Mailing live kefir grains
It is possible to mail fresh and living kefir grains. The grains are best mailed together with
some fresh organic milk in a food-safe Ziploc bag.
Hot summer days and very cold winter days (very much below zero 'C) are not optimal for
mailing kefir. Spring and fall are the best times. Kefir grains are quite hardy and will
eventually recover even if mailed under less than ideal conditions. It just takes more time.
Mailed Kefir grains will have days without fresh milk. They will need to
be reactivated by the receiver as described in steps 1 and 2:
- Poor the content of the bag into a glass jar. That is: poor the grains
and the old milk that came with it into glass jar. Add about 1/2 cup (125ml) of
fresh milk. Close the jar with a lid but don't fully tighten it. Let it stand at room temperature
and keep it away from direct sunlight. Wait 24h.
- After 24 hours, strain your grains using a mesh strainer to collect the
grains. Move a spoon gently along the inside of the strainer to alow the fermented kefir milk to
pass through the strainer. Discard the this first fermented kefir milk. It's too sour to eat because
it still has the old milk from the shipment in it.
Put the grains back into the jar and add one cup (250ml) of fresh milk.
Let it stand at room temperature and keep it away from direct sunlight.
Gently stir after 6-8 hours to allow the milk to fully come into contact with the grains.
- After 24 hours, strain your grains again and add about one cup (250ml) of fresh milk to the
strained grains. You can now drink/eat the strained kefir milk.
Gently stir after 6-8 hours to allow the milk to fully come into contact with the grains.
From now on just repeat step 3 every day and enjoy freshly made kefir.
It could take a few days until you get good and consistent results. Keep going.
If you want to go on vacation then just put the kefir grains into a big jar with plenty of milk and
store it in the fridge. The colder temperatures in the fridge will slow down the fermentation process.
The Kefir grains grow over time and you can start to use a more coarse strainer. Kefir grains
will grow in both numbers and volume.
Visit https://guidosocher.neocities.org/kefir for more information.
Questions? Need Kefir? Contact: Guido Socher,