Kefir

[Karen Miller]

Kefir question: When I was done milking my goats last Fall I decided to try to keep my kefir grains alive in the fridge using pastuerized milk from the store because I didn't have any more goat milk. I have had them in the same jar for the past 5 months and I took them out today and strained them and they look great. They smell like yeast, but they are still in the form of grains. I expected to find soup. Do you think it's o.k to still use them?

[Kristi Stone]

*just different

[Kristi Stone]

You're welcome, glad to share what little I know. You're right, kefir grains are amazing, and the truth is that making kefir is an art. It never seems to turn out the same, and there are so few forms of it that are actually bad, nusy different. My last batch smells really awful (think stinky cheese) and is separated and runny, and lo and behold, it's still good, just acidic (not my favorite, so the chickens get it). The batch before that was almost a pudding consistency. Temps have been fluctuating around here so that's been affecting my kefir making.

[Karen Miller]

Hi Kristi,  Thank you for this info.  My kefir grains are fine.  It took me a few days of changing the milk and they are working very well now.   They are pretty amazing.  I had no idea they would survive that long in the refrigerator, untouched.    ;-) 

[Kristi Stone]

Hi Karen, first off I want to say that I'm definitely not an expert on milk kefir. I guess you could say that I have been a milk kefir maker "in training" for the past 3-4 months. From what I understand, if your grains still look good and they don't smell bad, you should make a batch and see how it is. When I asked my friend (who, by the way, uses it for her, her husband, and some of her livestock--she's got 130 goats, llamas, camels. emus, sheep, etc.) how I know if it goes bad, she said it's like sour cream---if there is no mold, it's fine.

I'm not sure that is helpful at all, but I'll bet your kefir grains are just fine. :)