Did I just murder my Kefir grains?

January 11, 2011 11:53 AM

Did I murder my Kefir grains?

I got some kefir grains from a friend in November.

They were in about 1 cup of milk.

I put them in the refrigerator and then forgot about them for one week.

When I remembered them, I poured another cup of milk over them as I ran out the door for a trip.

When I got back I again remembered them, but was running out the door and so I dumped the semi-sour smelling mess into about 5 cups of whole milk.

It has always been refrigerated.

The mix now smells ripe, but is slightly liquid with no whey to speak of. It does not smell sour nor has the milk curdled.

How do I remedy this? Can I?

I have the time now to dedicate to them, but think that they may be all dead.

posted by Tchad to Food & Drink (3 answers total)

They shouldn't be dead — as long as they haven't dried out or frozen solid or grown a coating of mold. I would strain them out and place them in a container with enough fresh milk to cover them (1 part grains to 2 parts milk? 3 parts?), at room temperature, for 12-24 hours. Strain and taste the resulting liquid and inspect the grains for healthy color (off-white) and odor (not unpleasant).

If you only have a small amount of grains to begin with (i.e., a spoonful), it may take several batches of sour and not-quite-potable milk before you can even produce decent kefir reliably.

Alternatively, if all is lost, it's just kefir grains. You can always get more.
posted by Nomyte at 12:11 PM on January 11, 2011

I agree with Nomyte. I would also try a batch made with teaspoon grains to 8oz. of milk
posted by goalyeehah at 12:50 PM on January 11, 2011

Those things are remarkably resilient. Dump them into a strainer over the sink, rinse with water if the mass was really funky, then put the clean grains into a jar with about a cup of fresh milk. Cover loosely and put it on the counter. Change the milk daily, straining it into the sink, until it's right again, at which time you can start drinking the resulting kefir. It should only take a couple of days to get it all going in the right direction again, then you can go back to putting the jar in the fridge to slow the process down.
posted by bink at 3:18 PM on January 11, 2011