OK, now on to Kefir: The 'grains' look like little white cauliflower heads in reality - nothing to do with the grains we know. One thing that's critical to know is how to store them. They don't mind being frozen, so if you've had enough of them just put the kefir in zip lock packets with a bit of milk to cover them and into the freezer. Next time you've been ill and had antibiotics (which kills the bad bacteria but also your critically essential gut flora), or feeling generally just run down, or maybe been on a bad food binge (Xmas holidays), pull out a packet and plop them into warm milk and they'll wake up again.When you've got them in milk, never, never, never, ever, ever, EVER let them come into contact with metal. You keep them in a large glass jar of milk, or a plastic container like a protein shaker. They start dying almost immediately when in contact with metal. In fact you'll even kill your kefir if you stir your milk with a metal spoon. If you're decanting over the sink and one of your little boytjies drops into the sink, you can pretty much watch it slowly start to wither and die in front of you. So it's only wood, glass or plastic containers and utensils.Always keep the lid slightly ajar because fermentation causes gas. If you seal the lid you're in for a messy explosion.The warmer the milk the faster they work. I keep mine in the fridge, slows them right down. It means I can have kefir once a week (which is all you need, really). Otherwise if you leave them out on a kitchen counter in summer, you'll have to drink it daily to keep up.The kefir 'grains' (heads) inevitably grow and then spontaneously split off. The more grains you have in your container, the faster the fermentation process. When you've got too many, put 3 or 4 heads at a time into zip lock plastic bags with a little covering of milk and into the freezer. You can then pass on to friends or family or sell them).
