ISO Lakewood person who makes their own kefir

cuterpatooter

Fri, Nov 01 2019, 10:32 am

Hi everyone, DH has made kefir in the past with his own "kefir grains" and store bought milk. (the kefir grain piece is the bacteria/yeast clump that processes the milk and makes it into the healthy kefir). We currently don't have the kefir grains, and the way to get it, is to get it from someone else that has been doing batches and can give you a piece of their's. (or even if they're not still doing batches, maybe froze a piece.)

So I was wondering if anyone can point me to someone that has kefir grains and would be willing to share a piece.

Thank you

lkwdlady

Fri, Nov 01 2019, 12:41 pm

I know some people who do this but I don’t know if they would want me to post their names.

It’s usually a certain type of health people who do these things and they all know each other.. who got your husband into it? Can he call that person?

cuterpatooter

Fri, Nov 01 2019, 2:35 pm

lkwdlady wrote:

Oh cool though! Would you be able to DM their info, with their permission ok?

cuterpatooter

Mon, Jan 13 2020, 10:39 pm

Hello to anyone that finds this thread!
MAJOR UPDATE:

I called Star K on 11/4/19
and they told me that it's not allowed to buy or use any Kefir grains unless they are kosher certified. (I asked, What if a Jewish person got it from someone through the kefir network, and has been using it for years. Can I take some of the Jewish person's grains and use it? They said that it doesn't get kashered no matter how many times it was used and how much it grew. It's still assur.)

And there is a shiur from the CRC (shiur " 2013-November 15 "
http://www.crcweb.org/kashrus_shiurim.php) (direct link to the mp3 file)[url=http://www.crcweb.org/shiurim_dc/Dairy/Dairy%20115-3d%20(Nov%2015,%202013).mp3]direct link to the mp3 file[/url]

Rabbi Dovid Cohen says that the CRC originally (pre-2013) told people that it's mutar to use kefir grains if you first did 3 batches and threw the batches out, but now they realized that their Psak didn't know a certain detail, and the Halacha is that the grains are assur even after the 3 batches.

So if your kefir grains didn't come with a hechsher (I haven't found any grains in the country with a hechsher yet), please be sure to ask your Rav if its mutar to continue using your grains for making kefir.