FFS: Kefir grains

My kefir grains are eating me out of house and home! Pretty much weekly, I end up with more kefir grain babies than I need for the amount of kefir we consume. So if anyone wants any, let me know. I'll be happy to mail some grains to you. We live in Cleveland, OH.

ETA: just learned that FFS means free for shipping and that I can't change the title of my post. But if you're in the U.S., I'll just mail it for free.

Ooh, please send me some! I left my kefir grains sitting in the kefir for about two months, and I think it destroyed their ability to procreate. I'll pm you with my address!

(Oh - almost forgot to ask - what kind of milk did you grow them in? Either way I'll use them, just will use them with the appropriate kind of milk.)

Great! I just gave some away today to a local mom, but as soon as they overwhelm me again (these are very busy grains) I will mail some off to you. Probably in about a week or two, if that's okay. They've been growing in Organic Valley brand whole milk.

That's perfect, no rush at all. My other grains are grown in raw milk, so it will be good to have grains I can use with the regular milk that I sometimes buy.

Can I join the queue? We've been looking for kefir grains! I'll PM you my address so you have it whenever you end up with enough leftover.

I'm in Israel. And I'm totally confused about Kefir and what to do with these "grains" and the whole bit. Can you explain to us newbies from start to finish?

Thanx.

Sure! It's actually really easy. And once you start, you will want to do it forever. Kefir makes you feel AMAZING.

All you do is get the grains from someone somewhere. Usually you can get them for free since people have extra. (I'll get to why there are extra grains in a second). The grains look like rubbery cauliflower pieces. Anyway, you put the grains in a jar with milk (about a cup of milk for each tablespoon of kefir grains), shake it, and let it sit at room temperature for about 24 hours. You know it's done when there's a slight curd forming on top.

Then, all you do is strain it to separate out the grains and the milk. The strained milk is kefir, and you can drink it right then or pop it in the fridge, where it stays good for up to two weeks. The grains go back in the jar. Then you put fresh milk over the grains in the jar, shake it again, and the cycle continues.

If the grains are happy, they multiply quickly, which is why I always end up with too many grains. I'm the only kefir drinker in the house, so when there are two many grains for the amount of milk I want to kefir-ize, I give the extra away to someone else.

Can you do this with rice milk or soy milk? And is there any point, nutritionally?

Can you add me to the waiting list?

Thanks.

FYI, FFS means you can charge for shipping, but the item is free.

So you can certainly ask people to pay for that (unless it's so inconsequential, that you don't really mind).

Hummmm....it sounds like something I would be into. Does anyone have any grains here in Israel? Is it worth it to use with regular store bought milk? Can you put it in chocolate milk that you buy ready made here in Israel (I'm asking because of my son...not for me...but it does sound kind of yummy, right?) If you use it with one milk and then put it in another kind of milk are there issues? Do you need to rinse them? What happens if they "stop working"? How would you know?

My best friend just got this Kombucha thing. It's very freaky. Same kind of premise in that you soak this mushroom thingy in water and then drink the water and add more and on it goes...I don't really understand this either and don't have time to research.

Anyways, this is all so interesting. Any links to pictures or how to websites?

Thanks Shachar. Totally interesting. How has your life/energy changed since you've began drinking it? How often and how much do you drink every day? What happens if you don't want to use the grains? Like I made some kefirmilk and put it in the fridge and I won't want to make more for another week or so..? Can you store it in something else so it will remain okay?

So many questions!


(that's kefir!)

NPL, kefir is great for you. Among other things, kefir is full of lactobacilli--the healthy bacteria yogurt is known for. According to Dom (the kefir guru)'s free EBook, Kefir has many more types than yogurt and in larger amounts including:

Lactobacillus acidophilus L. brevis L. casei subsp. casei L. casei subsp. rhamnosus L. paracasei subsp. paracasei L. fermentum L. cellobiosus L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis L. fructivorans L. helveticus subsp. lactis L. hilgardii L. helveticus L. kefiri L. kefiranofaciens subsp. kefirgranum L. kefiranofaciens subsp. kefiranofaciens L. parakefiri L. plantarum, etc.

So it's like yogurt plus plus plus. And way cheaper, since the grains self-propagate forever.

And yes, you can use non-dairy milk, but the grains will eventually stop propagating if they never get regular milk.

Jul511Riv--so many questions! . Um..let's see.. I have no idea about chocolate milk. I suppose you can try it once you have extra grains and see what happens. You would know pretty soon if your grains weren't working because your milk would smell rotten (you're leaving it out on the counter, after all) and a curd won't form on top of the milk.

Also, AFAIK, you can switch back and forth between different types of milk with no problem.

Kefir.org has some good info and some pictures, too.

If you get sick of kefir for a while, you can generally leave the grains in milk in the fridge for up to two weeks before starting the cycle again. And if you're really sick of kefir, you can dehydrate or freeze the grains and then start using them when you're in the mood.

I probably should add that it's kind of an acquired taste. It smells kind of yeasty and weird and tastes like yogurt that's yeasty and a teeny bit "off." So I usually end up adding a lot of fruit or agave or maple syrup in it. Thank G-d, since I started drinking it, I feel pretty amazing. I used to have a lot of trouble with yeast and gastro issues and now I don't have trouble with either. I highly recommend it.

I don't remember the exact website, but if you google, you can probably find a site where people from all different countries post that they have extra kefir grains to share. You can probably find someone in Israel.

Oh and Chavi, I will definitely add you to the list.

Also, I have a great kefir EBook (by the kefir guru) with pictures and step-by-step directions that I'd be happy to e-mail to anyone who wants it.

So, any kefir grains I "acquire" will have been started in cows milk or sheeps milk?
Unless it's totally non-dairy, even the grains, I don't think I could tolerate it - it would undo any good the kefir is doing to my gi system!

Sorry--just noticed this now. NPL, are you lactose intolerant? Kefir is supposed to be the only dairy beverage that lactose intolerant people have no problem at all with, especially if they drink it on an empty stomach. I know that dairy usually gives me some stomach upset, but I have no problems at all with kefir.

But yup, any grains you get would probably be started in goat or cow milk.