Our Milk Kefir Grains | Yemoos Nourishing Cultures

At our home, our cultures are given our constant time and care. We like to think of them as part of our family, (as odd-looking as they may be!) - because really, they are just like any other pet or child that requires time, nourishment and care. We lovingly refer to our cultures as 'The Greeshka', after a story from one of our favorite authors, where a strange collective entity of creatures join together to be better as a group (how fitting for these little symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast!).

Our milk kefir grains are our favorite little guys out of our cultures (shhh! don't tell the others). We drink the kefir they produce almost daily, and make other things like shaving gel from the whey. We are always collecting and combining grains through the seasons to create the 'best' mix possible. By 'best', we mean that the grains are not too over or under-active, grow at a nice rate, adjust well to changes in milk and produce a balanced kefir.

It's important to be able to rely on your grains to produce a good kefir, especially when most of us these days are seeking out kefir for its health benefits. For example, in the past we have had kefir grains that took a cup of grains to produce 1 cup kefir, when it should be more around 1 tablespoon able to produce 1 cup kefir. We've had other grains that seem to sweet or too yeasty, and some that just prefer to grow in wacky shapes (though that's fine with us, some people see this as a negative). For this reason, we are always experimenting, tweaking and combining to make a great kefir grain colony for us to drink from, and you to adopt from.

Our grains are currently fed with organic whole milk, and we are planning on introducing goats to our family soon which will become our grains new food source (raw, organic goat's milk)!

Our grains are fed each and every day. We handle them gently (they are living, and part of our family, besides!) and we only use wood, food-grade plastic and stainless steel (and canning jars just like you see in our supplies, as their little homes).

When any of our grains seem out of balance, they get a special fast in a yogurt bath (in our home-made yogurt), which gives them a rest and helps them re-balance. They then re-join the larger colony when balanced and ready, or are tossed to our dogs or garden! To learn how to do a yogurt bath yourself, visit our milk FAQ page under the question: How do you encourage sluggish kefir grains or relax over-active kefir grains?

Why is there a cost for your cultures? You may ask, why do we charge for our cultures - isn't it a tradition to share and give these cultures away? While we would love to be able to offer all of them for free to everyone, we like to compare it to an 'adoption fee'. Putting a cost to the cultures covers the time and care we put into them daily, enables us to afford the best ingredients to ensure the best cultures (raw milk, whole cane sugar, organic tea, fresh home-ground flours). It also aids us people from all around the world the opportunity to try these cultures, and encourages those who people from all around the world the opportunity to try these cultures, and encourages those who invest in a culture to take the time and effort to care for their cultures. We also enjoy sharing our cultures locally, giving away our cultures to our family, friends, and neighbors whenever we can.

We'd like to leave you with one last note that we hope you'll be comforted to know that whatever you may spend or donate here goes right back towards our land, our animals, our garden and ultimately our cultures, time, research and ability to give you our very best. You can observe more of who and what you are supporting in our Photo Album. We truly believe what goes around comes around. Just as in culturing, however much we share with others is what can be shared back, and then some.