We make kefir also. Only we make it differently, if you take raw (must be) milk and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours, it becomes thick like yogurt only a little more jelly-like. It tastes like plain yogurt, my mom makes fruit smoothies with it and it is delicious. :)

Yes, you make it without the kefir grains. No, it doesn't go bad. If it was store-bought milk it would. The milk cannot be pasturized. It gets thick like yogurt, so no it isn't runny like kefir. I have had kefir(made with the grains) also. If it is bubbly on top it is bad. It should be clear like glass. And you must skim off the cream. (It can't be homogonized either).
When you pasturize the milk you not only kill any bad bacteria but also the good bacteria that is necessary for digestion. We live in a farming community and no one pasturizes the milk. One farmer told my mom when she first moved out here from the city that the day he had to pasturize the milk before he drank it would be the day he would do something else for a living. :)

(That was me that commented before, I wasn't logged in.) :P

I've been wanting to make yogurt for awhile, but am not clear how to go about it. We've recently been getting raw milk from a local farm, and I know it would be more beneficial and easily absorbed by the body if we turned it into kefir or yogurt.

I love reading your website, Tammy! It gives me lots of ideas, although we try not to use much dairy or white flour.

So, would kefir grains work on powdered milk? Because that's what we normally use, since it's cheaper.

Thanks,
Anna

Just yesterday, (the day I think you posted this) my husband and I went to see some friends in another state. My friend offered me some of her kefir grains and even though I had heard about kefir I did not know anything about it really but brought them home. How surprisingly wonderful to come to your site this morning and find instructions! I cannot wait to try. Thank you!

Thanks for all of the info. I just have one question. How do you store the grains when not making kefir? Or do you just continue the cycle and use the grains everday by making kefir continually? I saw that you said that you can freeze or dry them, but is putting them in the fridge okay? How about leaving them at room temp? In the jar with the lid on?
Thanks,
Kristen

*waves* Thanks for Kefir 101! This is lil_irish_lass from LiveJournal...I asked about kefir and two different people referred me here. :D And it was worth the referral, what a great write-up! Now I feel much more confident (my first batch is culturing right now) :)

Hello!
I am so glad I just found your site. I am new to Kefir but I have been playing around with it. Oh, boy it makes the best smoothies.
I have been told that it makes REALLY good sour dough bread also (although I have not made it just yet.)
Well I have to comment because I am new to Kefir and I am really enjoying playing around with it.
I have a list of things I want to try. I have been told you can make a vinegar with it also so that is next on my list.

Thanks again for such a well done post on Kefir!

Dora Renee' Wilkerson
http://bricoreandfamily.blogspot.com/

I don't know if you can actually mess this up or not. I just tried to make kefir for the first time with yogourment kefir starter using ultra-pasteurized goat milk and the directions on the back. It never curdled even after 48 hours. It just got thick and sour smelling. Do you think it is safe to drink even though I left it out that long?

hi Tammy!

I'm curious you mentioned making soy, rice and coconut milk. How would one go about making it? My family and I can't digest cow's milk that well so we drink the alternative.

Jules---too lazy to sign in lol

We belong to a cow share program 9 months of the year and get raw milk. I just thawed one gallon that I had frozen in October and thought that I would try making kefir wih it. I got the yogourmet kefir starter which calls for heating the milk to boiling point before innoculating it with the culture which had been added to a small portion of the cooled milk beforehand. It has been sitting for more than 24 hours and has not curdled. Does frozen milk make a difference? The yogourmet calls for 2% milk. This is whole. Could that make a difference? None of your threads mentions heating the milk. I didn't use a thermometer. Maybe it wasn't heated enough? Would appreciate some feedback. It seems like such an easy thing to do.

Dear Tammy,
As to this: "kefir grains cultured in non-mammalian milk will not continue growing as they otherwise would when cultured in milk from a mammal". How long can I make kefir from excess grains in rice or oat milk? I understand they stop growing in such case, but do I need to simply throw them away after some time or...?
Thank you,
Sandra

I was interested in the comments made about the kefir without animal milk.
A friend gave me a kefir starter (not the grains) which had been made with organic store bought soymilk.
I have continued to use the organic soymilk to make the kefir now for 3 months with no diminishing of the quality of the finished culture.
There are no visible kefir grains in the finished product but the soymilk thickens quite nicely.
Would you know why this still works and if it is as good as the product with the grains?

Tammy:

I really enjoy kefir, and drank it often while pregnant (although I could never quite stomach the plain stuff! I used it for smoothies, or drank it flavored!). I'm breastfeeding now, and my daughter shows a distinct sensitivity to dairy. I know that kefir is more easily digested -- is this just a lactose thing? Or would it actually affect the protein (which, in my understanding, causes the sensitivity)? Any idea whether kefir will affect her or if it would be ok to try?

Thanks!

I have been away for 2 weeks and the kefir definitely smells bad. Can these grains be "rinsed" and reused or do I have to start over?

Hi Tammy,
I was given some grains last week, put them in a jar and added organic milk...3 days later about, I went to drain it off, half of the mixture had separated into clear whey, the grains were in tact, and I strained off the kefir, still leaving a lumpy runny mixture that looks like lumpy yogurt or sour cream. Did I screw up this batch? What should I do with the runny lumpy mixture?
The kefir is not as thick as my first batch?

Thanks for your response.

I thought I'd mention that I make dairy kefir for my children every day, but am not drinking milk myself. So what I do is whenever I get some extra kefir grains (as they multiply) I rinse them well and use them to ferment fruit juice. I did try rice and soy milk, but found that it gave them such a sour, curdled taste. bleck. However, the probiotics will still be in the fruit juice, so I can have the probiotic benefits too, even if I'm not drinking milk.

hello tammy,

have been making kefir for many years/ periodically have a question/
do not know how i missed your site/ it is one of the best/ (simple & direct)
have a few problems which need some clarification
1 – one site stated that after straining the grains should be washed – yes or no?
i have never washed my grains
2 – after straining how long can kefir be kept in the fridge?
3 – it is stated that the grains should not touch metal what about the kefir?
4 – it is stated that kefir should not be heated but can it be added to porridge?

thank you for your help
k

Hi New to site. I am wondering is there any way to make the Kefir thicker? I am just starting to experiment. I have only bought already make Kefir milk in the store. I will be starting my first patch at home this evening. I am trying to increase my mothers health. She is undernourished and doesn't eat anything. she has been put on steroids in hope to build her body's immune system. But she doesn't eat. She does like yogurt like things,so I am going to get her to try Kefir. Thanks Kelley

I tell ya, every time I need information for my homemaking, you're ready with the answer. My kefir grains just died and I really wanted a new one! I do a google search, and here you are with the database. Your bread feeds my family every day, and we are so loyal to your pizza crust it's actually funny. Bless you bless you! ~Emma in Seattle~

Just started making kefir with our goat milk. I also make feta and other soft cheese and wondered if I could use the kefir in place of the buttermilk to make my cheese. Have you or anyone else tried this?
Donna

I just received some grains in the mail. I have been out of town and have no milk in the house. I was wondering if I could use evaporated milk until I get to the store tomorrow?

I have the grains in the fridge with the same milk (1%)for a long, long time. Now I am worried about Listeria, Salmonella and other bacteria that can be dangerous for our health.
I am a senior affraid of getting sick.
Thank you for your help.
Frida

Hi,
I just started make kefir and i have fresh grains put them in milk and on the second time around i fished out the grains with a metal spoon not thinking that i shouldn't. Is my Kefir going to survive or are my grains dead now????

At a local store I purchased some sachets of what is labelled 'kefir' and what, after reading some information on the net about kefir, I think must be dried or powdered grains or, probably. a 'starter. '
A couple of days ago I used them according to the directions. The result looks just like homogonised milk, but maybe, perhaps, a tiny bit thicker than the milk was to start with. (The orginal milk was not homogonised) .
To me it tastes like sour milk but with some other, more unpleasant , taste in addition. Is that how it is supposed to taste - or would it be more palatable if I had made it with live grains? I do not love the taste of natural yoghurt , but at least it does not taste too bad, this 'kefir' I have made tastes awful!
What is your advice?
Jen

Hi Tammy, I made Kefir using raw cow milk and let it sit for about 3 days before I realized it was done fermenting (my first time at this).... anyway, the yeast aroma was very strong and i got a little taken aback with how my body felt after I tasted it., it made me feel a littleweakened I guess... I've made Kefir since which only fermented 24 hours and did not have the same body sensation after... I kept the first batch that sat for 3 days... since it was a total of 3 gallons and I wanted to keep it just in case it could be used for cooking since it was so strong.

Now I've noticed it has a white powdery substance on the top....

does any of this sound familiar to you..

Additionally once I get grains to make future kefir... do you have any recipies for using the kefir in bread making or other cooking? thanks, Susan

Thanks for the wonderful info. I got some kefir grains from someone and the grains do not look like the ones you showed on your pictures. They look more like large sized clumps. Is this just how they started?

Tammy,
I've been exploring various websites about different dairy products. And yesterday I was surfing "Kefir" sites and I came to yours. Let me say that you certainly have shared a lot of good information. I haven't read everything yet, but what I have read was helpful.

I don't have experience baking with Kefir and only tasted my first Kefir this week, so I'm very new with it. But I've been experimenting with yogurt and other dairy products for more than 40 years. And it is fun.

I think it was Susan that asked how you can use Kefir in cooking. Let me say from my own experience with experimenting with yogurt and buttermilk. You can substitute any of these instead of milk in a recipe and it will almost always work. It usually is a little different. And most of the time that will be good. But once in a while it won't work so well in a certain recipe.

For example, I've found that baked things, such as cakes, pancakes and waffles, are generally lighter and fluffier with yogurt and buttermilk than with milk. And I would expect a similar effect with Kefir. Sauces are a little thicker. The flavor is different, too. Duh. It is fun to experiment in this way.

Someone back in 2007 wrote you about making Kefir with raw milk but without the "grains". They thought they were making Kefir, but you corrected them. You were right: there is a big difference. Kefir has a certain combination of bacteria that makes it Kefir. Yogurt has a different group of them, and cultured buttermilk has still others.

One thing you said, however, wasn't correct. Raw milk IS alive. It naturally has many micro-organisms growing in it. Mostly they are friendly bacteria found naturally in milk straight from the cow. So, raw milk can turn into sour milk that is good for you. But pasteurized milk won't sour, but only spoil since all the bacteria have been killed in the pasteurization process.

Also, raw milk from different animals has different stuff in it. Raw goats' milk has different micro-organisms in it. The amount of various minerals, vitamins and trace elements is different. Goats' milk is higher in fat, but cows' milk is higher in cholesterol. And sheeps' milk is much thicker and has much more fat. I hear that some folks milk yaks and horses and water buffalo and camels.

Then there is coconut milk. Now we're getting a little nuts. So, I'll stop.
Bob