No, kefir grains need lactose as a food source in order to ferment and reproduce properly. While lactose-free milk is suitable for people who are lactose intolerant, it lacks the necessary sugars for the kefir grains to thrive. This can lead to incomplete fermentation, weakening of the grains, or even their eventual failure.

If you really need to use a low-lactose alternative, you can occasionally use lactose-free milk, but it’s recommended to regularly “feed” the grains with milk that contains lactose to keep them active and healthy.

Don’t freeze your grains. Freezing kefir strains may affect their liveness. Even causing their death.

If you wanna stop fermentation, you can put them in fridge. Please check our article here

Beige or light yellow kefir is normal. This is because kefir contains yeast that yogurt does not have, so it has a little yellow color.

NO!!! Kefir needs to stay in room temperature. Grains will be damaged over 35 °C. So please keep your grains away from yogurt maker, oven and steamer.

The grains are most likely fine if this has happened one time. The biggest danger with leaving the kefir grains in the same milk for more than 48 hours is that they may begin to starve, which can damage the kefir grains. Separate the grains and put them into fresh milk right away. As long as the finished, separated, kefir smells and tastes okay, it can be consumed.

While it is uncommon to find mold developing on a batch of kefir, it may occasionally happen. Mold may appear as green, orange, red, or black spots on the surface of the kefir or pink discoloration of the milk. Kefir grains that turn pink, orange, red, green, or black may be contaminated.

If mold does develop, immediately toss the entire batch, including the kefir grains. Do not try to salvage a moldy batch, even if you do not see mold on the kefir grains themselves. Doing so may be dangerous to your health. Obtain a new set of kefir grains, clean the jar thoroughly, and try again another day.

You can eat milk kefir grains since they are just composed of bacteria, yeast, and proteins. Not only will they make for a delicious gelatinous snack but will also give your gut a probiotic boost. My advice would be to not wash your milk kefir grains before eating them. This removes a valuable coating of microorganisms from the grains’ surface and just strips them of nutrients and probiotic effects.

Kefir grains typically look a lot like little cauliflower florets. Up close, their pattern is somewhat like coral, or a brain. They can also look like smooth, flat shreds of ribbons during the warmer months (or when crowded in a jar). They can also look like small pebbles which can sometimes indicate overcrowding or over-fermenting. Their color usually ranges from creamy off-white to white. Some grains that are grown in grass-fed milk may have a more yellow or orange tint due to the beta-carotene they absorb from grass. They are soft, bouncy and squishy, like a tiny squeeze toy.

Kefir grains are very resilient and will strive to maintain their health at all times. As long as your grains are converting milk to kefir that is not ‘off’ they are just fine. They may get stressed and change shape or smell a bit (more yeasty or more stringy looking), but they will bounce right back given the right conditions. They range from creamy white to a dark ivory and coiled brain-patterned balls to bumpy ribbons or even small pebbles. Even when they are not growing they can still produce healthy drinkable kefir (such as in soy or almond milk), though it’s best to give them optimal conditions so they can grow.

Here are common reasons why grains sometimes don’t reproduce:

1. Milk quality and type
Ultra-high temperature sterilized milk (UHT), milk powder and long-lasting milk. These milks contain lower nutrients, making it difficult for the bacteria to obtain adequate nutrients. If you use plant milk for a long time, its composition may not meet the nutrients required by the grains, so you need to use fresh milk regularly to supplement its nutrition.

2. Temperature factor
Grains usually ferment best at temperatures between 20–30 degrees Celsius. If the temperature is too low, the metabolic rate of the grains will slow down; if the temperature is too high, the stress on the grains may be too great, affecting growth.

3. Fermentation time
If the fermentation time is insufficient, the grains will not obtain enough nutrients and will not be able to proliferate. On the contrary, if the fermentation time is too long and excessive acidity is produced, the grains may be stressed due to an overly acidic environment.

4. Feeding frequency
The grains need to be fed with fresh milk regularly to maintain their vitality. If new “food” is not provided for a long time, their ability to reproduce will decrease.

5. Hygiene and pollution
If unclean utensils are used or bad bacteria are introduced, the bacterial balance of the grains may be destroyed and their normal growth inhibited.

6. Chemical Exposure
Washing the garins with chlorine-containing tap water or coming into contact with detergents may damage the grains and cause growth to stop.

7. The grains are stressed or damaged
Rough handling or exposure to extreme temperature changes may kill some of the bacterial flora, causing the grains to be unable to reproduce normally.

In summary, if you want to keep the grains healthy and continue to proliferate, you need to ensure the use of appropriate milk, control the temperature, master the fermentation time, pay attention to the hygienic environment, and avoid interference from chemicals and foreign bacteria.

Many factors are involved in creating an optimal environment for kefir grains. Keeping within their preferred temperature is essential to the speed of grain growth. Providing them with proper nutrients is also vital (they seem to love whole raw milk the most). Making sure they remain on the smaller side, and that they are not encrusted or dry helps them to have as much access to milk as possible, so they can propagate more quickly. Adding a little whole cream can sometimes give them a boost as well. Lastly, making sure they are constantly given a fresh supply of milk ensures they are not sitting too long between feedings (and slowing their metabolism).

Milk kefir grains do grow and you will soon have much more than you started with. They typically grow about 5% during the winter or under cooler conditions and 10% to 25% during summer or under optimal warm conditions. It is also interesting that smaller grains will reproduce much more rapidly than larger grains (this is because there is a greater surface area that can grab nutrients from the milk).

It’s always helpful for everything under the sun to have a break once in awhile. A couple times a year is quite sufficient, they will keep going regardless of getting a rest or not, but it seems they do appreciate a vacation once in awhile.

Immediately rinse it under cool or cold clean water with clean hands and gently rub it to make sure all dust and debris are rinsed away. It will usually be just fine to join back in with the other grains and ferment as usual. If you are uneasy about adding it back in to your ferment, just rinse it and eat or toss to your pets or your garden!

Some people like to do this, but it was never done traditionally and is not necessary or recommended at all. By nature, they are a symbiotic mass of microflora that has self-inoculating properties, protecting itself from foreign bacteria or yeast. The lactic and acetic acids it excretes also protects it from becoming contaminated. Many have observed that when they stopped rinsing their grains, they grew better and produced better kefir. Sometimes they can get fat deposit (crusty, orange colored areas) that may indicate they need a gentle scrub and rinse though. Also, if the grains have come into contact with something undesirable, then you may want to give them a good rinse. Make sure it is clean, non-chlorinated water. Simply run them under flowing water or swish them around in a bowl of clean water, and pat dry.

Yes. In fact this will help your kefir to ferment better when your grains have gotten to large. Keep in mind this can sometimes result in the grains growing back in a more ribbon-shaped fashion. This is just a response to the slight stress of the breakage. They will eventually resume their more coiled, round shape though, and is nothing to worry over!

Kefir grains are pretty hardy little guys. Just like grass, it can take a good beating but it may wear down over time if exposed to excessive stress. To give you an idea, kefir grains will survive a blender, a hammer, freezing, some heat (but not cooking), and of course, drying. This does not mean they should be handled this way – care for them like you would any pet, and they will be extremely happy and productive for it!

Kefir, like all living organisms, goes through intricate and subtle changes with the seasons, climate, temperatures and environment it is in. Just like you can mark the seasons with a tree budding, growing, turning colors and discarding its leaves, kefir also will constantly be in flux and going through seasonal patterns. Kefir will ferment much more quickly in the summer and warmer temperatures. It will be thinner and may be more lumpy or inconsistent as well. It may especially be inconsistent during spring and fall, or whenever there is a large disparity of temperatures (such as a cold night and hot day). Kefir will tend to be more creamy and mild in the winter and cooler temperatures (and more zesty and sour in the summer). Part of the beauty of the symbiotic nature of kefir is that each strain has a certain strength and weakness. Together, they are able to ferment at a wide range of temperatures. Keeping this in miind, you will realize that because of this, a certain temperature will allow some strains to perform much better, while others may be temporarily suppressed. This contributes to the differing tastes and textures of kefir throughout the year. Some people notice it is more cheesy in the winter (possibly due to the certain yeast and other strains being stronger), while in the summer it may be more bread-ish and light in flavor.

Kefir grains can sometimes get encrusted by the fat of the milk. This can happen when the milk is not changed regularly, or if you have been using your grains in cream to ferment sour cream etc. It can also be a result of drying out too much. Dried kefir grains can appear to have this because their outer layer was the most exposed during drying. Using non-homogenized milk (cream floats to the top) can also expose the grains to excess fat, especially if they are not stirred back into the milk once in awhile during the fermenting process. Once they start to grow, this will slowly disappear. In all these cases it is best to place your grains in a bowl of fresh cool water (or kefir) and gently rub them free of their crust with your fingers. You can also toss them in a blender to open them up and expose fresh, un-crusted sides (which will grow better and produce a better kefir). Resume fermenting, with regular milk changes.

In response to very hot weather we have found that they can stretch out, looking like shreds of ribbons. This can also happen when there is overcrowding in the jar or not enough fat in the milk, squishing or pressing the grains (or blending them) or a combination of all 4 of these factors. Our hypothesis is that they are just adapting to a more rapidly depleted food source, and stretching themselves to look for more nutrients. This does not mean they are unhealthy, it is simply their way of adapting to reach more food. Sometimes it simply seems to be a response to warmer weather and they are slightly more ‘relaxed’, and then binding and coiling upon themselves more in the colder weather. You can try giving it more milk, a less crowded environment (take out some of the grains) or a cooler area to ferment and they will usually return to forming a more coiled shape again. When straining, try not to squish or squeeze the grains with your hands or spoon.

A change in temperature, season, milk brand or %, or space/milk quantity can all affect grain appearance and shape. Pressing or squishing them (or blending them) can also change their appearance for awhile. Because of different proteins, fat amounts or minerals available in different milk %’s or brands, grains can change appearance or shape. Changing temperatures can also dramatically change the shape of kefir grains. Also, the amount of milk available will have an affect (more milk being desirable) on the grains. Grains put under ideal conditions will eventually return to their normal more rounded shape.

Yes, most of the time. Most kefir grains encapsulate some of the carbon dioxide gas that the yeasts give off while fermenting. Also, some grains have less density than the milk, and simply float. Some will be dense enough though (and manage to avoid capturing bubbles) that they sink. Typically if the grains are very bacteria rich or lacking yeast, they may stay at the bottom most or all of the ferment. This can happen after a transit or a rest in the fridge. If you are using dried milk powder, and all the grains are at the top, simply add some more water to increase the density which will allow the grains to relax a bit. Sometimes grains that have been subjected to severe freezer burn, high heat or their outer layer is too encrusted and hard from being dried (or old), also float (and they may not be able to be revived). In this case these grains will usually have a darker color and less soft and sponge-like texture. It is best to see if these are able to propagate new grains (though they themselves may not recover) or toss them if no growth or kefiring is achievable with them. If they reproduce new grains, then you can toss them once you have enough of the new grains (you will be able to still visibly tell which ones are the old, darker ones to be tossed).

When you move kefir grains apart from one another you may notice some sticky thread-like strings hanging and stretching between them (think pulling a pizza slice and its dangling cheese strings). It will look like fine thread-like spider web material stretching and sticking when the grains are separated from one another. This is actually a great sign that your grains are healthy and growing. Absence of these threads is ok too – a lack of these does not mean anything bad! These threads are simply known as kefiran by the kefir community and they are a gel forming soluble polysaccharide. You may notice even more during the summer, or if you’re trying a new milk. These will often change over time and from season to season, coming and going. This polysaccharide is part of what makes kefir creamy. It is similar to the same compounds found in starch, cellulose, gum and glycogen. Bacteria, fungi and algae have all adopted an ability to produce this as a form of protection from drying out, reproducing and adhering to their food source more efficiently. This promotes viscosity in the kefir and is also soothing to the digestive system (aloe vera juice and gel contains copious amounts of polysaccharides).

The short answer is yes, they prefer what milk they are used to, but they will gradually and happily adapt to new milks.

If they are produced in goat milk, their preference will be whole goat milk, if cow milk, they will prefer whole cow milk. Kefir grains do best when the full range of nutrients they require are available to them.

This includes the milk sugars, proteins and fats. Many people notice that their grains take off and thrive when given full-fat milk.

Please find picture below for more milk brands in Taiwan and what’s special about them

The short answer is yes. Kefir grains need to be strained every 24 hours (or 48 at the max) and given fresh milk. If you or your grains would like to take a break, stick them in the fridge, refreshing them weekly with new milk. This can be done for a couple weeks, then they should be brought back out to room temperature.

Indefinitely with good care – they are a living, consuming organism that are in a constant state of reproduction. Some may get weaker over time for one reason or another (neglected, frozen, etc), but they will nonetheless do all they can to keep marching on! They have already lived over a thousand years as it is.

The grains are a symbiotic relationship of over 30 different strains of beneficial bacteria and yeast. The bulk of the grain that you see is a combination of insoluble protein, amino acids, lipids (fats) and soluble-polysaccharides (complex sugars). Scientifically speaking, the content of a freeze dried kefir grain has shown to be composed of 4.4% fat, 12.1% ash, 45.7% Muco-polysaccharides, 34.3% total protein (consisting of 27% insoluble protein,1.6% soluble protein and 5.6% free amino acids) as well as a trace amount of unknown substances. Amorphous and crystalline iron is also found in small amounts on the surface of the grains under a microscope.

All kefir grains are alike, but they are not the same. Just as all people are humans, but none are exactly alike, kefir also varies from one to the next. Some kefir grains ferment more quickly than others, some more tangy, some more sweet, and some more fizzy. You will see that your kefir grains will be continuously morphing themselves from season to season and year to year. The balance between the bacteria and yeast will not only change the way the grains act but also look. Also how much room they have in the jar will can also change the way they look. Generally if the ferment is more bacteria rich (and slower) or when the grains have plenty of room in the jar, they will naturally grow larger. Part of the kefir process is learning to let go of the desire to keep them exactly the same (no matter what you do, they will be in a constant state of growth and change) and learning to look forward to its many surprises, just like raising a pet or child.

In fact, the size of cauliflower kefir grains is a myth. The size of the same cauliflower grains will also change with the  temperature, milk brand, and growth stage, so the size and appearance are not really important. 

The grains can be as small as a grain of rice or as large as 15 centimeters. Moreover, such larger strains are not considered better. Because the small grains have a larger contact surface, hence, the fermentation speed is faster, and the kefir produced will be richer and more delicious. Please let go of the idea that big is good!