

2.  Then in filtered water (to get rid of the chlorine), DRAIN WELL!

3.  Dust them with flour,

4.  Place in freezer bag and squeeze the air out,

5.  Place in freezer door.

6.  Kiss them gently goodnight.

When it comes time to wake them up, do this:

1.  Remove from freezer and place in a strainer.

2.  Rinse the flour off.  Be thorough.

3.  Place in lukewarm filtered water overnight to rehydrate.

4.  Move them to their new home and give them a small amount of milk*.

         * Depends on how many grains you have.  I usually start with 1/4 cup.  The reason is simple:  the first few batches will taste and smell like Satan's armpits.  So don't bother wasting a lot of milk when it will turn out terrible.  After a few batches, they grains will be fine and ready for Keifr production.