Did I just ruin my kefir grains?

November 28, 2015 1:53 PM

This is my first go-round making kefir. I opted for organic, whole milk; however I see that it's ultra pasteurized. What is the difference between ultra-pasteurized and pasteurized? Did I just kill my kefir grains? I don't have access to raw milk, unfortunately.

Possibly relevant info: I can't eat a lot of dairy, so I wanted to cultivate the kefir grains in dairy milk, then transfer the grains to coconut milk after straining them. Next time, should I choose 1% or 2% pasteurized, instead of whole milk that's ultra-pasteurized? Those are my three options at the supermarket.

posted by onecircleaday to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Ultra pasteurized means a much higher temperature for a much shorter amount of time. Highly unlikely It makes any difference to your kefir grains.
posted by O9scar at 2:30 PM on November 28, 2015

Pasteurization just kills the stuff that's in the milk prior to pasteurization. You should still be able to grow new stuff in there.

(Why can't you drink a lot of dairy? FWIW, kefir is fine -- supposedly even beneficial -- for us lactose intolerants.)
posted by Sys Rq at 2:45 PM on November 28, 2015

Best answer: Should be fine.
posted by Slinga at 3:15 PM on November 28, 2015

Best answer: Ultra pasteurization makes milk unsuitable for cheese making but I doubt it would make any difference for fermentation. The problem comes from the way the high heat effects the milk protein's ability to make curds when a coagulating agent is introduced, not with the edibility of the milk. You might not get kefir that is as thick but the culture will still be viable.
posted by Foam Pants at 4:33 PM on November 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @Sys Rq - I'm honestly not sure what the issue is with dairy. It's possible that casein is the culprit. I was diagnosed 8 or so years ago with a wheat allergy. After I cut wheat from my diet, I couldn't tolerate dairy in any amount. Since that time, I've been able to slowly reintroduce it in small amounts - a teaspoon or less, and not every day. Nowadays, soft cheese is generally fine, any hard cheese is not. My limited understanding is that hard cheeses have more casein, and soft cheeses have significantly less. I have read that casein is similar in molecular structure to wheat, so I assume that's the issue. I don't think it's lactose because I can literally eat half a pizza and be OK. But I've had milk mistakenly in coffee, and been horribly sick for days. So, while I'm curious about drinking the milk from the cultured kefir grains, I'm so afraid of getting sick that I'll probably just transfer the grains to coconut milk to be on the safe side.

I'm interested in making kefir because I was just on an antibiotic which messed up my digestive system. I'd read about the Sonnenburg's work in Michael Pollan's NYT article on gut bacteria and microorganisms. Thought I'd give it a shot.
posted by onecircleaday at 4:49 PM on November 28, 2015

If the milk kefir doesn't end up working for you, I've been having fun with water kefir. Similar properties but different grains are necessary to grow it.
posted by padraigin at 9:32 PM on November 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Usually, lactose intolerant people have a harder time with fresher cheeses than harder cheeses, so, mozzarella is out, parmesan is in. Wheat, hard cheeses, and even coffee contains some of the same amino acids that trigger migraines in some people. I think it is an amino acid called phenylethylamine or phenylalanine. Maybe some common amino acid is giving your system grief. All cheese pretty much starts out with the same amount of casein, which is the major protein that coagulates out of milk to make cheese. As a cheese ages, it looses water weight, so, I suppose the casein becomes more concentrated but I don't know if that casein morphs into something else as the cheese ages. Straight up casein, if you were allergic to it, would probably be setting off a reaction in all cheese, fresh or hard. Obviously, my own opinion.
posted by Foam Pants at 1:42 PM on December 1, 2015