한국에서 수집된 케퍼 그레인의 특성에 대한 연구

Kefir is a traditional fermented milk in Caucasusian area and is made mainly of milk fermented with lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Six typical kefir grains were selected from ten kefir grains collected from different locals in Korea. Kefir grains were gelatinous in texture and had various shapes of villi, grapes, leaves, hulled millets, and towels. To investigate predominant microflora of kefir grains, SPC, MRS, M17, Rogosa, and APT agar media were used for viable cell count. MRS, SPC, and Rogosa media were most acceptable for bacterial cell counts of the selected kefir grains. From one or two of the SPC agar plates which contained around 25~50 colonies, all grown colonies were isolated and identified. Most predominant bacteria was identified as Lactobacillus fermentum by API 50 CHL kit. The proportions of Lb. fermentum and Lb. brevis among the total identified bacteria were around 41~88% and 2~54%, respectively. To select the best preservation method for kefir grains, refrigeration, freezing, and freeze drying were compared. Freeze drying was found most suitable for the preservation of kefir grains, based upon their acid-producing activities and production of off-flavors.