Kefir Grain Instructions
Thank you for your kefir grain donation!
Here are some basic instructions to get you started with your new kefir grains. We also recommend that you watch all of our videos posted on this page as well.
After receiving your grains, open the plastic bags and pour the contents into a strainer that has been set over a jar or bowl. The kefired milk will pour through to the bowl below leaving your grains in the strainer.
The grains should be more or less separated from the kefir. As the kefir can become thick after being so long in the mail, it may stick to the grains. You can shake the strainer to get the kefir into the bowl or use clean hands to gently swish the contents around so that the kefir moves through the strainer. After the days the grains have spent in transit, it is also possible that kefir in your bag is over cultured. There may be a strong odor and it may have a cheesy consistency or be in curds. If so, you can gently rinse the grains in warm water to remove the cottage cheese like over-kefired milk off of them before putting them into fresh milk.
Now that the grains are free from excess kefir, they are ready to be placed in a small jar. We ship a heaping tablespoon of grains which should turn about 2 cups of milk or 1/2 of a 1 quart mason jar of milk into nutritious kefir in about 24 hours. The grains should be strained every day. They will grow quickly so more milk will need to be added day after day unless you remove some of the grains. The more grains you have the more milk you will need. The hotter the room temperature is the quicker the grains will kefir. So it is a living process and it takes some experience but over time you will learn how much milk to use and when to pour the grains through the strainer.
Here are some pictures to help with the process.
Pictured on the left is a quart jar. This is about the size jar you want to start off with when you get your new grains. The grains should be able to kefir a jar of this size 1/2 full of milk in about 24 hours.
Pictured on the right is a 1/2 gallon mason jar full of milk that has become kefir. In these pictures, the kefir has over kefired a bit. You can see that there is a great deal of separation between the the curds and whey. The whey is the clear yellowish liquid between the curds. Most people want to pour their kefir before it gets this much separation. The kefir from this batch will be sour and it will be very thick. The longer it kefirs, the more sour it gets. So when you see a few lines of separation then it is time to strain the kefir. The kefir from this batch is perfectly fine though and if you like the taste of sour kefir, it will have more healthy flora than a less developed batch. This batch would also make good kefir cheese if strained through cheese cloth.
Please notice that these jars also have plastic mason lids resting on top. Stay away from metal lids here. If you have to use a metal lid make sure it does not touch the grains. Also in the picture you can see the lids are not screwed on. Kefir ferments and releases carbon dioxide. Kefir has a very low alcohol content and by letting the carbon dioxide escape, it helps the kefir not to have a skunky or yeasty taste.
Once you have strained the grains and placed them in fresh milk, it is time to store the grains in a dark place in a cupboard or something like that. Monitor the grains after15 hours or so looking for lines of whey separating from the curd. When you see some of those lines, strain your grains and repeat the process every day. Kefir that has been strained can be stored in or out of the refrigerator. You will find that the kefir continues to ferment and it will get thicker and more sour each day. If it gets too sour pets will love it.
So this is the basic information about how to make kefir with your new grains. Remember kefir grains are a living organism and the environment that they live in is an ecosystem. So you are in fact managing a living environment. It takes a little practice but with a little effort you can produce quality nutritious kefir.
If you would like to support the Pockets of the Future Project, prayers, encouragement and donations are always welcome.
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