Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 I just re-read Heidi's pdf on kefir beer and was wondering about the comment that kefir grains must be refreshed after 6 months. What does that mean and how do you do it? Thanks, Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Ron- >I just re-read Heidi's pdf on kefir beer and was wondering about the comment >that kefir grains must be refreshed after 6 months. What does that mean and >how do you do it? Put them in milk and let them normalize their mix of organisms. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 [Ron] I just re-read Heidi's pdf on kefir beer and was wondering about the comment that kefir grains must be refreshed after 6 months. What does that mean and how do you do it? [] Put them in milk and let them normalize their mix of organisms. [MAP] Actually, it means discard the grains and bring in a new batch. Kefir grains eventually die in non-milk media and generally cannot be rescued after spending a lot of time away from milk in water kefir. The idea behind Heidi's system is that you raise kefir grains in milk separately from your kefir beer cycle so that you always have new kefir grains on hand when the time comes to refresh your kefir beer starter. It's pretty easy to do SCOBY micro-farming. Mike SE Pennsylvania The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Mike- >[MAP] Actually, it means discard the grains and bring in a new batch. Oh, really? I know they eventually die in other media, but you can rehabilitate them before that. Six months is too late? - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 >Ron- > >>I just re-read Heidi's pdf on kefir beer and was wondering about the comment >>that kefir grains must be refreshed after 6 months. What does that mean and >>how do you do it? I replace them after they start getting small. They don't thrive in milk at all, and eventually they start shrinking. I usually have lots of extras, so I just throw in some new ones. It could be you could put them back in some milk with some active milk kefir grains and they'll revive ... I haven't tried. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 > Oh, really? I know they eventually die in other media, but you can > rehabilitate them before that. Six months is too late? > - , the question was directed at MAP, but there are anecdotal observations implying that the microflora changes so much after numerous weeks (perhaps months) in non-dairy media that the grains won't again make a 'proper' milk kefir although you will get a fermentation of a sort. The exact amount of time it takes before the grains can't be rehabilitated is kind of fuzzy. Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 Darrell- >but there are anecdotal >observations implying that the microflora changes so much after >numerous weeks (perhaps months) in non-dairy media that the >grains won't again make a 'proper' milk kefir although you will get >a fermentation of a sort. You mean dairy kefir grains could possibly be permanently compromised by less than a month in other media? Fascinating! I thought they were much more durable than that, but I have little direct experience. - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 >You mean dairy kefir grains could possibly be permanently compromised by >less than a month in other media? Fascinating! I thought they were much >more durable than that, but I have little direct experience. > >- I've had some get " messed up " by getting too hot, and was able to reconstitute them by putting them in some milk with some healthy kefir grains. But I haven't tried that with the fruit juice kefir grains. They might do just fine, given that they can reconstitute even after being dried. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 --- In , " Darrell " <lazlo75501@y...> wrote: > , the question was directed at MAP, but there are anecdotal > observations implying that the microflora changes so much after > numerous weeks (perhaps months) in non-dairy media that the > grains won't again make a 'proper' milk kefir although you will get > a fermentation of a sort. The exact amount of time it takes before > the grains can't be rehabilitated is kind of fuzzy. > Darrell, How to discern a proper from improper milk kefir? B. /tends toward the improper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 > Darrell, > How to discern a proper from improper milk kefir? > B. , The source of that info is Dominic Anfiteatro's website. He is perhaps the one who could make that more clear. Maybe someone who has some milk grains in severe need of refreshing due to being used in water-based media could make several batches of milk kefir and give their results. Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 > >>I just re-read Heidi's pdf on kefir beer and was wondering > about the comment > >>that kefir grains must be refreshed after 6 months. What > does that mean and > >>how do you do it? > > I replace them after they start getting small. They don't thrive > in milk at all, and eventually they start shrinking. I usually have > lots of extras, so I just throw in some new ones. > > It could be you could put them back in some milk with > some active milk kefir grains and they'll revive ... I haven't > tried. Got it. I get a pretty nice consistent growth from my weekly milk kefir so I have enough grains to replace the water kefir grains as they age. Thanks, Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 12, 2005 Report Share Posted January 12, 2005 > > Oh, really? I know they eventually die in other media, but you can > > rehabilitate them before that. Six months is too late? > > - > > , the question was directed at MAP, but there are anecdotal > observations implying that the microflora changes so much after > numerous weeks (perhaps months) in non-dairy media that the > grains won't again make a 'proper' milk kefir although you will get > a fermentation of a sort. The exact amount of time it takes before > the grains can't be rehabilitated is kind of fuzzy. Okay. This makes sense. I'll play with my grains as they age and see what happens. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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