kefir grain ?

[Mama2Kayla]

I was just wondering what grain to milk ratio all you kefir makers use. I am just starting out using the grains, and I am having a hard time figuring out how much to use.

I was using 1/4-1/2 cup for every 4cups of milk. Is that too much? It is usually ready before the 18hr mark.

So, how do you usually make your kefir?

Do you all heat up the raw milk? In NT she says to warm it to room temp? Any benefits to doing that?

Also, it has been my experience so far that my kefir is runnier when I make it with raw milk. Any ideas why this may be happening? I usually stir it after 12hrs, and then check on it every hour until it seems thick enough.

Last ?, do you all seal the lid on your fermenting jar, or leave it lightly covered?

Thanks!

[gbutterflykissesm]

I have found that the temperature affects my kefir much more than the grains to milk ratio. I use about 1/4 -1/2 cup of grains for a little more than a quart of milk. When it was still chilly (less than 65 degrees outside, and therefore inside my house), it would take a full 24 hours for the kefir to thicken at all. Now that it gets into the 90s during the day (and I keep my house around 84), the kefir is curdy and separates from the whey within 24 hours, no matter if I use one tablespoon or 1/2 cup of grains in the same amount of milk! So I have just been leaving it out for 12 hours and putting it in the fridge for 12 hours, then straining it and starting over (leaving it out). This makes it a perfect consistency, and slows down the grains a little, I think. I can't answer your other questions, because I use store-bought milk, but I do cap my kefir (I use cheap glass carafes that come with a plastic cap that just pops on - it's not too tight, like a screw top would be though).