I feel bad threadjacking the other item for kefir questions, so here's a new one where we can all learn about kefir.

I'll start with some questions. I know a lot of them are answered at Dom's wonderful site but I thought some personal opinions would be nice.

1. Where do you stand on the rinsing of the grains? It seems that Dom doesn't do it, but do you?
2. What if you don't drink all of the kefir you made some day; do you strain it all and refrigerate the extra, or just top it off with fresh milk?
3. Do you wash out the jar every time?
4. What do you use to strain your kefir?
5. How do you know how many grains you need for a certain volume of milk, and/or when it is time to split some off to give to a friend?

That's enough for now. I'm enthralled by the stuff; it's just magic how it makes more and more every day.

Good questions, binki!

I just started making kefir recently and I'm still in the learning curve. FWIW, I don't rinse the grains, I store the finished (strained) kefir in the refrigerator, I use a plastic Tupperware strainer, and I wash the fermenting jar well between batches. I've got the same question as your #5 above, and wonder what is the best way to store excess grains?

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

1. Where do you stand on the rinsing of the grains? It seems that Dom doesn't do it, but do you?

I never rinse. (except before I freeze, see below) I take the philosophy that they know how to build an environment they want to live in, so I don't disturb it.

2. What if you don't drink all of the kefir you made some day; do you strain it all and refrigerate the extra, or just top it off with fresh milk?

I have two regular containers that I use for kefir. One is a glass jar with a plastic lid (holds a couple of pints) which I use for fermenting and the other is a food grade plastic jug for storing the finished kefir. It has a screw on lid that makes it easy to pour the finished kefir in, and a pop off little lid that's part of the bigger lid, which makes it easy to pour out a serving.

When I strain a batch, the finished product goes into the storage jug in the fridge, and I can add successive batches to the storage jug if I'm like saving up to make some cheese or something. I have to have a storage system since I only drink kefir a couple of times a day and in small amounts at a time. Besides, I like it cold.

3. Do you wash out the jar every time?

No. I only wash them out when they start looking too groaty.

4. What do you use to strain your kefir?

Just a regular mesh strainer which sits snugly over a large rectangular food container. (the corners make it easier to pour the finished product into my kefir storage jug) I tighten the lid on the fermenter and give it a good shake and dump it into the strainer. Then I pluck out the grains and put them back in the fermenter and add more milk to them. If I'm trying to collect a lot, I leave it out. If I don't need more right away, the fermenter goes into the fridge. I use a rubber spatula to rub any curds through the strainer (it's a bit too fine a mesh for all the curds to go through) and stir it all up before adding to the storage jug. Makes for a nice smooth product.

.... oh, yeah, and I wash my hands before I start.


5. How do you know how many grains you need for a certain volume of milk, and/or when it is time to split some off to give to a friend?

You'll know by "feel." If a given amount of grains to milk gives you a finished product in the time you want, then that's just the right amount. You'll KNOW when it's time to give some away, LOL! When you realize it's finishing a batch really fast .... and you've got more grains than milk in your fermenter.

When I build up an excess, I eat some, share some with Brutus, or freeze them (per Dom's method of packing them in powdered milk in an airtight container. This is when I give them a rinse in distilled water - before packing them. ) They come back to life nicely in a few batches. I usually help them along by tossing a currently active dose of grains into the batch I'm resurrecting.

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I've not been kefirring for a while, but hope to again fairly soon. I wanted to add to Mag's wonderful comments, that I freeze mine right in fresh milk. I just plunk an "appropriate" amount of grains into a ziplock and cover with about 1 cup of milk. They seem to store indefinitely that way. My grains have been "in storage" for about a year and a half now -- got some out for a friend and they perked right up just like they should. When packed that way, all you do is plunk the frozen bit into a container and begin processing like usual. It makes kefir immediately.

My grains tended to get huge because we were using raw, organic milk. It seems like the more "processed" your milk is, the smaller the grains... I could be wrong though.

My grains are huge, too, although they've never had the pleasure of raw milk. LOL!

Your freezing method is sure a lot less effort than what I've been doing. I'm going to try that next time! Thanks, Sharron.

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well, I've been known to be wrong before

glad to be of help!

It's illegal to sell raw milk in my state (NJ) but I'm trying to hook up with a food buying club that delivers to Manhattan. I'm willing to cross state lines to get the good stuff! It's all been organic (ultra-pasteurized) or Ronnybrook (pasteurized) so far, and I'm so happy with the results that I almost fear how much I'll love the raw stuff.

Thank you for all the answers so far! I have another couple questions:

After looking at this page I wonder: Do people tend to know the "pedigree" of their grains? Are there different breeds, or different strains somehow? (I mean more the place of origin, not milk vs. water) If so, what happens if you combine them? Or wouldn't you want to do that?

My grains came, 2nd generation, from Dom. I think Mag's are from the same strain. I don't know about anything else...

New question.
Has anybody tried freezing kefir to make ice cream out of it?

yes, sort of... I made a kefir smoothie and put it into popsickle cups and froze it. It turned out nasty :(

We haven't tried it with an ice cream maker or anything, though.

Hm.... this hot weather has upped the rate of production. Maybe once I have a surplus I'll give it a shot with my ice cream machine.

Today's kefir question: when straining it to make kefir cheese, do you leave it on the counter or put it in the fridge while it drains?

Personally, it takes a while, so I cover it with a cloth and refrigerate it.

I just leave it sitting on the counter. I throw a clean dish towel over the strainer to keep dust out. When it gets to the consistency I want, I transfer it to a container and then keep it in the fridge.

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Cool, thank you!