Need some thinkin' help

[Guest guest]

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.