Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for all your advise, I would be lost without it. Quick question?
Is yeast ok as an ingredient on a kefir starter package?

The brand is "yogourmet". It says Freeze-dried kefir starter.

Able, thanks a lot for taking the time. You're great!!!

Loren,

I've been using Yogourmet for some time now. It's pretty good, and I'd like to think somewhat of a help. It doesn't taste particularly great, but I make a "smoothie" out of it with coconut flour, flaxseed meal, glutamine, oatbran, stevia, cinnamon, ginger, and a little water or almond milk. Comes out pretty tasty that way. Give it a shot.

@Marbro,

If I buy kefir grains, do I also need to buy a mesh strainer, sprouting strainer lid etc?

@M

A strainer makes things a lot easier. I have seen videos of folks not using strainers, some use forks to pick out the grains; I saw one where the kids were using their hands to get all the grains out. A strainer works for me.

In this picture I have a stainless steel strainer for my milk. I was using a smaller plastic one which most kefir growers recommend for the health of the grains. However after some research I found that stainless steel unlike other metals is fine for straining the grains. Read more here http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html#*Note I needed a bigger mesh for my thicker milk kefir:) otherwise I’m standing and straining for 15 minutes. My grains are fine

Which you see in my second picture.






I just take a wooden spoon that is clean and sterile and stir the kefir in the jar, then poor it into the strainer which sits on top of a container that is easy to poor liquid out of. Then I stir the thick kefir around till only the grains are left like in the second picture.

In this picture I show you what I grow my kefir in. And the small strainer I used before. I still use the small strainer for my water kefir which by the way has no problem with a fine mesh.




For the top of the jar, you want to allow air to get out but no bad stuff to get in so I use just a paper towel and rubber band. Easy.

After the kefir is strained, for the milk I store in a plastic container in the fridge. I just keep adding to any left over from the previous batch. This act kind of like how it was originally brewed by the folks in the caucus mountains. Its a form of continual fermentation but by no means necessary. You can clean and use a new container each time.


For my water kefir, I use the 1 gallon spring water jugs. I strain out the water kefir, remove the grains and put them back in my growing jar. I add water from the jugs to the growing jar, and then I take the strained kefir and put it in water jugs. I let mine sit out for another 48 hours then put it in the fridge. This last step is not needed either but I like mine with the least amount of sugar and the most amount of fermentation I can get.

Here is a picture of my water jug with my last batch of water kefir on its second fermentation.



*edit If you do a second fermentation you can tighten the container lid down to get some carbonation. Just make sure you do not fill the container all the way up or it might explode:)

Edited by user Thursday, March 15, 2012 5:00:03 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Thanks! I dont think my water kefir is an issue because Its only in the jugs for 4-6 days before im on to my next jug of water. But my milk kefir in the fridge might be an issue. I will switch to a glass one. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks a lot everyone!!! I just made my first kefir and I have to say no bad, no bad... :)

It should be fermented for at least 24 hours to allow for grains to eat all the sugar. You can experiment with the amount of grains and milk. If you have more milk, kefir is a little milder. Every time my kefir gets too strong (and I can handle it pretty strong), I toss out half of my grains and then it gets milder and thicker for a while.

Arijana