water kefir for beginners

[dora]

thanks to several of the knowledgeable and patiently informative people on this fine forum (thank you!) i've gotten interested in making my own water kefir. i'm hoping to obtain the grains from one of the vendors i've located in my own country (in Central Europe), but after prowling around the internet a while, i'm still unsure about one big basic question:

how can you tell whether or not the grains you get are The Right Stuff? i don't mean to be paranoid, but after all we are talking about ingesting homegrown bacteria that are being shared on an unsupervised cottage-industry-type basis, so it seems like there should be some way of making sure that what we've got ahold of actually contains good probiotic strains of bacteria, not something loopy that someone's cultivated in their kitchen

thanks for any insights!
dora

[MasK]

thanks to several of the knowledgeable and patiently informative people on this fine forum (thank you!) i've gotten interested in making my own water kefir. i'm hoping to obtain the grains from one of the vendors i've located in my own country (in Central Europe), but after prowling around the internet a while, i'm still unsure about one big basic question:

how can you tell whether or not the grains you get are The Right Stuff? i don't mean to be paranoid, but after all we are talking about ingesting homegrown bacteria that are being shared on an unsupervised cottage-industry-type basis, so it seems like there should be some way of making sure that what we've got ahold of actually contains good probiotic strains of bacteria, not something loopy that someone's cultivated in their kitchen

thanks for any insights!
dora

Kefir grains are kefir grains. You will not find bad kefir grains, but do not buy kefir-starters, as they are not live grains.
The best sources, imo, are ppl selling their home-grown kefir grains (and in their kitchen maybe, as I do! ) because most of the time, these ppl are experienced with drinking kefir and how to make it.
Water kefir grains have to look like little crystals. They have to be sold in some water with sugar.
Milk kefir grains look like little cauliflowers, and can be sent by mail if they are in a special bag, but the shipping has to be short (about max 4 days).
And by the way (let's speak in €), for some grains, the cost do not have to exceed 5€.
Where are you in Europe? I'm from Belgium.

[dora]

thank you kindly for the reassurance, MasK. it's not that i have anything against people cultivating probiotics in their kitchens! but some of what i was reading on line (for instance here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicos) was saying the bacteria strains can vary a lot, which makes sense, so i started wondering whether renegade bacteria sometimes get in on the act. but if that's not something i need to fret about, i'm glad!

if you can stand another question: one video i looked at mentioned making coconut-milk kefir by adding the contents of a probiotic capsule to coconut milk. can one do that with water kefir too, to add particular strains of bacteria to the population?

meanwhile, i'm in Poland. the need for a short postal trip is why i'd prefer to get my grains here, but if you know a good source in Europe, i'm open to importing them as well.

and thanks for taking an interest!

[MasK]

thank you kindly for the reassurance, MasK. it's not that i have anything against people cultivating probiotics in their kitchens! but some of what i was reading on line (for instance here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibicos) was saying the bacteria strains can vary a lot, which makes sense, so i started wondering whether renegade bacteria sometimes get in on the act. but if that's not something i need to fret about, i'm glad!

if you can stand another question: one video i looked at mentioned making coconut-milk kefir by adding the contents of a probiotic capsule to coconut milk. can one do that with water kefir too, to add particular strains of bacteria to the population?

meanwhile, i'm in Poland. the need for a short postal trip is why i'd prefer to get my grains here, but if you know a good source in Europe, i'm open to importing them as well.

and thanks for taking an interest!

A batch of kefir can be contaminated, but you can see it pretty fast as mold is developping on it and the taste is absolutely awful (if you dare taste it lol).

I think that if the person did take care of the grains, and fed them with good nutrients (I use brown whole cane sugar, dried figs, lemon juice), the grains will be very healthy.
For the probiotic capsules, I don't think there are any restrictions to adding capsules in the kefir, although most of the strains sold in supplements are already present in kefir, except for L. Reuteri, if I recall correctly.
I do take probiotic supplements too, with prebiotics, and sometimes I take them with the kefir, in caps.
I also make yogurt by opening two probiotic caps (containing L. Acidophilus and B. Longum) and adding them to soy milk, and it is fine. However for the real yogurt, I think you need Streptococcus Thermophilus.

Remember to drink the kefir first thing in the morning (on an empty stomach, then wait about 15 min before eating), and last thing before going to bed, and to feed the flora with prebiotic foods or supplements.

Hope this helps.

[dora]

I think that if the person did take care of the grains, and fed them with good nutrients (I use brown whole cane sugar, dried figs, lemon juice), the grains will be very healthy.

thanks very much yet again, MasK! i guess my basic question was: since i'm acquiring the grains from a stranger, is there a way to tell (by looking at them/smelling them/whatever!) whether or not the person has raised them properly, fed what they need and kept them healthy? LoL: it's like acquiring pets or livestock or something - but it's harder to examine their teeth to make sure they're in good shape! but i gather from your reply that as long as the grains "look right" and make nice water kefir together, that means they're okay

For the probiotic capsules, I don't think there are any restrictions to adding capsules in the kefir, although most of the strains sold in supplements are already present in kefir, except for L. Reuteri, if I recall correctly.

thank you - maybe i'll try that then ... and it leads directly to my next question: the best capsules i've found locally only contain 4 strains of bacteria, so i'd like to import a small quantity of the kind you've mentioned in other threads - not the VSL#3, but the kind you said is available in Europe. could you let me know the name, so i could look around for an online source for it? please and thank you kindly

Hope this helps.

you're helping a great deal indeed, MasK! please feel very appreciated

[MasK]

thanks very much yet again, MasK! i guess my basic question was: since i'm acquiring the grains from a stranger, is there a way to tell (by looking at them/smelling them/whatever!) whether or not the person has raised them properly, fed what they need and kept them healthy? LoL: it's like acquiring pets or livestock or something - but it's harder to examine their teeth to make sure they're in good shape! but i gather from your reply that as long as the grains "look right" and make nice water kefir together, that means they're okay



thank you - maybe i'll try that then ... and it leads directly to my next question: the best capsules i've found locally only contain 4 strains of bacteria, so i'd like to import a small quantity of the kind you've mentioned in other threads - not the VSL#3, but the kind you said is available in Europe. could you let me know the name, so i could look around for an online source for it? please and thank you kindly



you're helping a great deal indeed, MasK! please feel very appreciated

The brand I use is called Probactiol IB, from Metagenics. But they are made by a Belgian lab, Funciomed (it's a partner of Metagenics). If you can find them, they are very good, but they contain only two strains, L. acidophilus and B. longum, but in 60 billions dosage per capsule (a bottle contains 30 caps). I take 2 caps before going to bed with prebiotics (Probactiol Synergy) and kefir.
I go on using kefir, as it contains a lot of beneficial strains, and the acids needed to restore a "friendly" pH in the bowel (slighly acidic).

I don't know if Probactiol products are sold in Poland. I know they are in Belgium, Netherlands and France... maybe ask your pharmacist.

[dora]

thank you again, MasK! i'll look around for that brand.