Culture Questions

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Culture Questions

Postby 2gentlehands on Thu May 28, 2015 6:56 pm

Does anyone know how to acquire milk kefir cultures that are reliably "labeled" as to recent geographical origin?

Is the composition of a culture fairly stable or is it like sourdough starter, taking on and losing strains dependent
on its environment, colonization properties of local milk, etc?
I ask partly because combining cultures interests me. (Assuming I can ever get my current grains to grow well.) ;)
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Re: Culture Questions

Postby alisoncc on Tue Jun 02, 2015 12:02 am

Don't know if anyone has ever mapped the genome of Kefir milk grains. Often wondered where my grains originated from. Did read somewhere that overtime milk grains seem to take on the characteristics of the area where they are located. Perhaps they absorb wild LAB's from the surrounding air. Don't know.
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

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Re: Culture Questions

Postby Tibor on Tue Jun 02, 2015 11:30 am

GEM cultures are very reliable. Check them out.

http://www.gemcultures.com/dairy_cultures.htm
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Re: Culture Questions

Postby alisoncc on Wed Jun 03, 2015 4:59 am

I don't think reliability is the issue. The OP was asking whether there is a traceable history for Kefir milk grains. When you consider that the tradition is that as milk grains were a gift from the Gods they should never be sold but given away freely. Then who knows the origin of any particular batch as they may have been passed from neighbour to friend to neighbour for eons.

Note: the only place where they appear to be sold is in the US. Which doesn't surprise me, there everything has a price.
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

Sent from my PDP11/05 running RSX-11D via an ASR33 (TTY)
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Re: Culture Questions

Postby 2gentlehands on Wed Jun 10, 2015 6:22 pm

I hope the tradition of passing grains from person to person will grow. I suppose it is the fact that people want them immediately that fuels the sales aspect. I had to search and wait 6 months until a kind lady gifted me some, with the stipulation that I pass them on. Something about the gift and the promise makes me feel very responsible for them. I'm trying very hard to get them to grow so that I can give some away. I will try another strain once I'm sure I know how to grow them properly.
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Re: Culture Questions

Postby alisoncc on Thu Jun 11, 2015 6:32 am

At least once a fortnight I will dispatch a lump of grains to the bin, otherwise my kefir will ferment too fast. I use A2 milk, approx 700 ml per day, and the grains seem to multiply at quite a rate. It's Winter down here - Oz, and the average temperature on my bench top is 60deg F. Perhaps dropping to 56 overnight and 64 mid morning with the heating on.

I acquired my milk grains via a local contact on this website http://www.pinkfarm.com.au - free-gratis and for nuffing within a couple of days of submitting a request to one of the contacts in my locality. Just drove down and picked them up.
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

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