How/when do you make your kefir, once a week?

[bleuelephante]

How and when do others make their kefir? How much do you drink per day? Do you make it once a week and leave it sit on the counter the whole week or put it in the fridge after it has kefired for 24 hrs? I'd like to make it only once a week and make sure I have enough but not too much. Do you only need 1 cup per day to get the benefits? I find that if I make a lot, people drink more of it, so trying to figure out a system that works for us. It's me and my husband, a little for the baby and my mom sometimes drinks a cup whenever she remembers we make it :)

[bleuelephante]

No one has any comments about this? I don't have time to strain and remake kefir every single day, so people must get into a routine of once a week or something. How do I keep the grains alive if I only make it once a week?
 

[gardenmommy]

My grains are so active, I had to move them to a 2 quart jar.  I generally can leave it now for about 3 or 4 days on the counter.  I use it in smoothies or baking (pancakes, waffles, muffins, breads).  I find that no one wants to drink it on its own, not even me, no matter how long I leave it to culture.  As far as amounts, I think that the more you get in your body, the better, but I don't think you *have* to drink a cup per day to see benefits.  

[bleuelephante]

Thank you for the response! My main concern was if I could leave it out on the counter for many days or what was the maximum amount of time I could leave it to culture? I want to space out my straining of the grains as much as I can, so as to not create more work for myself.

Another question, hoping someone can answer: My kefir always separates into curds and whey and I have a really hard time straining it. I shake it up to mix it together, then strain it and that helps some, but I still have a large amount of curd stuck to the grains. I have been just including this huge curd/grain blob into the next container of milk to culture, but the blob keeps getting bigger, haha! Do I need to do more to remove the curds from the grains or that's just the way it is?

[gardenmommy]

Mine almost always separates into curds and whey, simply because I leave it so long.  I guess if I was a Really Good Kefir Culturer (LOL!!!), I would only leave it out for 48 hours or whatever.  I just leave it until I need it or until I remember it, usually about 3-ish days.  Here is my technique for straining out the grains:  I set a plastic colander over a bowl, dump the whole jar into the colander, and gently swish it back and forth with a silicone spatula until all that is left is grains.  Easy peasy.  My kids could do it.  Then, I dump all the grains back into a clean jar, fill it with milk, and cover it lightly.  I have some bigger blobs of grains, but they aren't too big, and when I get too many for the jar, I divide them.  

[nettlesoup]

I've been making it for a while now. I make a new batch every night, and keep it in the airing cupboard to ferment. But it only needs 24 hours. But as the grains multiply it'll take less time for it to ferment. I usually make about a pint a day, and I also add some heavy cream to the milk; it makes it thicker and creamier which is lovely.

More recently I haven't been drinking it, and I can really tell as my bowels aren't as happy as usual. Maybe too much info, but proof that it works wonders for your stomach!