Resuscitating Kefir-Oops, I think I killed it this time.

[aggieterpkatie]

My kefir doohickies (beans? seeds? grains? GRAINS! that's it ) have been chilling out in the fridge in a little milk for a long time now. I mean months. Probably since mid-late summer last year. Now that I'm finally getting milk again, I'd like to bring them out of hibernation and make some kefir again. What do I need to do to them to do this? Is it bad I haven't changed the milk they're in at all? :/ I sorta forgot about them.

 

[TanksHill]

I have some in my fridge as well. I do change the milk every few weeks though. Last week I just went in and used a spoon to pull out a glob. Then I started the kefir again. It worked fine. The only thing I can think of is that it might take a cycle or two for the flavor/ texture to get where you like it.



I am sure the kefir experts around her might have a thought or two more.

g

 

[ORChick]

I did this once too; I put the grains in some milk in the extra 'fridge in the garage, and forgot them over the winter - I didn't have chickens then, and cold smoothies on a winter's morn are not at all attractive to me . I pulled out that jar with a great deal of trepidation, and was amazed to find that the grains were just fine, and so was the milk!! It smelled, looked, and tasted just like kefir, and I used it as such. It was at least 4 months old.
In your case I would smell what you have - if it smells OK then it probably is. Strain out the grains, and treat them as you normally would - give them new milk, and leave them at room temp. As Tankshill mentioned, it may take a cycle or two to get them back *on line*, but maybe not. As far as the milk you stored them in, you can either toss it or use it; I would do the sniff and small taste test first, but it is very likely alright.
If what you have does not smell pleasant then I would still strain out the grains, maybe rinse them in filtered water (no chlorine!!), and put them in fresh milk ... and then toss the old milk. As long as the grains are still white and spongy feeling they are probably fine, but again, it may take a cycle or two to bring them back to where they were.
If they are fine I would suggest that you might want to build them up to a quantity you can divide, and then dehydrate half so that you have a backup for future emergencies.
Good luck.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thank you both! That's perfect info!

 

[CrownofThorns]

I restore mine with cultured buttermilk or probiotic powder. This prevents the kefir from getting a off taste. Good kefir will taste just a tad bit sourer then plain yogurt. So if your plain kefir doesn't taste like that then treat it with buttermilk or probiotics. Plain yogurt might even work in a pinch too. Here is how you do it.

For the first 3 or 4 days (for kefir that just tastes bad, if your taking it out of the fridge then do it for a week) do your kefir completely normal, except with cultured buttermilk etc. After that for another week in the morning fill your jar halfway up with buttermilk etc and leave to culture then in the evening fill the jar the rest of the way up with milk.

To make your own cultured buttermilk simply buy a carton from the store. Put 1 C cultured buttermilk in and fill the rest of the jar with milk, let it culture like you would kefir until it's thick. Then just keep repeating.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Thanks CoT!

 

[CrownofThorns]

I forgot to add that rejuvenating your kefir grains this way makes the process go much faster, plus getting rid of the nasty taste that mine always have when they were refridgerated, especially since usually just before refridgerating I tend to have left the last couple batches go too long, which is what creates the bad taste. The more times you let your kefir go too long, the monre nasty it will taste even when it hasn't gone too long.

Have you heard of Dom's Kefir website (google it I don't know the url)? He has TONS of information about kefir. Take a hour or two every now and then to read through it. It's great stuff. A lot of my friends consider me a kefir expert, but it's just cause I've taken the time to read most if not all of his website.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I'll have to check out that website. Do I have to use a full quart of milk every time I change it out? Can I just use a pint or a cup so I don't waste so much milk?

 

[CrownofThorns]

You can do however much you want, you just have to watch how fast it's culturing. I have found that if I have 2 TBS of grains to 1 qt milk then my kefir is ready in 24 hours, while most good sources will tell you to use 1 TBS kefir grains to 1 qt milk and wait 48 hours. So if you decrease the amount of milk your using, the process will be faster, and you'll have to figure out yourself what the right timing is.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

So I've gone through 2 cycles with the kefir grains and it smells like kefir, but it's pretty runny. I remember my kefir being thicker last year. Should I just keep trying and waiting? The grains look normal...clearish/whiteish, squishy, smell like kefir.