Reculturing with Mad Millie Culture
You can reculture your kefir by using 1/4 cup to start your next batch twice thereafter. Each Kefir culture sachet treats 1 L, and from your finished product. This means you ultimately get 3 L of kefir, out of each sachet.
When reculturing kefir batches, the purity of the strain degrades the more you reuse it.
For example, if the fermentation happens at a different temperature between batches, then some strains will develop more than others (some strains thrive at 40°C while others prefer 20°C). This means that for your next batch, the initial proportion of strains will not be the same and the flavour and texture will be affected. However, if you do not mind variations, then it’s fine to reculture many times. Just keep in mind with reculturing, we can’t guarantee the same results every time.
Grains vs Culture
Below is a brief description, but be sure to read our detailed blog article here
Grains:
Kefir grains are often referred to when making kefir and are a starter, which you feed and reuse.
They are a live mixture of the bacteria and yeast + a milk/sugar mixture which resemble rice pudding or small clumps of cauliflower. They tend to be cultivated (from symbiotic cultures of bacteria and yeast) in either goat or cow’s milk.
Many available options are cow’s milk and you will want to take this into consideration if you have an intolerance. If you are intending to buy grains, first think about the this, then consider that grains thrive off the lactose in milk. There is no lactose in alternative milks, so you will need to refresh the grains once or twice a week in a dairy milk of your choice. Without this, your grains will struggle to produce kefir and eventually die.
Culture:
Mad Millie culture is the dehydrated and freeze dried, shelf stable (at low temperatures) bacteria found in this mixture. An extract basically, so we can make it last longer and provide a kit for you to use at home. Our culture still provides the great benefits of the kefir grains, just in a different form.
While you can't reculture them as much as grains, the great thing about powder cultures is their ease of use and storage, and the fact that they work easily with a variety of milks. No refreshing required. Just use a new sachet and keep using that for your chosen flavour (rice, soy, coconut, nut).