# Quality Assessment of Organic Kefirs Made with Kefir Grains and Freeze-Dried Starter Cultures
## 4 Conclusions
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Day** & **L12** & **L24** & **G12** & **G24** \\ \hline Lactobacilli, log cfu/g & & & \\
7 & 8.06 \({}^{\rm cC}\)\(\pm\) 0.08 & 6.93 \({}^{\rm b,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.02 & 7.11 \({}^{\rm c,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.22 & 6.53 \({}^{\rm b,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.09 \\
14 & 4.51 \({}^{\rm b,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.48 & 4.28 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.17 & 4.97 \({}^{\rm a,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.02 & 6.32 \({}^{\rm a,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.37 \\
21 & 3.87 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.03 & 4.29 \({}^{\rm a,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.10 & 5.74 \({}^{\rm b,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.15 & 6.11 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.03 \\ \hline Lactococci, log cfu/g & & & \\
7 & 7.07 \({}^{\rm c,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.10 & 5.40 \({}^{\rm c,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.24 & 7.79 \({}^{\rm c,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.45 & 7.67 \({}^{\rm b,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.02 \\
14 & 4.33 \({}^{\rm b,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.22 & 5.12 \({}^{\rm b,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.14 & 6.34 \({}^{\rm c,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.35 & 6.83 \({}^{\rm a,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.20 \\
21 & 3.76 \({}^{\rm a,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.06 & 4.81 \({}^{\rm a,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.03 & 6.94 \({}^{\rm b,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.01 & 7.77 \({}^{\rm b,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.08 \\ \hline Yeasts and molds, log cfu/g & & & \\
7 & 4.57 \({}^{\rm b,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.33 & 4.71 \({}^{\rm c,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.09 & 5.80 \({}^{\rm B}\)\(\pm\) 0.41 & 6.88 \({}^{\rm b,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.61 \\
14 & 4.72 \({}^{\rm b,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.16 & 4.22 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.09 & 5.92 \({}^{\rm C}\)\(\pm\) 0.10 & 6.37 \({}^{\rm a,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.06 \\
21 & 3.81 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,A}\)\(\pm\) 0.07 & 4.36 \({}^{\rm b,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.06 & 5.69 \({}^{\rm C}\)\(\pm\) 0.37 & 6.10 \({}^{\rm a,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.23 \\ \hline Non-LAB, log cfu/g & & & \\
7 & 3.63 \({}^{\rm b,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.24 & 4.51 \({}^{\rm c,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.09 & \(<\)2 \({}^{\rm\Lambda}\) & 3.03 \({}^{\rm c,B}\)\(\pm\) 0.09 \\
14 & 2.95 \({}^{\rm\Lambda,C}\)\(\pm\) 0.03 & 3.43 \({}^{\rm a,D}\)\(\pm\) 0.17 & \(<\)2 \({}^{\properties, and the desired sensory characteristics. A 12 h fermentation of kefir based on a freeze-dried culture proved to be insufficient to obtain an acceptable quality product. By using a traditional culture in the form of kefir grains, products with a lower pH value were obtained, indicating the better acidification ability of that culture. In terms of quality characteristics, kefir G24 was found to have better properties than kefir G12. Kefir G24 had a lower tendency for syneresis, a higher ethanol content, and higher cohesiveness than kefir G12. These results indicate that a longer fermentation time of 24 h is more appropriate for both the use of traditional kefir grains and a freeze-dried culture. Moreover, kefirs fermented with kefir grains had a higher count of yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, especially at the end of the storage period, and may be considered as natural probiotic products. Conceptualization, K.S., I.D. and A.M.-M.; methodology, K.S., I.D., A.M.-M. and E.B.-W.; software, K.S. ; validation, K.S., I.D. and A.M.-M.; formal analysis, K.S., A.M.-M. and E.B.-W.; investigation, K.S. and I.D. ; resources, K.S. ; data curation, K.S. ; writing--original draft preparation, K.S. and I.D. ; writing--review and editing, K.S., I.D. and A.M.-M.; visualization, K.S. ; supervision, K.S., I.D. and A.M.-M.; project administration, K.S. ; funding acquisition, I.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This research received no external funding. Not applicable. Informed Consent Statement: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The results of the two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) of quality characteristics of organic kefirs. The results of the two-factor ANOVA analysis of organic kefirs quality characteristics.