Questions on Milk Kefir Grains

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• From Beth at 12/7/10 9:56 AM
  • Can these be used with raw milk?
  • Yes, the milk kefir grains can be used with raw milk. The process/instructions are the same whether you use raw milk or pasteurized milk.
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• From Nick at 12/17/10 4:26 PM
  • When using milk kefir grains with coconut milk, can it be unsweetened coconut milk that does not contain any sugar?
  • I apologize for the delay responding to your message--it looks like we had a system glitch that delayed these messages coming through to us.
    
    Ideally you'd want to use unsweetened coconut milk. Any additives have the potential to interact negatively with the kefir grains and potentially damage them. Unsweetened would be safest.
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• From Adam at 1/10/11 7:44 PM
  • Hi where are your kefir grains originally sourced/grown? Do you post to Australia?
  • We grow our kefir grains ourselves in a licensed food processing facility--this allows us to maintain the highest quality product. We do ship kefir grains to Australia.
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• From Nick at 1/10/11 11:22 AM
  • I rehydrated my kefir grains in cow milk and they came out great. I then switch to unsweetened organic coconut milk for two days and the grains no longer seem to be active, even after switching back to cow milk. Do you know why this could be? If the milk is unaffected after 24-36 hours are the grains no longer active? Thanks.
  • Kefir grains can take a few days to adjust to a new milk medium. For example, if you switch your kefir grains from cow to goat milk, it can take a few batches for them to adjust to the composition of the new milk and start working properly. Same thing happens if you go from pasteurize cow milk to raw cow milk and sometimes even different brands of milk (feed, etc. can vary from farm to farm). Different chemical compositions can mean an adjustment period of up to a few batches. So go ahead and put them back in coconut milk and give them a batch or two to adjust (maybe just the coconut milk that isn't kefiring in the meantime to cook or in a smoothie or something). They should perk up and start doing their thing in a few days. With coconut milk though you'll need to put them back in cow milk for 24 hours to revitalize for every few weeks they spend in cow milk.
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• From Steena at 1/25/11 4:37 AM
  • How many kefir grains are sold in one box? How many are needed for one batch? I'm new to kefir and I'm just wondering if there's enough for a "backup" in this box? Or enough to share with a friend? Thanks!!
  • Kefir grains are one of the hardiest cultures so there's just one portion in the box. Kefir grains are a wonderful culture for a beginner because they are very easy to use and it's very rare to mess them up. Kefir grains do generally start to multiply after 6-8 weeks and usually within 3-5 months will have grown enough to have extras to share with friends. We can't guarantee they will multiply since it's due to a large number of factors but it's rare for them not to multiply.
    
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• From Emma at 1/28/11 8:38 AM
  • Hello, what is the quantity (tablespoons?) of the grains once rehydrated? Thank you!
  • The milk kefir grains rehydrate to about 2 teaspoons which is sufficient to culture up to a quart of milk every 18-48 hours. Once they begin to multiply, of course, you can culture more milk at one time.
    
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• From Lynn at 2/6/11 12:31 PM
  • Can kefir be made with powdered milk? If so how does this effect quality?
  • Well, you could try it... There's not much information around on whether this would work, or how well. One concern is that powdered milk is highly processed, and is usually very low in fat, so it might not produce a suitably thick result. On the other hand, it does contain lactose, so it would provide sufficient food for the grains.
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• From Nick at 2/11/11 7:12 PM
  • Can heavy whipping cream be cultured with kefir grains? If so, would heavy whipping cream be sufficient to revitalize the grains when used with coconut milk?
  • Heavy whipping cream might be a little too much for a decent result with milk kefir grains. The grains require lactose to survive and reproduce, and there is very little lactose in heavy cream. You could try half-and-half, or even just adding some cream to the milk.
    
    For the same reason, you should use regular milk (whole milk is fine) to revive the grains periodically when you are culturing coconut milk.
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• From Madison at 2/12/11 9:02 PM
  • Will the grains "go bad" if not used frequently enough? Thanks!
  • It's not so much that they would go bad, but they would starve if they don't get fresh milk (for milk grains) or sugar (for water grains). If you want to take a break from making kefir, our packages include instructions for doing that. It's pretty easy.
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• From Terri at 2/21/11 1:48 PM
  • Are milk and water kefir grains the same? Or can they be used interchangeably? Of course the need for several days of adjustment?
  • Milk kefir grains and water kefir grains are actually different organisms. Milk kefir grains eat lactose (present in milk) and water kefir grains eat glucose/sucrose.
    
    Milk kefir grains can be converted (slowly) to work with water, but they can't be converted back. Water kefir grains can't be converted.
    
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