Re: MK grains growth - Help

[Guest guest]

Lyn, perhaps you can clarify something: from what I just read of your post,

you are leaving your milk kefir grains to sit for FIVE days, is this right?

If so, then you are leaving your grains for far too long, they are

starving: they are like children who aren't being fed, they don't grow.

Unless you live in a house that is very very cold, like fifty degrees, if

your home temperature is anywhere between 70 and 80 degrees or higher, then

your milk kefir grain are ready to be strained at a maximum of 2 full days

(48 hours). This means you will be straining your milk every other day.

Like, Monday morning and then again Wednesday morning. You will be going

through a lot of milk! Fresh milk will keep the grains fat, happy, and

growing. You will have more and more grains, and unless you buy gallons of

milk you will have to end up eating your excess grains or giving them to

other people or putting them in your garden or your toilet.

Kim

[Guest guest]

Another thought, Lyn, is that you must be leaving your grains too long,

because the cream cheese consistency you are talking about is when kefir is

left too long.

You are supposed to pour the fresh milk in a clean jar, pop some grains in

, cover tightly with a paper towel or napkin over the top, and let it sit

for about 18 to 24 hours. If there is clearish-yellow liquid on the

bottom, or separation throughout the white stuff, it means that it has gone

for too long and is turning to cheese. You need to change it out a bit

sooner.

Anyway, let's assume that this first time around you put the grains, and

just grains, in a jar with fresh milk. You take a paper towel and put it

over the top of the jar and put a rubber band around the top to keep the

paper towel tight. You do this at 8 on Monday morning. Your house is

pretty comfortable, like 72 degrees. 24 hours later, at Tuesday 8 in the

morning, your kefir is going to be ready. When you put it through the

strainer It pours out like a thick milkshake, or runny yogurt. That's what

the consistency should be like. Then you take the stuff you just poured

out--the kefir without the grains--and put it in the refrigerator. It will

get a little thicker in the refrigerator. You then take the grains still

in the strainer and you put them in a new glass jar with more fresh milk.

This time you let the kefir sit for about 30 hours, so you strain it

Wednesday afternoon. Now it will be more sour and even a little bit fizzy

on your tongue, maybe. You put THIS stuff in the refrigerator, too. Of

course you put the jar with the fresh milk and the grains on your counter

or on a shelf--you don't put it in the refrigerator.

So then you decide on Thursday at 8 in the morning you are going to change

your kefir again, just like you did yesterday (Wednesday) at 2 in the

afternoon. Which means it's just been 18 hours. You strain the kefir

again, take the grains and put them in a new jar with fresh milk, cover and

put it in the normal place on the counter or wherever. Let;'s say that

this batch of strained " stuff " tastes very mild, not tart, and it's very

runny. You put *this bat*ch of *finished kefir* in the refrigerator, where

it will last for about 2 weeks.* *

*

*

You will now have three jars of kefir in your refrigerator (unless you

drank them all!) and they wil lthicken and become more tart as time goes

on. They will last about 1 or 2 weeks in there.

* *

What you have just done is tried fermenting the kefir for 3 differnt

lengths of time, and you've found what tastes to you. So you have an idea

of how long you can let your kefir " go " before you have to change it out.

Hope this helps, Kim

The kefir is kind of like a goldfish, it needs to be take care of every day

or a little bit longe,r but no

[Guest guest]

I don know...hmmm, you are putting 3/4 cup of grains in a two qt jar full of

milk. I think you might try as an experiment 1 TBS of grains with 1 qt of milk.

That gives the grains lots to eat and see what happens.

Al

MK grains growth - Help

I have had trouble growing grains for too long. This is the third set of

grains in16 months and I cannot recognize real growth even after 3 months of

daily kefir making with these newest ones. These grains were large, so I thot

they would take off.

I got me a finer strainer and have used that since Mon. So for three days, after

straining, I wld put all the cheesy thick stuff and the few grains I got in

January back into the jar. Should I keep doing that? I have about 3/4 c thick

cheese and grains and I use a 2 qt jar to make my kefir.

(For the last 2 I have only just covered all this w/milk and have not touched

it. I just check it every day. The next might explain why I am doing this:

Part 2 of my request is, I have been performing an experiment for two months. I

had a baby food jar that I put a couple of my big grains into and some milk.

Most jars I let sit up to 5 days between straining--meaning, I don't pay

attention to this jar at all. lol The result I am seeing is: They are growing,

slowly but very noticably! In fact, I just noticed this for sure Monday when I

strained them.

Tho I thot I was seeing growth as soon as a week ago. And these grains are

pretty! They are my prettiest grains. They are big and creamy and glow and

reflect light. They are the most like cauliflour of the two methods. Tuesday I

put these into a 4 oz jar because I know they are growing now.

This little jar never separates curds and whey. And it never looks starved and

it apparently isn't because the grains looks so wonderful. And it never gets

like cream cheese like my 2 qt jar does.

That is why I am now tring jus a covering of milk in my 2 qt jar.

Does anyone have any thots to help me think this through?

My goal is, I want my grains to grow.

Lyn

[Guest guest]

Hi Lyn,

When you strain your grains, you should try to put just the grains in with new

milk, not including the “cheesy thick stuff.†Eat the cheese. How much

culture do you have, not counting the cheese? You might be using too much milk

for the amount of culture you’ve got. You can give them a rinse if needed to

separate the grains from the cheese to see how much you actually have. If you

have about a Tbs of grains, try with 2 cups milk to start.

When I was having difficulty getting my grains to work properly I tried all

sorts of things too, one of which was putting them in a smaller container and

adding a smaller amount of milk. That was when they finally clicked and

thickened the milk properly. Before, they were going from milk directly to fully

separated curds and whey, and the kefir never set. Using a smaller amount of

milk makes the kefir much more sour tasting, but once it works right you can

adjust the amount of milk for the flavor balance you like.

If you just want to grow grains you can use less milk and follow your

experimental procedure. Doing it this way, you might notice some yellowish or

pinkish discoloration around the grains indicating they have become

contaminated, but rinsing the grains each time you strain keeps that in check.

Some people who follow the Russian tradition of kefir making keep their grains

in “storage†like what you describe with your little jars, only taking out

grains when they want to make a batch of kefir, and then putting them back in

the storage jar to wait for the next use. The milk in the storage jar is changed

out only every few weeks (yes weeks!). That very sour ‘storage’ milk is used

for bread making or other use that can handle the much more sour milk.

Lyn wrote:

<snip>So for three days, after straining, I wld put all the cheesy thick stuff

and the few grains I got in January back into the jar. Should I keep doing that?

I have about 3/4 c thick cheese and grains and I use a 2 qt jar to make my

kefir.

<snip>I have been performing an experiment for two months. I had a baby food jar

that I put a couple of my big grains into and some milk. Most jars I let sit up

to 5 days between straining--meaning, I don't pay attention to this jar at all.

lol The result I am seeing is: They are growing, slowly but very noticably! In

fact, I just noticed this for sure Monday when I strained them.

<snip>This little jar never separates curds and whey. And it never looks starved

and it apparently isn't because the grains looks so wonderful. And it never gets

like cream cheese like my 2 qt jar does.

That is why I am now tring jus a covering of milk in my 2 qt jar.

Does anyone have any thots to help me think this through?

My goal is, I want my grains to grow.

Lyn

[Guest guest]

Lyn, I've had my MKG since September. All fall & winter, I regulated the

ferment by reducing the number of my small grains. Since it has warmed up, I've

had to put my freshly set up jar in the frig for 12-14 hours until leaving it

out overnight. Why, I can't say, but my pea sized grains are now marble sized

and multiplying. So, if you are up to another experiment....

All the best, LaDonna

>

> I have had trouble growing grains for too long. This is the third set of

grains in16 months and I cannot recognize real growth even after 3 months of

daily kefir making with these newest ones. These grains were large, so I thot

they would take off.

>

> I got me a finer strainer and have used that since Mon. So for three days,

after straining, I wld put all the cheesy thick stuff and the few grains I got

in January back into the jar. Should I keep doing that? I have about 3/4 c thick

cheese and grains and I use a 2 qt jar to make my kefir.

>

> (For the last 2 I have only just covered all this w/milk and have not touched

it. I just check it every day. The next might explain why I am doing this:

>

> Part 2 of my request is, I have been performing an experiment for two months.

I had a baby food jar that I put a couple of my big grains into and some milk.

Most jars I let sit up to 5 days between straining--meaning, I don't pay

attention to this jar at all. lol The result I am seeing is: They are growing,

slowly but very noticably! In fact, I just noticed this for sure Monday when I

strained them.

>

> Tho I thot I was seeing growth as soon as a week ago. And these grains are

pretty! They are my prettiest grains. They are big and creamy and glow and

reflect light. They are the most like cauliflour of the two methods. Tuesday I

put these into a 4 oz jar because I know they are growing now.

>

> This little jar never separates curds and whey. And it never looks starved and

it apparently isn't because the grains looks so wonderful. And it never gets

like cream cheese like my 2 qt jar does.

>

> That is why I am now tring jus a covering of milk in my 2 qt jar.

>

> Does anyone have any thots to help me think this through?

>

> My goal is, I want my grains to grow.

>

> Lyn

>

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: " " <jdpro@...>

Hi Lyn,

>>When you strain your grains, you should try to put just the grains in with new

milk, not including the “cheesy thick stuff.†Eat the cheese. How much

culture do you have, not counting the cheese? You might be using too much milk

for the amount of culture you’ve got. You can give them a rinse if needed to

separate the grains from the cheese to see how much you actually have. If you

have about a Tbs of grains, try with 2 cups milk to start.<<

Since my grains never grew, only the cheesy stuff, I did not ever want to eat

that. But about 5 days after starting to use my new fine mesh strainer, all my

cheesy stuff disappeared completely. I was worried when I saw that, but then

days later, I saw change in the shape of the big grains. Today my grains are

DEFINITELY growing much larger and now my kefir texture has even changed to

creamy. No curds and whey.

So the key for me was using a fine mesh strainer, instead of a normal small

colander.

>>When I was having difficulty getting my grains to work properly I tried all

sorts of things too, one of which was putting them in a smaller container and

adding a smaller amount of milk. That was when they finally clicked and

thickened the milk properly. Before, they were going from milk directly to fully

separated curds and whey, and the kefir never set. Using a smaller amount of

milk makes the kefir much more sour tasting, but once it works right you can

adjust the amount of milk for the flavor balance you like.<<

Hmmm...Mine in my baby food jar was not sour. :-]

>>If you just want to grow grains you can use less milk and follow your

experimental procedure. Doing it this way, you might notice some yellowish or

pinkish discoloration around the grains indicating they have become

contaminated, but rinsing the grains each time you strain keeps that in check.<<

I am still continuing my experiment with my little jar. It's fun since I knew my

grains were growing. It has not gotten discolored yet so thanks for the warning

not to be scared if I see that and for telling me what to do.

>>Some people who follow the Russian tradition of kefir making keep their grains

in “storage†like what you describe with your little jars, only taking out

grains when they want to make a batch of kefir, and then putting them back in

the storage jar to wait for the next use.<

AMAZING for ME to actually fall upon an idea that I find out is a well known

practice! WOWY. This has got to be a first for me.

>> The milk in the storage jar is changed out only every few weeks (yes

weeks!).<<\\

I really did wonder why my grains never starved.

>>That very sour ‘storage’ milk is used for bread making or other use that

can handle the much more sour milk.<

I would love to find out how to make that bread. I am having alot of trouble

getting my current starter active and maybe a kefir starter would click for me.

In the beginning when I learned of sourdough bread, and then when I learned

about kefir, I actually thot that kefir was the base of sourdough bread because

kefir is sour. But I never found a recipe. Does anyone know of one they can pass

on to me?

Lyn wrote:

So for three days, after straining, I wld put all the cheesy thick stuff and the

few grains I got in January back into the jar. Should I keep doing that? I have

about 3/4 c thick cheese and grains and I use a 2 qt jar to make my kefir.

I have been performing an experiment for two months. I had a baby food jar that

I put a couple of my big grains into and some milk. Most jars I let sit up to 5

days between straining--meaning, I don't pay attention to this jar at all. lol

The result I am seeing is: They are growing, slowly but very noticably! In fact,

I just noticed this for sure Monday when I strained them.

This little jar never separates curds and whey. And it never looks starved and

it apparently isn't because the grains looks so wonderful. And it never gets

like cream cheese like my 2 qt jar does.

That is why I am now trying just a covering of milk in my 2 qt jar.

Does anyone have any thots to help me think this through?

My goal is, I want my grains to grow.

Lyn