Description: I purchased these Turkish Circassian grains from an individual that lives in the area who has family in Turkey. Their family has been making kefir for many years and he brought some back from a recent trip. One of the reasons I was excited to find this family was that the original grains were not shipped or dried and the origins are known because he personally brought them back. Almost all of the grains I find online are either shipped fresh or dried and need to be revived. My concern with that is the potential for diversity die off if not shipped quickly. When you look at the kefir making process you need to manage various variables to make sure the grains have enough food to keep them viable. Once they work through their food source there is die off. My concern is in that die off process. Are certain strains lost forever? I've been having a fantastic experience with these new grains and my kefir has been coming out surprisingly thick with some carbonation after it is strained and stored in the refrigerator. The flavor profile has been enjoyable as well. I like fermenting a bit longer because I like my kefir slightly sour, The milk that I use is from a local farm which has raw A2 Jersey cow milk. I do not use raw milk yet but may switch over at some point. For now I low heat pasteurize the milk at 145 degrees for 30 min. Then I use that for my kefir. It is the next best option to raw milk. I have been fermenting my kefir using the loose lid method to prevent yeast contamination. This allows some airflow to keep the natural yeast happy but reduces the risk of airborne natural yeasts contaminating the batch. I keep it in its own space away from my sourdough yeast and kombucha containers to reduce any potential contamination. Around 70 degrees produces the best result for me. I started with 5g of grains and that is what you will receive. This will be placed in a small reusable glass bottle with some fresh milk. I recommend Priority Mail shipping to reduce the risk of die off. Regular Ground Shipping is also available for those who live closer to Illinois. Local pick up is available as well and is preferred. In general I would recommend choosing a shipping service that will get the grains to you in 2-3 days to avoid die off. Again, you have the option to pick a shipping service that will quickly get the grains to you. If you pick a service that takes too long and the grains do not work well I will not be able to provide a refund because you have the option for faster shipping. General kefir making recommendations call for feeding the grains 12 - 48 hours depending on various variables. If we follow that general guideline USPS Priority Mail shipping should be ok and now that temperatures are dropping it will slow down fermentation as well. Most instructions i have found say a good ratio producing kefir is 5g of grains to 250 ml of milk. As the grains grow you will need to adjust this to your personal conditions and preferences. Some people do not recommend using ultra high temperature pasteurized milk. I would recommend brands like Supernatural or Alexander because they low temp pasteurize and it is not homogenized. I currently use 10 - 15g grains with 200ml milk at 70 f. As more grains grow I will offer them up for sale and will ship them the same day I remove them from the milk. I will not ship on Saturdays.
Price: 12 USD
Location: Antioch, Illinois
End Time: 2025-01-07T20:19:52.000Z
Shipping Cost: 11 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Brand: Homemade
Formulation: Grains
