symbiota.co.nz

Milk Kefir Grains

Name: Milk Kefir Grains
Rating: 4.56 (115 reviews)

$30.00

Dried or Live Culture

Live (Hydrated ready to ferment. Must be fermented within 3 days of receiving)

Dried (dehydrated). Shelf stable for up to 3 month. Best store in fridge.

What is Milk Kefir?

Milk kefir is fermented milk. It can be consumed as a drinking yogurt or easily made into cheese. Milk kefir is swarming with a variety of probiotics and is often a better option than yogurt if you are looking for more diversity of probiotics. Many people who do not usually tolerate drinking milk, can in fact tolerate milk kefir very well as the probiotic bacteria metabolizes the lactose which many people do not tolerate well.

How do I make Milk Kefir?

If you have not made milk kefir before, you might consider purchasing our milk kefir kit to make the process even easier.

To make milk kefir, you simply place the milk kefir grains (also known as culture) into milk and leave it to ferment at room temperature for 12-48 hours. Once fermented, drain off your milk kefir for consumption while reserving your grains/culture for the next ferment. This is a one-time purchase and you milk kefir grains will continue to make milk kefir forever providing they are looked after correctly.

You are supplied with one tablespoon portion of active milk kefir grains which cultures 3-4 cups of milk within 12-24 hours depending on the room temperature. The warmer it is the faster your kefir will ferment. The ideal temperature range varies between 18 and 24 degrees Celsius. Within a week, you are likely to be able to culture more than 1L at a time if you choose.

If you purchase dried milk kefir grains, these will need to be placed in 1 cup of milk and refreshed every 48-72hrs. Rehydrating your grains may take up to 7 days before you can ferment with them.

Milk kefir can be flavoured with a variety of fruits and herbs to keep you coming back for more. To read more on milk kefir, read our blog All About Kefir.

What are milk kefir grains?

Our genuine milk kefir grains are mesophilic symbiotic cultures of beneficial yeast and lactic acid bacteria. These are not to be confused with cereal grains, but rather they simply look like a grainy texture.

Milk kefir grains are used to ferment dairy drinks similar to drinking yogurt. Milk kefir is loaded with beneficial probiotic bacteria, more so than yogurt.

Although genuine kefir grains have common strains of bacteria, some grains vary slightly from one to the next. Symbiota’s kefir grains originate from multiple sources to maximize the diversity of bacteria, leading to stronger milk kefir grains and yummier, healthier milk kefir.

Because Symbiota chooses only the best whole milk to grow our kefir grains in, our grains are alive, healthy, very active and resilient.

Choosing dried milk kefir grains

If you do not plan to ferment your milk kefir within 3 days of receiving your culture it is best to purchase our dried milk kefir grains. If you purchase dried milk kefir grains you will need to soak them in a cup of milk for 48 hours to rehydrate. After 48 hours, drain off this milk. If the grains still look hard and not spongey yet, you will need to repeat this process until they look spongy and the cup of milk is tasting fermented. Once they have fermented the cup of milk they are ready to ferment milk. You can now place them in 3-4 cups of milk to ferment.

****NOTE:

Please use an urban address where possible.
Live cultures are couriered out on Mondays & Tuesdays to avoid delays.

Here at Symbiota we pride ourselves on customer care and provide ongoing support so that everyone can enjoy their fermenting journey feeling supported and confident.

Please note, if you are going to use raw milk, milk kefir generally does better when the milk has been pasteurized. This is so the bacteria in the milk kefir and raw milk do not compete against each other. Some people have success using raw milk, but this can be problematic for others if it is not pasteurized.

Milk Kefir and Viili yogurt should be kept apart. Do no mix utensils without thoroughly cleaning as these two cultures can cross very easily and require extra care in keeping separate.

5 stars: 95 (83%)
4 stars: 6 (5%)
3 stars: 5 (4%)
2 stars: 1 (1%)
1 star: 8 (7%)

I’m still trying the product

I’m still trying the product, but as requested. So far so good

Great taste

28 hours after receiving the grains I was drinking my own kefir! The order came super quick and the grains were in good shape.

They are not working as I was expecting so maybe I did something wrong

They are not working as I was expecting so maybe I did something wrong. I might try bthe dry version and see if they work better, I cannot tell wjhat is grains and what is the outcome of the fermenting process.

Used this product before and have always had great tasting keffir

Used this product before and have always had great tasting keffir.
Easy to use great product.

The milk kefir arrived safely and quickly

The milk kefir arrived safely and quickly, in two to three days. It arrived in good condition, and it took about three days to activate; after that, its notes kept developing, and it reached full flavour in about a week. I like it as I always have, and it doesn't upset my lactose intolerance, which is why I have it, knowing that cultured dairy is safer for me (no ‘nasty’ gut issues). I like it in smoothies, on my breakfast with fresh fruit. Sometimes I double-ferment it with berries, which adds an interesting flavour.

Milk kefir

First time making milk kefir and I'm very happy with my purchase of fresh grains. Prompt service. Thank you

Delicious culture for milk

I don't see any 'grains' in my kefir, more like small clots, but it tastes fantastic. I've used the last of each batch to make three batches now. It's delicious with cereal for breakfast, and made a wonderful banana and cinnamon kefir shake.

Excellent purchase

Excellent purchase, been making lovely kefir since it arrived.

I'm very happy with my purchase

I'm very happy with my purchase, it arrived very quickly. I bought Scooby and kefir grains and I'm very happy with my purchases. I recommend them whenever I can.

Vomit taste

The grains I received were in very poor condition, and the milk kefir they produced tasted like baby vomit for months. I eventually bought another batch from a different supplier at half the price, and the new grains not only looked much healthier but also tasted significantly better. It’s hard to believe Symbiota is the biggest supplier.

Sorry to hear of your poor experience- as you can see from our reviews, we rarely receive negative feedback like this. We do not have any record of you contacting us for any remedy of this problem. We are always more than happy to hear from customer and address any problems. Once the product leaves us on courier we lose control of what factors the parcels are exposed to, albeit this rarely being an issue.

Kefer adjusted

I am pleased that the kefer is working well. Two adjustments- 1. The Longlife (Pam’s) milk is working well. 2. Instead of using a strainer, I made a bag for the grains out of cheese cloth. It is much easier for me than using the strainer.

Kefir again - thanks Symbiota

Product arrived ,well packaged with prompt delivery. Instructions were provided. Grain quantity sufficient to get going immediately. Home produced kefir, again after some time without it - nice. Taste as remembered - delicious.

Grains are great

Grains are great. I make a new batch of Kefir every day with them. Recommend product.

not sure they got here alive

not sure they got here alive.
I've used this product before and it was good. This time, results were questionable.

Large active grains

More than enough grains, already split up for friends

How long do they last. When do I need to replace them?

Hi Jennifer. Providing they are looked after by feeding milk regularly, they can last forever:)

Good product

I recently purchased Milk Kefir Grains from Symbiota. While the price was a bit on the higher side, the quality more than makes up for it. The grains settled in quickly and have been producing consistently excellent kefir. I’m really impressed with the results and happy with the overall experience.

Works great

Instructions were simple to follow. Loving the result.

Magic

Kefir Grains

I initially found them slightly less easy to drink than the shop bought ones. But have adjusted to the taste and am finding it very easy to make it at home. I have had several successful batches already.

Miniscule Amount of Kefir Grains

I was very disappointed with the miniscule amount of Kefir grains I received recently considering the cost of them. They amounted to no more than 2 tsp rather than a Tablespoon amount I expected.. Even as I type this Feedback the amount of grains is no more than a heaped Dessertspoon. The slowness of their multiplication is due to the rather cool weather in Timaru since I received the grains; so nothing I can do about that.

Hi John
You definitely should have received a tablespoon of milk kefir grains. Please feel free to email us on info@symbiota.co.nz and we will sort this out for you.

Most definitely alive and delicious

Grains are awesome and the instructions that came with them are so helpful. Thanks so much.

Does what it says on the tin

Arrived promptly and started turning milk into kefir as soon as I got it going

These Grains Make Silky Sweet Milk Kefir!

These Milk Kefir grains are very consistent and reliable in performance. These kefir grains make beautiful silky smooth and sweet kefir every time.

Must also comment on the incredible support Amber at Symbiota gives if you have any questions, concerns, or if you just want reassurance you are doing all the steps correctly for the best results.

I have often referred to the great step by step instructions and trouble shooting guide that comes along with the milk kefir grains. The guide is well thought through and thorough, whether you choose the live or dried kefir grains to start
But as I said, Amber is there via phone or email should something come up.

If I had to sum this all up I would say: Excellent product. Fast delivery. Great Customer Service.

Disappointing Results and Costly Experience

I followed the instructions carefully and used high-quality milk, but the kefir didn’t turn out right. The first batch had a strange taste and upset my stomach. I filtered out the grains and tried again. The second batch developed white, moldy-looking spots on top, although the grains seemed to grow. I kept trying because the grains were expensive and I didn’t want to waste them, but I’ve ended up wasting milk and time. Even if it eventually turns out right, the process has been frustrating and costly. I would appreciate some form of compensation, at least for the money I spent on milk. This experience was not as described.

Hi Flora Li. We are sorry to hear that you have not had a positive experience. At the bottom of our instructions for the milk kefir we provide our email address for support. We are more than happy to support customers. If you still have your grains, please feel free to contact us so we can support you. It sounds like your grains are happy and growing but the fermentation process just needs a few tweaks. Kind regards, Amber

Very good start for my first Milk Kefir

Milk Kefir Grains arrived in very good condition. Well packed and delivered to my rural location overnight. Everything is so professional. Highly recommended.

Happy days with Kefir grains

Great product, very happy!

Milk Kefir

I love the unique tart tangy flavour. It actually tastes 'healthy'. Highly recommended! 😊

Milk Kefir Grains

Am very happy with it. Have made 4 jars kefir already. The instructions to make it are so easy to follow. Been drinking it first thing in the morning after my warm glass of water.
Going to make some for my friend to try