Fermentation Support Forum

I have had my kefir grains for a few years. I ahve taken short breaks when I have too much by storing in the refrigerator with some milk and take them out when i am ready to begin producing again. We this summer I was making some kefir and got really busy and I left my kefir in my pantry for about a month or two. I strained and added fresh milk in an attempt to see if it was stive alive or if i killed it. It seems like it is still alive and I have been making my kefir for a few months since then. My questions is has any one ever neglected their grains like this before and had any success? They seem to be OK but i am curious if I damaged them too much and possibly I am not making as strong a probiotic drink as I used to? Any comments or experience would be appreciated.

According to Dominic Anfiteatro, whose kefir enthusiast website is mentioned in Sandor's The Art of Fermentation, they are quite tough. He reports that a friend once let his kefir grains sit in contaminated water in a refrigerator for seven months, and he was able to bring them back from green-colored and foul-smelling with daily changes of milk.

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kef ... resilience

A professor of agriculture at Cornell University, Frank V. Kosikowski, in Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods, says that kefir grains can be refrigerated in milk for up to 10 days without losing vitality.

Sources on the Internet seem to be divided. Some say that making weekly batches of kefir, storing the grains in milk in a refrigerator between cultures, will damage the grains, and one must commit instead to culturing fresh milk daily in order to avoid damaging the grains.

I make my Kefir from full-fat A2 milk, normally about 400ml each time, been doing it for a good two years now. Found I was putting on weight so now when I transfer the grains to a new container I immediately place the container in the fridge for 24 hours. Take it out after the 24 hours and then leave it on the bench to ferment. So only making it on alternate days. Haven't noticed any degradation in taste or quality.

Alison