Powdered kefir into grains?

[GreenLady]

I bought a powdered form of milkkefir and have been using it for a couple of times now. The package says I can start a new batch with a leftover of the old batch, wich worked fine. It said this will work up till about 7 times, after which you should start a new batch. The packages are awfully expensive, though, so if I could make them to last longer that would be a lot better.

So I would actually rather have kefir grains because I think they last somewhere around 'forever'... would it be possible to grow them from the kefir I'm making now? Or is there a substantial difference between powdered kefir and kefir from grains?

[Tim Hall]

May be possible, but not very likely. The powder you're using is a mix of individually cultured bacteria/yeasts the manufacturer has decided make "kefir." The problem is these bugs are not cultured in symbiosis with each other like kefir grains.

The bugs on/in kefir grains form a self-perpetuating relationship with each other. The reason your culture says it's good up to 7 uses is at some point some of the cultures will die out, and others will dominate, upsetting the balance. Kefir grains will keep a balance of bugs.

[Tim Hall]

Also, I suspect that the powdered culture may not produce all the same things kefir grains will. One of the unique things about kefir grains is the kefirin, a sort of slimy substance that envelopes the grains. Some suggest kefirin has a positive influence on bowel inflammation and nutrient uptake.

[GreenLady]

Interesting, thank you!

We have done some experimenting with the powder. It makes good stuff that looks and tastes quite like the Kefir we tasted in Hungary. No grainforming, though.

We made it with organic (not raw) fullfat milk which was fine; untill my husband used non-organic, half-fat milk (why?!? no idea), which resulted in curdled kefir... I scooped it off and made it into fresh cheese which still tastes fine by the way, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to revive the kefir from this batch.

Anyway, I'll keep looking fo Kefir-grains. They seemed too complicated for me a couple of years ago, but since we're more experimenting/experiencing with ferments I think we may be able to maintain it.