Kefir Grains - Living Probiotic Enriched "As seen on TV"

This is my second time buying from this seller. They deliver an excellent product! When you first get your grains they are going to look *very* small and nothing like the picture. There isn't anything wrong with them, this is how they are shipped so they survive the journey. You will need to spend a couple days to a week "healing" them before they're actually able to produce drinkable kefir. The way I "heal" my grains when I first get them is I put the grains straight into about two to three ounces of milk for 24 hrs and change out their milk every 12-24 hrs for about a week. For that first week the milk barely changes at all, it will be very watery and won't really ferment much. But after a couple of days, you will notice a change in your grains as they start to get plumper and grow. As they do, you'll start noticing the milk gets a bit thicker. How quickly your grains heal, grow and ferment will depend on the temperature in your home. The warmer it is the faster they ferment and vice versa. Once you get them going you will have kefir grains coming out your ears! I had jars and jars of them and had to find new homes for all the grains as I couldn't keep up! You can eat the grains as a way to keep their growth under control, it is a very cheap but potent probiotic "pill" if you will. I've been making kefir for about two years now and here are some tips for anyone interested (the seller sends some excellent directions with their product as well) Making Homemade Kefir What you need: - clean glass jars, quart size with wide mouth work great - a nonmetal sieve - Amazon sells a good nylon sieve here: [...] - a plastic spatula - freshly cleaned hands and counter surfaces - fresh non-homogenized milk The ratio of kefir grains to milk is 1:7. I usually use whole non-homogenized milk. Kefir can be fermented from 12-48 hrs at room temperature. You don't need any fancy equipment like a yogurt maker just some free counter space for your jar to sit. I usually use a 24 hr schedule for my kefir but you can experiment and find what you like, the longer it goes the stronger and tarter it will be and also the less lactose it will contain as you've given the culture a longer time to consume the lactose sugars. After it has sat undisturbed for 8 hours you can also stir it with plastic spoon to increase the fermentation speed. When you are ready to strain your kefir, wash your hands, the counter and make sure you have a clean quart jar, nylon sieve, plastic spoon (or spatula) and something to strain the kefir into such as a bowl or large measuring cup (2-4 cup capacity). Stir kefir with plastic spoon to break up the curd and make it easier to strain. Pour the kefir into the nylon sieve and tap firmly on the edge of the bowl or measuring cup to get the kefir to strain through mesh and into the bowl. The longer you've let the kefir ferment the more persistent you will have to be to get it to strain as it will be thicker. Continue filling the sieve and tapping until you only have kefir grains remain in the sieve. Place grains into your clean quart jar (I don't rinse my grains although some people do, I find my grains are "healthier" if I don't rinse them), add fresh milk and place lid lightly on top (don't screw closed). Set out of the way where the jar will not be moved or disturbed while it ferments (it needs to be undisturbed for the first 8 hrs, after which you can stir it to increase the fermentation process as noted above). Store your newly strained kefir in the fridge in a jar with a tightly fitted lid. Kefir should stay fresh for over a week at least. If you don't have a plastic sieve yet, you can use your clean fingers. Stir kefir with the plastic spoon as stated above to break up the curd then pour the contents into a shallow bowl. Use your fingers to "comb" through the kefir and fish out the individual grains and place them in a clean jar. Once you've found all your grains you can whisk the kefir left in the bowl to give it a better consistency which will help combining the kefir and whey. After whisking pour contents of bowl in glass container and store in fridge with a tightly fitted lid. Don'ts - Don't screw lid tight on jar, the kefir needs to breath, it is an aerobic culture! Set lid so it just covers jar and prevents fruit bugs and other foreign objects from contaminating kefir - Never place kefir grains in hot jar. Heat can damage and kill the kefir. If jar is hot out of the dishwasher, pour fresh milk in first before introducing grains - Don't use any metal objects with the kefir grains, only glass or plastic Dos - Do wash your hands and make sure you are working with a clean jar, surface, and plastic utensils - Only rinse grains if they get contaminated by falling on an unclean surface. Rinse in cool (never hot) filtered water - Drink kefir straight after straining while it is still room temperature, chilled and plain, mixed with honey and vanilla, or blended with honey, vanilla, and a combination of the following: coconut oil, peanut butter, dark chocolate and/or your favorite fruit! - Visit Dom's Kefir Making Website: [...] he's consider the "guru" of kefir making, you will find a lot of good info and history there There are tons of other resources out there but this is the system I found to work well with the kefir grains I bought from this seller. Hope you have fun and enjoy! :)

These grains grew so quickly, I can barely keep up. I love the taste of the kefir they produce. I was new at this, and at first approached the process very cautiously. I would keep them in the oven overnight with the light on to keep them warm, since I turn my thermostat down to 60 at night. I would start a new batch by putting milk in the mason jar and put it in a warm water bath in order to warm the milk to room temperature before introducing the grains. That went on for a couple of weeks, until I got lazy. Now I just toss them into a mason jar, pour the icy cold milk from my 36 degree fridge over them, slap on a mason lid & ring nice and tight, and put it on a dark shelf in my closet. 24 hrs later, done (sometimes sooner) No more pampering. They keep growing and growing. Sometimes I just put the extras in the blender with the kefir and fruit when I make a smoothie. If I leave too many grains in the batch, it either turns to kefir too quickly, or makes more kefir than I can consume as a single person. You have to get rid of them somehow. I frequently do a 2nd culture with fruit after removing the grains. The finished kefir keeps well in the fridge. I've made kefir "cream cheese"..... or something with that texture, that I've then turned into dip. I use raw milk, but have also used pasturized, unhomoginized milk. I imagine it would do well with any milk as long as it is not ultra-pasturized. These grains are great. You will have more than you know what to do with in a very short time. Update: January 2015 These little guys are still doing great, still multiplying readily and making fabulous kefir. I can't believe I've had the same kefir for nearly two years.

I ordered these Kefir grains due to the excellent reviews written on Amazon. They were shipped from Kentucky to Idaho. I received what looked like a 1/4 teaspoon of a milky substance in a tiny zip lock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap. I immediately put them in a cup of cold pasteurized whole milk. It took 7 days and 3/4 gallon of milk to revive the grains. I knew they were starting to perk up when they no longer smelled like yeast but smelled like kefir. They continue to be fragile but are growing. I am now leaving the grains in the milk for 48 hours before straining, pouring the 48 hour kefir into a clean jar and leaving the jar on the counter top to ripen for another 12 hours. Finally, the kefir is thickening. I emailed the seller and he responded quickly, even refunding my payment. I also emailed the Kefir Lady who gave me some very good advise and told me to keep trying because the grains are resilient and it takes time for the grains to recover. I wanted to purchase more grains from her because she mails you 2+ tablespoons (so you don't have to wait so long to produce kefir but she told me to give these a chance. I now have 2 cups of pleasant smelling/tasting kefir in the refrigerator and another cup fermenting in the cupboard. The grains have multiplied but due to the very small amount supplied, I only have about 2 tablespoons. I'm sure in another week I'll have more than enough. The seller told me to drink only small amounts until my system acclimates to the bacteria which was good advise because my tummy was rumbling last evening after drinking 1/2 cup. It is strong stuff so he does not want you to make too much at first because it may tempt you to drink more than you should, turning your bowel into an underground volcano. I am satisfied with the quality of the kefir. I do wish I had been sent at least two teaspoons because it really took some TLC to revive these grains.