Question about room temp ripened milk kefir

[tempestjewel]

Okay, so I have my very first batch of milk kefir ripening on my counter (thanks to a wonderful fellow MDC mama ), and although I've read just about every kefir page I can find, I still have one more question:

After it has ripened on the counter, will it stay good if I put it back in the fridge for a while, or do I need to consume it right away?

I keep reading that if you put it right in the fridge after straining it stays good for a couple weeks, but I can't find any statements about doing this with ripened. It seems like it would be okay to my logic, but I don't always trust my logic :

It has been cultured with whole, raw goat's milk, if that makes any difference.

Also, if I blend it with frozen fruit will the freezing process kill the good bacteria/yeast?

[Metasequoia]

I posted about a second fermentation here, reeeeaally interesting stuff! This doesn't directly answer your question, but I think it'll offer a different perspective on leaving ripened kefir out on the counter.

[tempestjewel]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

I posted about a second fermentation here, reeeeaally interesting stuff! This doesn't directly answer your question, but I think it'll offer a different perspective on leaving ripened kefir out on the counter.

The info in there is why I'm ripening- both for the lower lactose and for the increased vitamin content. While I understand I can keep ripened kefir on the counter for a week (while using and replenshing), I'm still unsure if its okay to stick it in the fridge after its ripened and if so for how long?

[Metasequoia]

Ohhhh, gotcha, sorry, I was a little confused by the question.

Yea, I've put it back in the fridge - IME, it gets a little more sour & "flatter", kwim? It loses the bubbly, at least IME.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by tempestjewel

Also, if I blend it with frozen fruit will the freezing process kill the good bacteria/yeast?

You mean like a smoothie or refreezing again as like a popsicle?

It takes a lot to kill these buggies let me tell you, they survive everything so far I've dished at them! (including whizzing the grains for several minutes in the blender one day... the resulting smoothie leftovers still grew out of control!)

[tempestjewel]

Originally Posted by JaneS

You mean like a smoothie or refreezing again as like a popsicle?

It takes a lot to kill these buggies let me tell you, they survive everything so far I've dished at them! (including whizzing the grains for several minutes in the blender one day... the resulting smoothie leftovers still grew out of control!)

Yeah, I meant like a smoothie. I've been having kefir smoothies every morning, freshly blended with a combo of frozen and fresh fruit and just hoped I'm not killing off the good bacteria. I do drink it right away. My favorite right now is kefir, a banana, frozen raspberries, and a little agave nectar

[Taedareth]

So, would the probiotics die if you make kefir-popsicles?

[JaneS]

You are probably killing off some good bacteria but not all.

You might consider adding the grains themselves to the smoothie for extra buggies. The benefit of using the grains is that they don't have any acidic taste and add body and smoothness, that is what I use for DS's milkshakes.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

So, would the probiotics die if you make kefir-popsicles?

Some but not all, it's not known exactly from what I've seen. The place to check for sure is the Yahoo group "Real Kefir Making" which Dom posts to.

[bluets]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

So, would the probiotics die if you make kefir-popsicles?

DNA from things like harvested plants will degrade in the freezer if not stored at -80C or so (we are archiving DNA of various critters in the lab, and have been doing so for years in these monster super cold freezers).

your kitchen freezer is, at best, -20C -- hence you cannot store food indefinitely in there without some sort of DNA damage (in the lab, they use regular freezers for short-term freezing of specimens).

you may be able to revive your grains (if that is what you are trying to do) but they will not be in the best of health. on the other hand, unlike heating, freezing will not denature the proteins, so your grains would still have the possibility of reviving after a period of freezing.