Re: Need some thinkin' help

[Guest guest]

Hmm, not sure I had heard about the teflon but I actually have no doubt it will

harm the grains as its made up of a toxic chemical that does not break down in

the environment. The other thing that does harm the grains is silicone, spoons,

cullender, etc. Also probably has a chemical in it that probably leaches. I

use either a hard plastic spoon or bamboo/wooden spoon.

I think always putting the grains in such a tiny amount of milk for a long

period of time is not necessarily a good thing. I think they will run out of

food very quickly, but that may depend on the specific strains of bacteria and

yeasts in your set of grains. My grains grow faster if i put them in a qt mason

jar that is about 3/4 full of raw milk, then I refrigerate. I leave them in the

fridge about 4-5 days, then take the jar out of the fridge to culture, probably

12 hours or so. I watch it closely for the pockets of whey around the jar and

separation. When I start to see those, I strain, I do not leave it longer.

Al

Need some thinkin' help

I am having continual trouble with MKG. This third set I got in Jan has

the biggest grains of the three sets of grains I've used and she measured them

out in 1/4 c measure. The other two were fine grains and that lady measured them

out with a tsp.

These grains have been shrinking on me pretty much from the start. In April I

tried putting some into a baby food jar with milk, and 4 weeks later, I looked

into my untouched, unloved jar and my eyes popped. I had my very own happy

healthy vibrant, shiny grains. But the other jar of kefir and its grains that I

had been changing daily, stayed getting small. So I put them both together into

a new jar of milk and used the both sets like that. Well, the big ones began to

shrink right away. So I felt maybe that my little colander had holes that were

too big. So I went online and bought a set of fine mesh strainers. This started

out to change my kefir and I thought it was now on the upswing.

But, alas, last weekend I put out a WANTED ad on my local freecycle group for

new kefir grains because they have shrank so small that they are now as small as

curds.

Someone who responded to me introduced me to the idea that teflon kills kefir

grains. I had never heard of that. She said she heard about it on this group, so

I looked into the messages today. But there is nothing under " Teflon " about this

talk.

My grains were shrinking months before I got these new mesh strainers, but I am

sure they are probably Teflon. Teflon is hidden in too many things today!

Who can give me some information about this and tell me where I can find a

non-Teflon fine mesh strainer.

As for my troubled shrinking grains, I have put some into my baby food jar with

milk. But that will be a few weeks before I see good results again. Then I asked

my freecycle group if anyone knew of another raw milk farmer in the area where I

now live and someone did. S I have changed my raw milk farmer. I am blessed

because that farm is under 10 miles away. But I wish my former farmer would

treat his cows better because he is right across the road from me. But he never

lets his cows out of their stalls! Tho I did not get milk from him for the first

3 months of having these grains, I did worry about his milk because of that.

This new milk I am getting is very much different. I can only hope it will help

my grains. If anyone else might have a thought I can apply, I am certainly all

ears. After a total of 18 months of failing MKG, I am all out of ideas by this

point.

My dad used to milk cows and he likes this milk lots better, too.

[Guest guest]

Hi Lyn,

I hope the new milk works better for you. It sounds better and is probably worth

the extra miles if it is in your budget. There is a difference in quality of

milk, raw or otherwise.

Last year I gave some of my grains to a local woman. She lives on the other side

of the city, closer to the only raw milk source in our area. I expressed a wish

that I could use the raw milk (just too far away, too expensive for me), but she

told me that the milk had changed and her grains declined when she noticed the

change, and that is why she was getting new grains. She believed that it was the

milk that caused her grains to fail. I don’t know if that’s true or not

because there are other factors that can affect the grains such as metals and

silicone, but she was insistent that it was the milk. When she inspected my

grains she was glad to see fat, white grains. Hers had shrunk and yellowed.

Nylon is an inert substance and will not affect grains. You can buy nylon

strainers in various sizes, but I have only found them on Amazon. I have a

3-inch one because it works for me, but they come in larger sizes.

Here’s a link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042X9XAY/?tag=alabl07-20

The handle is plastic and the mesh is nylon. Use a plastic or wooden spoon, and

glass vessels. Use clean utensils at all times, and make sure everything is

thoroughly rinsed and dried before working with your grains. I hope things work

better for you now, please keep us posted.

[Guest guest]

Lyn,

 

I have found that my grains only like one of the local raw dairy farms' milk

that is around me.  My family like the same one better too.  The milk, to me,

is much more the color it should be...a lightish yellow.  The other one (which

I only use in emergencies when I have under ordered my main source) looks more

like regular white milk from the store.  I do not believe that this one comes

from fully pastured cows and I know from the farmer that he uses Holstein

cows...which are not designed to give milk for very long and are therefore over

milked (the farmer used this as a boasting point and apparently didn't even know

that that one little fact would keep me from even considering his milk on a

regular basis).  My kefir does not like this milk either...it cultures ugly and

tastes nasty and my grains stopped growing (and I have alway had CRAZY HAPPY

grains).  The milk itself even made me sick.  Once back on my prefered milk I

got much better

results.  The milk itself can cause a lot of issues.  If you can see

that the cows are not pastrued then DO NOT use that milk.  Cows are designed

to eat grass and fresh grass at that.  Without it they cannot produce a good

quality milk that is rich in minerals and vitamins.

 

As far as the strainers go...I have used a silicone/plastic strainer for years

and it has never caused an issue...the poor quality raw milk is the only thing

that has ever been an issue.  I would be willing to bet that when you get your

grains into a good milk from grass fed (preferably Jersey or Gernsey cows) that

you will get much better results.  Do not be afraid to ask the farmer about his

practices...type of cow used...pasture time...supplemental feeds

used...antibiotics...organic standards or practices etc.  It is your body that

it will go into so you have a right to know its oragins so that you can make an

educated decision on your source and supplier.  Not all milks are created

equally and neither are dairy farms.  Get to know your farmer.  If your grains

do not grow in your raw milk then there are issues most probably with the

quality of that milk (at least that has been my experience).  My main supplier

has the Texas Dept of Agriculture

out testing bacterial levels and safety standards every week and in the past

almost 10 years I've been using him he has only had to halt selling milk one

week due to bacterial overgrowth in the grass from our last batch of good rain

over 6 years ago...we've been in a drought since (so, one good thing from the

drought .  If you look into Dr. Mercola's web site you will find more

information on what to look for in your raw milk farmer.  I hope this helps and

I hope you are able to figure out what is at the root of your shrinking grains

issue.

 

Thanks,

From: Lyn

Sent: Jun 14, 2012 2:23 PM

mailto:%40

Subject: Need some thinkin' help

I am having continual trouble with MKG. This third set I got in Jan has the

biggest grains of the three sets of grains I've used and she measured them out

in 1/4 c measure. The other two were fine grains and that lady measured them out

with a tsp.

These grains have been shrinking on me pretty much from the start. In April I

tried putting some into a baby food jar with milk, and 4 weeks later, I looked

into my untouched, unloved jar and my eyes popped. I had my very own happy

healthy vibrant, shiny grains. But the other jar of kefir and its grains that I

had been changing daily, stayed getting small. So I put them both together into

a new jar of milk and used the both sets like that. Well, the big ones began to

shrink right away. So I felt maybe that my little colander had holes that were

too big. So I went online and bought a set of fine mesh strainers. This started

out to change my kefir and I thought it was now on the upswing.

But, alas, last weekend I put out a WANTED ad on my local freecycle group for

new kefir grains because they have shrank so small that they are now as small as

curds.

Someone who responded to me introduced me to the idea that teflon kills kefir

grains. I had never heard of that. She said she heard about it on this group, so

I looked into the messages today. But there is nothing under " Teflon " about this

talk.

My grains were shrinking months before I got these new mesh strainers, but I am

sure they are probably Teflon. Teflon is hidden in too many things today!

Who can give me some information about this and tell me where I can find a

non-Teflon fine mesh strainer.

As for my troubled shrinking grains, I have put some into my baby food jar with

milk. But that will be a few weeks before I see good results again. Then I asked

my freecycle group if anyone knew of another raw milk farmer in the area where I

now live and someone did. S I have changed my raw milk farmer. I am blessed

because that farm is under 10 miles away. But I wish my former farmer would

treat his cows better because he is right across the road from me. But he never

lets his cows out of their stalls! Tho I did not get milk from him for the first

3 months of having these grains, I did worry about his milk because of that.

This new milk I am getting is very much different. I can only hope it will help

my grains. If anyone else might have a thought I can apply, I am certainly all

ears. After a total of 18 months of failing MKG, I am all out of ideas by this

point.

My dad used to milk cows and he likes this milk lots better, too.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I have long suspected it was the quality of milk but did not have any experience

in using different milks. I refuse to use a lesser quality just because I'm

running low or out. Some people think there's not much difference between the

milks, even between raw milk farmers. Two farmers on the opposite side of the

road can have drastically different quality milk, all depends on what they feed

them. I personally only use raw organic grass fed, grass finished milk. I

switched milk last year because the farmer was finishing with corn and was

skimming cream off and making cheese to sell, then selling the raw milk as if it

was still whole milk. I think would only be acceptible if they were also

selling raw skim milk too. Otherwise, I think its either stealing from the

customers or just plain deceptive advertising.

Al

Need some thinkin' help

I am having continual trouble with MKG. This third set I got in Jan has the

biggest grains of the three sets of grains I've used and she measured them out

in 1/4 c measure. The other two were fine grains and that lady measured them out

with a tsp.

These grains have been shrinking on me pretty much from the start. In April I

tried putting some into a baby food jar with milk, and 4 weeks later, I looked

into my untouched, unloved jar and my eyes popped. I had my very own happy

healthy vibrant, shiny grains. But the other jar of kefir and its grains that I

had been changing daily, stayed getting small. So I put them both together into

a new jar of milk and used the both sets like that. Well, the big ones began to

shrink right away. So I felt maybe that my little colander had holes that were

too big. So I went online and bought a set of fine mesh strainers. This started

out to change my kefir and I thought it was now on the upswing.

But, alas, last weekend I put out a WANTED ad on my local freecycle group for

new kefir grains because they have shrank so small that they are now as small as

curds.

Someone who responded to me introduced me to the idea that teflon kills kefir

grains. I had never heard of that. She said she heard about it on this group, so

I looked into the messages today. But there is nothing under " Teflon " about this

talk.

My grains were shrinking months before I got these new mesh strainers, but I am

sure they are probably Teflon. Teflon is hidden in too many things today!

Who can give me some information about this and tell me where I can find a

non-Teflon fine mesh strainer.

As for my troubled shrinking grains, I have put some into my baby food jar with

milk. But that will be a few weeks before I see good results again. Then I asked

my freecycle group if anyone knew of another raw milk farmer in the area where I

now live and someone did. S I have changed my raw milk farmer. I am blessed

because that farm is under 10 miles away. But I wish my former farmer would

treat his cows better because he is right across the road from me. But he never

lets his cows out of their stalls! Tho I did not get milk from him for the first

3 months of having these grains, I did worry about his milk because of that.

This new milk I am getting is very much different. I can only hope it will help

my grains. If anyone else might have a thought I can apply, I am certainly all

ears. After a total of 18 months of failing MKG, I am all out of ideas by this

point.

My dad used to milk cows and he likes this milk lots better, too.