Congratulations, and welcome to the world of kefir!!! The kind of milk you use is up to you. The grains I received were from a gal who's family ran a large dairy in Eastern Kansas, so they were grains that had only been used in raw milk. Since I do home food storage (I haven't purchased liquid commercial milk from a grocery store since 1981), I use reconstituted powdered milk - and have all the years I've made kefir (over a decade). No transition period.... Occasionally I'll have some 1/2 & 1/2 or whipping cream on hand and I'll add a little of it to the milk for a richer/thicker curd. I can also get a thicker curd by using more milk powder, but I think the grains "like" the additional fat provided by the 1/2 & 1/2 and whipping cream occasionally. I also use reconstituted powdered coconut milk for coconut kefir (you can also used canned coconut milk or make your own with unsweetened coconut and water - blended and strained). Occasionally when I get extra grains I'll make a batch or two with cider or 100% grape juice - but the grains don't thrive more than a few non-milk batches. I've also made it with raw goats milk, but not very often. It's not budget-friendly. Kefir can have a cleansing effect and your body will let you know how much is "enough", or too much. We only consume 2 servings of dairy each day, and the morning kefir counts as one of them. I use it in a smoothie-type mixture every morning. I also use it as a substitute for buttermilk in cooking/baking. Drain the curd and it's my substitute for plain yogurt, cream cheese, and sour cream - as needed. Where you will notice a difference in taste is when the temperature fluctuates. I personally prefer the more mild-tasting kefir fermented in cool winter temperatures (ambient temperature in our kitchen doesn't usually get above 64-degrees F in the winter), compared to the more sour/tart kefir made when the temperature is much warmer, but I use it all year and make it about every 4-5 days. It your kefir gets "gritty", that means the temperature is too warm for fermenting. The warmer the temperature, the faster it ferments. Sometimes in as little as 9-12-hours. My favorite is coconut milk kefir, but I only make it once a month, or so. It makes a nice add-in to orange or pineapple/orange juice, or used in desserts, and great topped with granola for breakfast or a snack. -Grainlady

I've used all kinds of milk products (powdered whole milk, powdered non-fat dry milk, whey-based milk substitute, raw goat milk, homogenized goat milk, homogenized cow milk, low-fat, 2%, whole....) for making kefir. I've been making kefir for around 7-years. I have some fermenting on my kitchen counter as I type, and made 2-cups of it yesterday. What I find is that the lower the fat, the more whey you get, instead of curd. But whey is good too. I use the whey for making whey lemonade, which is one of the most refreshing drinks when it's hot outside. I'm on the fence when it comes to homogenized and raw milk products - even though I'm a big fan of "Nourishing Traditions". I think getting the beneficial bacteria from kefir outweighs WHAT you make it in. I didn't have a problem with raw goat milk, other than I was afraid I'd contract some horrible bacteria from the family's filthy kitchen than I was about using raw dairy products. The "odd" taste must be what they are feeding the goats. To make kefir easy-to-swallow, which even my picky hubby likes, we use it as a morning smoothie. I use a Hamilton Beach Malt-Maker for mixing. The stainless steel cup for the malt-maker has 3 markings on the side. I put kefir up to the first mark (2/3-cup), 100% fruit juice of choice (grape, orange, pomegranate/blueberry is a favorite....and the strong flavor of it would probably mask any "farm" flavor of the goat milk), to the top mark (about 1-1/3-cup - so a 1:2 ratio (or to taste). We also add flaxmeal and a supplement powder, and give it a whirr... If that doesn't work, how about making water kefir - which takes different kefir grains than dairy kefir? Or fermenting fruit juice with the kefir grains? How about taking the drained kefir cheese and adding strong flavors (spices, onion, horseradish) and making a vegetable dip out of it. Mix kefir cheese with guacamole.... Go to Dom's Kefir Insite for more information. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Fermented Treasures

I whole heartedly agree about gym class being mandatory. Mine was from 1st through 9th grade. My kids, who are in their late 20's was the same. I think it's because schools are so poorly funded now they just don't have money for it. When I was a kid I'd down Koolaid like crazy, but I played outdoors a lot too, and unfortunately most kids can't play in their front yards with their buddies anymore like we could. Times have really changed. But don't tell me I can't have a 20 oz. pop by golly! lol

Updating my kefir experimentation results: I made a kefir cheese ball, by hanging the curds is a bag until solid, then adding dried onion flakes, red pepper flakes, granulated garlic, basil flakes, salt, pepper, and a little sugar to try to balance the sourness of the cheese. I still didn't care for it without the butter and cream cheese, but my son loved it with crackers, so I sent it home with him. If I have extra cheese, I'll save it for his visits. I made sugar cookies today, using a drop cooky recipe that I've been using for many years, but I substituted 1/2 cup kefir cheese for 1/4 cup of the butter, and left out 1 Tbs of the milk. Since the cheese was a little 'curdled' and very sour, I added a couple of Tbs. of corn syrup and substituted 1/4 tsp of baking soda for 1/4 tsp. of the baking powder, because of the lactic acid. Oh my, are they good!