Kefir grains literally last forever. That is if you take good care of it. Kefir grains will keep multiplying for years on end. What this means is, you can make kefir grains into kefir for as long as you want.
And with a continued kefir diet, you get a healthier body, a more alert mind and a fatter wallet from all your savings from both food and medication bills.
Caring for your kefir grains is vital so they grow faster and give you the best kefir possible. There are so many ways people keep and take care of their kefir grains and they can vary from person to person.
Through long experimentation, we have compiled a list of important tips that will help you take care of your kefir grains and keep them alive so they can reach their full potential.
Handling Kefir Grains
- Use plastic – We had mixed results for this. 70% had no problems at all with metal contact. To be safe, we suggest you stick with plastic strainers and spoons when there is contact with the kefir grains.
- Rinsing not needed – From years of data, we can surely say that rinsing away the fat solids with unchlorinated water is acceptable but do limit it. Rinsing too much could hurt the grains. Notice I mentioned unchlorinated? That means you have to avoid using tap water as it may contain chlorine that kills bacteria.
- Population explotion – You can divide it and give to your friends. Spread the love.
Storing Kefir Grains
- Put in paper envelope after drying – you can leave this for over a year and they will still be alive. Just make sure of the surrounding conditions.
- Store in refrigerator with milk - Be sure to change the milk after a week or two to keep them growing. From our tests, the kefir grains will last for 2 to 3 weeks normally but on some occasions will last over a couple months.
- No milk? Use sugar water – Using water is fine but you have to add sugar to feed the bacteria.
- Don’t deep freeze – From our tests, we got 40% success rate of reactivating it after deep freezing. It is possible, but to be safe, let’s just go with not deep freezing the kefir grains in the first place.
- Best scenario - Leave it in room temperature in milk. If you are going away for a while, have your neighbor or friend take care of it. Replacing the milk every week so they can continue to grow naturally.
Reactivating Kefir Grains
- If left dry and kept in room temperature - You can reactivate them slowly. Soak it in water for 4-8 hours and transfer it to another container with about a cup of milk. Let them settle and feed on it first for about a day. Transfer the grains and add a bigger batch of milk. Slowly increasing it day after day until it can culture a quart and so on. Slowly but surely, you will get it back to it’s happy healthy self.
- If left in the refrigerator in milk - Just leave it in a fresh batch of milk in room temperature. Slowly increase the milk every day for every new culture batch.
- If deep frozen – This takes the longest time to recover. Soak it in water overnight in room temperature. Put it in milk the next day and leave it for a day. Add it to a fresh batch of milk the next day and do this over and over for a week. You will know if it is still alive if it cultures some of the milk you added. If it doesn’t, keep trying. If still nothing happens then you might have to get some new kefir grains.
Read this if are you looking to buy kefir in stores
Read this if you are thinking of Kefir side effects.
Sponsors That Keep Kefir Grains Source Going:
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Can I use Almond milk to make Kefir and will it have the same health benefits as using cows milk?
Please answer ASAP
Thanks,
Janet
yes! any milk will do as long as there’s sugar in the milk and doesn’t have harmful chemicals in the milk.
Hello,
I purchased kefir grains may
be in August but never grew them. Are they still viable? Thank you, Kimberly
I was recently gifted with a beautiful healthy colony of Kefir. The crystals were large and looked like hominy. Within 3 days in my care they are looking smaller, there is a powdery substance in bottom of Kefir container(jar) and they are not reproducing as expected. I have followed my friends instructions to the letter. I use bottle water, a plastic bowl/spoon and strainer. What could be going on? This is my 2nd attempt with similar results.
I appreciated any feed back, I have experienced the health benefits
of the water Kefir and would really like to be able to grow my own.
Thanks!!!
Hi,
A quick question. I have a great colony of kefir grains, nice and solid, but some of the kefir grains are hollow in the middle instead of solid in the middle. Should I throw these grains (rather large) away or are they good?
I hope this makes sense to you.
Jeannie
great new. i recieved the grains this afternoon thanks again. i have give them their
first feeding of milk. the only ? i have is do i leave the top of the jar open or can i
put some cheese cloth over this little first jar home. thanks again for everything.charles
@Diana – There can be a million reasons as to why what’s happening is happening. If it were up to me, I recommend going over the kefir video series for an in-depth discussion as to how to make and care for your kefir grains.
@Kimberly – Kefir grains can be little sturdy critters. : ) My advice is to try them out as it’s the only way to know for sure if they’re still good.