Kefir making from stater kit?

[Nikki98]

I bought a freeze dried kefir starter kit from yogourmet (purchased from the health food store) has anyone tried making kefir from one of these kits? Will it produce me kefir grains?

Another question is that I have whole organic milk and milk my mom gave me (she froze and brought it during Thanksgivng) which is low heat pasturized/nonhomgenized, which one would be best to make the kefir with?

Thanks, Nikki

[Prairiemother]

Hi, I have kefir that I make from a culture I started 2 years ago from a freeze-dried kit from a place called something like Alpha foods. It tastes great and is very prolific. However, the 'grains' came in a little pouch, the string of which became mouldy fairly quickly so I poured the grains into the mixture and haven't seen them since! I just keep a little reserve, about 1 part to 3 parts milk, and that makes a new batch in 18 to 24 hours. I gave my sister some culture, and she has been trying to 'find' the grains by straining out the lumps, over and over again, but they never resurface. I posted a question a few weeks ago asking whether, in the opinion of other kefir users, my kefir was the real thing - the few that replied didn't think so, but I think it must be because the powdered kind is supposed to die after a few batches. I'd be curious to hear how yours does!

[Nikki98]

I will let you know how it turns out. But what type of milk is best for kefir making? Organic whole milk (pasturized/homogonized) or organic non-homogonized low heat pasturized? I have both but want to use the one that will give the best results. Any suggestions,thanks.

[Prairiemother]

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that one - I don't have as much choice in milk as you do, so I've just been using the whole-milk pasteurized variety - well, actually sometimes I can get pasteurized non-homogenized organic whole milk and when I can I use that, too. I don't really notice a difference. I'm sure some of the other kefir-makers on this board could answer the question - if you don't get an answer from someone using this thread, perhaps you could start a new one with a different subject line and maybe you'd get an answer that way. My kefir culture isn't very picky, though - I've used whole milk, 2%, 1% and half-and-half, depending on what was in the fridge (local grocery store not reliable source of organic milk).

[saratc]

Originally Posted by Nikki98

I will let you know how it turns out. But what type of milk is best for kefir making? Organic whole milk (pasturized/homogonized) or organic non-homogonized low heat pasturized? I have both but want to use the one that will give the best results. Any suggestions,thanks.

Your kefir should do fine with either although I would go with the non-homogenized and low heat pasteurized. The best I can get right now is grassfed, pasteurized and homogenized, but when I get a steady raw milk source, I intend to use raw milk.