Kefir Starter Cultures - Pack of Freeze-Dried Culture Sachets For Creamy and Mild Milk Kefir (3 sachets)

First time kefir-making with freeze-dried powder. Easy, perfect kefir: Wash quart mason jar in hot soapy water, put in microwave still wet and set timer for 1 minute. Now bone dry, take out and pour in a near quart of full-fat milk, topped off with half and half. Stir in one packet of kefir powder, top the the jar with the metal disc of the 2 part lid, put in the cupboard that maintains 80 degrees F thanks to the hot water pipe that runs up the side, and wait 22 hours. Not necessary to heat the milk first and then let cool. I pour it into a sanitized jar straight from the fridge. Oh my, that's delicious. Not too tart, not too thick or thin - just very good. This company has a customer.

I want to start by saying that I read all of the reviews prior to buying and using these particular freeze dried cultures. I've made kefir from live cultures before, but had never tried freeze dried. I'm still on the cultures from the first packet and have been logging everything so I can share. The number one most important thing I read from the instructions that came with the packets is that you need to use the freshest, full fat milk, with no preservatives, that you can get. (Please read the instructions: It only takes 2 minutes.) When I read how a lot of your kefir failed because you were using skim milk, 1%, 2% or old milk, it doesn't surprise me. Kefir is an organism that needs fuel. When you use processed milk of any kind, you've already sabotaged your kefir effort. The number two most important thing is to be using non-metal containers and utensils for scalding and stirring your milk (pasteurizing) to kill any germs or microbes that it may have picked up during the factory process. To me, this means glass. I buy my whole milk in glass bottles. I don't like plastic because it can harbor germs and offload chemicals back into the food. This means good spoons that aren't metal. The number three most important thing is to consider your heat source. My kefir has been coming out strong and firm because I have a good heat source, I don't peak at it during the culturing process, and I'm using good, full fat milk. The heat source doesn't have to be a yogurt maker. It can be cultured in a cooling oven after baking; a toaster oven (older models) set at 80°F to 90°F, or with a heating pad set at high for the first go round (mine shuts off after 2 hours) and then graduating to medium, then to low. I'm on my 4th culture with the first packet out of the five packet set. Each packet is good for culturing 5 gallons of whole milk. I want to try the next with goat milk and sheep milk. The first picture is the glass bowl I use for heating the milk and for culturing my kefir. I heat (directions says to boil) mine to the requisite 190°F, hold it at that temperature for 10 minutes, then cool it down to 110°F. I do stir it with a ceramic spoon while it's cooling and also remove the skin and feed it to Miss Pepper. The second picture is my culturing setup using the electric heating pad. I place a plate on the top of the bowl to cover, then place a doubled towel on top of that to retain the heat. This is my winter setup as it's kind of chilly in our kitchen when I'm not cooking or baking. The last picture is the perfect kefir. Have questions? Please read the instructions before asking me. Thank you.

This culture works very well, I consistenly get good quality kefir in every batch. After using the culture powder as instructed for the first batch, I bring milk to a boil briefly to kill any competing bacteria, cool to about 90F, add about 1/4 cup of kefir from the previous batch, then let it sit in a relatively warm place, covered by a paper coffee fiter secured with a rubber band, for 3-6 hours (or overnight). The resulting kefir is thick, creamy and delicious. I have been using this method for about 6 months with great results. Truly a "best buy!"

not effervescent or sour, a very mild kefir. got here fast, set up well.

Kefir has its unmistakable flavor combined with various degrees of sharpness. You can taste it far away in the background when you pick up a bottle of kefir at your local supermarket. If you have ever tried kefir in Europe (USSR in particular), tasting that kefir is like reading in candlelight with the candle positioned 10 yards away. The culture from the package sold here makes the most delicious yogurt. Truly delicious! But not a kefir! Not even close. There NOTHING from kefir in this product.

These cultures have worked great so far. I have only needed to use one packet, since you can save some of the end product to start your next batch. Kudos to the manufacturer for also being clear in their instructions that you don't need to use a new sachet each time. As expected with any freeze dried culture, the second generation/use and on were more aggressive than the first use since they had been freeze dried but more than happy with how aggressive the cultures were right from the sachet. Very happy to see a nice mix of cultures instead of predominantly a single strain.

I was so disappointed that these sachets did not work at all and cost me lots of milk. I also don't like that you need to boil the milk first because I hate the smell of boiled milk. Waste of money. I did order a teaspoon from Etsy for $17.99 and they are growing like crazy. Glad this experience didn't stop me from making delicious Kefir.

This is the first time I have tried making Kefir of any type. I didn't realize there are 2 different kinds of milk kefir; freeze-dried powder that is essentially a one-time use that doesn't require straining the SCOBYs out, and the type with "grains" (SCOBYs) that continue to grow and require ongoing maintenance. This one is the powdered kind, which can be used to make more than one batch if you wish, by taking a few spoonfuls (before adding any kind of flavoring to it) and mixing it in fresh milk then fermenting it. I have always loved yogurt and never thought twice about eating it, even though I know it is made with bacteria; but it initially took me awhile to get over the "ick factor" with the milk kefir before I could force myself to try it. It is actually quite good, especially when adding some stevia powder as sweetener, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. I have only been able to make 3 batches from one packet so far, but actually look forward to having a large cup of milk kefir each day now. It has good flavor, even when only adding some stevia.

Taste good it makes a good yogurt

Followed the instructions and a single packet produced a liter of mild kefir with a consistency of thin yogurt. I used a few tablespoons from the initial batch to re-culture and it works well. Subsequent batches only took 6-8 hours at room temperature and were a bit thicker. Got good results using 2% and whole milk. One thing to note is this starter lacks 'Lactobacillus Bulgaricus' so it's quite mild. If you visit their website they do sell a kefir starter that includes it.

My first attempt at making kefir. The culture works really well. My first batch was done with lactose free milk. It worked but I was not sure if the outcome was what it should be because of the lactase enzyme in it. I tried a second batch using another pack of starter culture. For this batch I use full cream,non homogenized milk. This batch turned to curds and whey. I think the room was too hot so the culture worked very quickly, and I wasn’t expecting it to work that quickly so I didn’t check it often. And I noticed that the cream fat floated at the top of the jar, which I did not really like at all. I did my third batch using 3.25% homogenized milk and it was perfect. It took about 26 hours to get to that thick creamy consistency that I wanted it to be. I then took about 1/4 cup from that and added it to another litre of milk, and had more kefir in about six hours after. I realize that when I make it during the day I get to check it more often than if I make it overnight ( except for the very first batch using the starter culture powder. That takes more time so overnight works there).

Maybe it's just my personal preference, but I found the texture of this kefir a bit strange. It felt kinda sticky, not something I've seen before. Also, I don't understand why the instructions require boiling milk and then cooling it. The milk is already pasteurized. I was able to use cold milk for other producers' cultures, which is a lot more convenient. Also, you are able to re-batch the cultures only a few times.

I was hesitant due to the reviews. But I went for it with no regrets. I make it and the taste, texture is quite nice, and mild as stated and so easy to make. It is well packaged with simple to use instructions and the blue advertising stands out, which makes it classy. I use it on my home made apple sauce every day as a snack.