dairy-free kefir grains

[RandomName]

I want to try making kefir out of coconut milk.

The stores' kefir grains here all have milk powder in them. So I'm looking online and getting very confused.

How exactly are water kefir grains different from regular kefir grains? Are they a different bacteria? Are there "regular" kefir grains which don't include powdered milk, or is that by definition part of the regular kefir grains? :confused:

I guess the short question is, what type of kefir grains work well with coconut milk and are dairy-free? Or is there no such thing?

[Serephina]

Have you checked out Dom's kefir site (http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.html)? There is a huge amount of information to wade through, but I'm pretty sure it contains everything there is to know about kefir!

I only have milk grains, so I'm not sure what the differences are between them and the water grains. True kefir grains do not contain milk powder. I've never seen kefir grains for sale at health food stores, only the powdered culture which I'm assuming is what your local stores have as well.

I have a feeling that you should be able to use milk kefir grains to culture coconut milk, but the grains may not propagate in non-dairy milk. You may need to keep some in dairy milk to keep your supply going, or alternate between dairy and non-dairy milks. Best to check out Dom's site for more info.

[RandomName]

off to read--many thanks!