Fw: [] Storing kefir grains #1

[Guest guest]

For those with kefir grains in the fridge, please read this about proper storage!

Patty

----- Forwarded Message ----From: marilynjarz <marilynjarz@...> Sent: Friday, November 24, 2006 8:13:50 AMSubject: [] Kefir grain care tip for the day after Thanksgiving - Storing kefir grains #1

Hello Everybody,I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope all thepreparation and festivities did not upset your daily routine too muchespecially regarding taking care of your kefir grains. If you had toput your kefir grain culture jar on hold for whatever reason, this tipis for you.In the last two weeks, I have had to replace kefir grains for at leastfive people. The reason? Everyone of those people thought their kefirgrains were dead and threw them out. Why did they think they weredead? They sat in the refrigerator too long, or on the counter toolong in the same milk. Were they dead? Probably not.While the ideal method to keep kefir grains happy is a daily milkchange, that is not always possible. Things come up. In that case, goahead and put them into the refrigerator, but write yourself areminder that they are in there. Get them back on the counter as soonas you can and get back into

your daily routine. The best mindset isto regard kefir grains as a pet, something that needs daily care. Trynot to think of them as something you can store when you are tired ofmaking kefir. Too many people are "storing" their kefir grains in therefrigerator, and in water, of all things. This really is starvingthem. And that's what I want to address next.What if you didn't know any better and you have been "storing" yourkefir grains and now they are all out of balance and stressed out. Yougave it a shot or two at room temperature and it tastes bad. Whatshould you do? Before opting for new kefir grains, work with what youhave for a little while longer. As long as they are curdling the milkeven a little in a 24 hour period, they are not dead. Most of the timewithin 1 or 2 weeks they will go back into pristine condition with adaily change of milk at room temperature. You'll know they are gettingenough milk if you

strain before separation. This will also keep ittasting good and not too sour. Each time you strain you will noticethey are making kefir that tastes just a little better than the daybefore. That's what I call making magic.Marilyn