Guide to Defrosting Milk Kefir Grains
In this post we are going to be walking through the process of defrosting milk kefir grains.
This is a follow up to a post a few months ago where we talked about the freezing process
Guide to Defrosting Milk Kefir Grains
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Today we are talking about defrosting milk kefir grains, which is a follow up to a post I did a few months ago on how to safely freeze milk kefir grains.
Read the original post on freezing milk kefir grains HERE
Check out the post I did on culturing dairy 101 HERE
I can fully admit that I am excited to be able to culture dairy again. I had to take a bit of a break from dairy but that hiatus is officially over. These days it is certainly the little things that make me excited & this is one of those little pieces of happiness. One thing I’ve been looking forward to the most is going back to having herbal kefir smoothies for breakfast.
I have many plans on bringing different fermentations & cultured dairy recipes to this blog in the future, but first I need to defrost my grains.
After a small heart attack & a thought they got thrown out they were safely located in the bottom of the freezer. With those grains I also found a couple packages of ones I froze a year & a half ago, so I decided to defrost the older ones as well. I was unsure what would happen as they were frozen improperly & I didn’t know if they were still viable or not.
For this reason if you do watch the accompanying video to this post I started with one jar & ended up with 2 jars. Spoiler alert, both jars have successfully been defrosted, reactivated & are sitting in the fridge waiting to culture my next batch of milk kefir. I now seem to have an over abundance of grains again & I don’t really want to freeze them again so soon. Perhaps I can find a home for them locally so they can continue to live their best lives.
Enough about that.
What happens when we freeze kefir grains?
Freezing puts the grains in a state of suspended animation, which means the metabolic activity of the grains themselves is slowed down. Milk kefir grains are essentially a SCOBY encased by proteins, sugars & lipids
Frozen yeast are viable at temperatures below -4C (24.8F) but can survive temperature of -20C (-4F)
Bacteria can withstand -20C (-4F) without significant damage
We do need to exercise some caution when defrosting the grains as the ice crystals in the grains could damage the cell structure. This is why it is important to follow these simple steps when reactivating your kefir grains.
Guide to Defrosting Milk Kefir Grains
Image of a jar of cultured milk kefir waiting to be enjoyed!
Equipment:
Heavy bottomed pot
Non-metal strainer
Non-metal utensils
Non-metal bowl
Sterile mason jar with ring lid
Paper towel
Ingredients:
Organic whole milk with no added preservatives. Use raw milk if you have it available. DO NOT USE ULTRAFILTERED OR ULTRAPASTURIZED
Frozen milk kefir grains
Instructions:
Thoroughly clean all utensils you are going to be using & sanitize your jar by placing it in a 220 degree oven for 20 minutes.
In a clean jar add the frozen grains & enough milk to cover them. Put in the fridge to thaw for 24-48 hours.
Once thawed, using a mesh strainer over a bowl rinse the grains with fresh milk
Place grains in a sanitized jar & add a small amount of fresh milk, just enough to cover the grains & set on the counter to ferment for up to 2 days. We’re looking for the grains to start thickening up the milk. Once thickened, move on to the next step. If not thickening, add a small amount of unrefined sugar. See notes & substitutions on instructions on how to do this
Put the grains in a mesh strainer & rinse with fresh milk
Prepare the milk if using pasteurized milk. Use the milk as is if you’re using raw milk
Add kefir grains to the milk & allow to ferment for approximately 24-48 hours (depending on the temperature of your kitchen). Stir the jar every 24 hours to ensure the milk is culturing evenly
Monitor the grain activity for consistent fermentation. It can take time for the grains to recover. If it’s been 48 hours & not much is happening, change the milk & repeat the process as required. Discard all batches that are only producing a sub-optimal ferment
Continue to repeat these steps until your milk is fully cultured
Remove the grains from the milk & store in the fridge in a small amount of milk or put them in a new jar & start another milk kefir culture.
Notes & Substitutions:
Kefir grains generally don’t like metal & metal can actually deactivate them in a sense. The odd use of metal utensils will probably be ok but this is something to keep in mind
Room temperature should be between 18-25C (65-75F). If the temp is too warm fermentation will happen faster, if it’s too cold it will happen slower. You could consider using a yogurt maker to ensure consistent temperature.
It’s not uncommon for the grains to take up to a few uses before they start producing kefir properly again. It can take 2-5 batches for the grains to become fully active again
Steps where you have to “properly prepare the milk differ depending on if you have raw or pasteurized milk. If your milk is pasteurized you will need to heat it up to 180F and allow it to cool down to 110F before use.
If you notice any signs of mold you will need to discard the grains immediately. We are not playing around with mold contamination. There are times in a fermentation that you can just scoop out the moldy parts but that is not the case with cultured dairy. Signs of mold could include fuzzy growths, changes in color or consistency & changes in odor. Cultured milk reminds me of the smell of yogurt, makes sense as yogurt is cultured, but it should never smell off. If you see pink for example, that’s not a good color for cultured dairy.
If your grains are not recovering consider adding a small amount of unrefined sugar to the milk as this will provide additional food for the microorganisms. I added 1/8th of a teaspoon to mine.
Do not use the microwave to defrost your grains. Remember is a live colony of bacteria & yeast, let’s not cook them in the microwave. If you do need to speed it up, consider placing the grains in lukewarm water for a few hours as a last resort
I’ve noticed that right before the grains are properly culturing again there is a sign, at least mine have consistently given this sign. The cultured milk went really weird. It cultured way too fast, separated way too much & smelled really strong, but never off.
Be patient & persistent! As long as even a smidgen of milk is thickening up & culturing the grains are activating.
Signs to look out for that your grains are not reactivating properly:
Lack of thickening of milk after 48 hours. Change the milk & observe again. If nothing has happened, chances are the grains have been damaged & it may be time to find new grains
An unpleasant smell or foul odor. The smell of rotten milk vs soured milk.
Absence of whey separation. Change the milk & observe again. It may take a few rounds depending on how long they’ve been frozen & the health of the grains in general
Development of mold or unusual colors
If there are no signs of activity after 7 days they most likely did not survive the freezing or defrosting process & you will need to find new grains.
Until next time, may you find Peace wherever you are!
Watch the video & tutorial HERE
Image of linked YouTube thumbnail.