What exactly ARE kefir grains? What is the origin? I want to order some and start making milk kefir but hubby wants to know WHAT that little rubbery thing actually is before he ingests anything made from it. He cracks me up! ;D
Thanks
Moohahahar, nobody knows where they originated, probably space aliens a few thousand years ago ;D.
Seriously though they are not actually grains, ie if you cut one open there is no nugget of wheat etc inside, my understanding is that they nucleus's for the microorganisms that member Christy posted here (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2172.msg16610.html#msg16610).
Kefir grains are probably the residue of the bacteries that consumes the staff in the milk. It grows like a mushroom, they are soft and edible, and the mother of kefir drink. Have a look at the FB Home Cheese Makers page for some pictures in my signature.
The best info on the net is http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/%7Edna/kefirpage.html (http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/%7Edna/kefirpage.html)
I bought some from him and I am sure he can send it to overseas to.
If you do a search there is a great thread on kefir and kefir grains here someplace.
Kefir grains are complex biogenic structures made from polysaccharides, proteins, bacteria, yeasts, enzymes, etc.
Kefir grains' origins, though everyone claims to be mysterious, can be surmised. Kefir grains can be routinely made in the laboratory (or at home, if you are so inclined).
To make kefir grains, one needs to slaughter a sheep and scrape the lining from the small intestines. This intestinal flora is them introduced into a goatskin bag with milk. The mixture is left to ferment for 48 hours, shaking the bag every hour. After 48 hours of fermentation, the mixture should be coagulated, at which point 75% of the mixture is discarded and replaced with fresh milk. This procedure is repeated for 12 weeks, at which point a polysaccharide layer will form on the goatskin. This layer is removed and used to ferment milk. As the polysaccharide ferments the milk, the grains will propagate (grow in size).
Kefir, the beverage made from the grains, is one of the healthiest things a human can ingest, save for the grains themselves.
Luckily someone shared with me 'cause I lost my goatskin bag! ;D
Quote from: mikef on January 10, 2011, 08:17:11 PM
...save for the grains themselves.
What is wrong with consuming the grains? And where did you find this info on making kefir grains?
http://www.kefir.ilbello.com/articoli/k4.pdf (http://www.kefir.ilbello.com/articoli/k4.pdf)
There have been other studies with this approach. But not sure how traditional these methods are. Plausible to me that they are fairly authentic.
I have some kefir grains as I make kefir for a long time, and everyone in my familly loves it.
As far as I know by reading about it, the grains are in fact casein aglomerations that grow by the bacterial activity of the numerous bacteria contain The casein is in fact the place where these bacteria are found and as they develop so is the production of casein.