keep the starter grains???

[Guest guest]

hi everyone,

I am just making sure that I am making my kefir the correct way.

After starting the culture do i save the few large pieces that I started the

kefir with? Do I always have to transfer these same starter pieces to the next

batch of milk? Or do I just take any of the curds from the kefir and put it

into the next jar of milk?

I guess what I'm asking is do I have to keep the initial few grains that I

started with?

thanks,

[Guest guest]

Hi, . You're correct--you keep and reuse the initial grains.

You'll probably never get them confused with milk curds, because the

curds break up at the slightest pressure, while grains are cohesive

and almost rubbery. They will actually grow, and you may eventually

have to break them up into smaller pieces, and you will definitely

have extras you should store or get rid of.

-Dan

On Thu, Jan 28, 2010 at 3:57 PM, Priceless <his4mine@...> wrote:

> After starting the culture do i save the few large pieces that I started the

kefir with?  Do I always have to transfer these same starter pieces to the next

batch of milk?

[Guest guest]

Yes, you keep those original grains and use them over and over. They will start

to increase, and then you will want to do something with your extras, you want

to keep the grains to milk ratio the same once you get your kefir like you like

it. If you just let them grow, and keep adding the same amount of milk as

always, your kefir will start to be very sour, and separate quickly.

Beth in MN

>

> hi everyone,

>

> I am just making sure that I am making my kefir the correct way.

>

> After starting the culture do i save the few large pieces that I started the

kefir with? Do I always have to transfer these same starter pieces to the next

batch of milk? Or do I just take any of the curds from the kefir and put it

into the next jar of milk?

>

> I guess what I'm asking is do I have to keep the initial few grains that I

started with?

>

> thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

okay thanks to everyone who has answered. Now I have another question. How can

I tell when new ones have grown? What do they look like? Are they more rubbery

and harder?? Do the original grains get bigger?

Confused.

thanks!

>

> hi everyone,

>

> I am just making sure that I am making my kefir the correct way.

>

> After starting the culture do i save the few large pieces that I started the

kefir with? Do I always have to transfer these same starter pieces to the next

batch of milk? Or do I just take any of the curds from the kefir and put it

into the next jar of milk?

>

> I guess what I'm asking is do I have to keep the initial few grains that I

started with?

>

> thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

It could be either, or both! The grains you have might just get bigger and

bigger, in which case you might want to break them into pieces after a while,

and would have to do that to reduce them if you get to much for the milk you

want to use, or you might just see more and more little cauliflower-looking

clumps in your container, the newest ones will usually be smaller.

Beth in MN

>

> okay thanks to everyone who has answered. Now I have another question. How

can I tell when new ones have grown? What do they look like? Are they more

rubbery and harder?? Do the original grains get bigger?

> Confused.

>

> thanks!

>