Legend of the Kefir Grains

"The precious grains, often referred to as “jeweled grains,” were brought to Russia; the legend of the journey is a story filled with romantic intrigue, involving a Caucasus prince and a beautiful girl. From there they have traveled westward ever since. The grains themselves are not true grains, but are a gelatinous matrix of bacteria consisting of various strains of friendly yeasts and lactobacilli, lipids, sugars and proteins."