Thread: Kefir Makers - Need Some Advice

Hi

I got some kefir grains the other day and I am on my second batch, not sure if I made the first batch right but I sure enjoyed it!

Anyway, I added 250ml of goat's milk to the kefir grains about 8pm last night. It has been sitting there in a glass jar and it smells really really sour, is this right?

Hi Almene, welcome to the kefirhood. Generally kefir will smell a little sour, but not in a bad way, and will taste tangy. Were your grains "fresh" rather than dried when you received them? If so, they should be good to go, and you should be getting great kefir immediately. I generally give the jar a little stir or shake once in a while fermenting if I am home, and at the point where I see just start to see the whey separating at the bottom of the jar, it's done for my taste. When you have a good grain/milk ratio, the process should take about 24 hours, although I often stick the jar in the fridge to finish more slowly there, especially in the summer.

HTH
Brenda

Thanks for the welcome, I am very excited about it. Yes I got them fresh. I am obviously experimenting still and trying to grow my little batch into a bigger batch. I am using Organic goats milk at the moment, might try other types of milk next.

Adny advice/tips are greatly appreciated, as well as ideas on what to do with the kefir.

The grains will love the goat's milk And don't worry about the flock increasing--soon you will be overrun with kefirbabies, LOL!!!

When I use cow's milk, I often also add some canned coconut milk--it gives a wonderful flavor. Of course, you probably know you can make "kefir cheese" too. When you have a large enough batch in the fridge (just keep accumulating smaller batches), you can strain the whey from the kefir until you get a wonderful "cream cheese" like product. Good for spreads, dips, or just eating by the spoon! Other people like to use a blender and add a few berries or sugarfree flavoring for a great drink...

Personally, though, I'm a purist and usually prefer mine "straight up."

Yum, I love coconut milk.

It is too late now to drink the batch I have fermented, I have strained it and added more milk to the grains, they are in a cupboard, the batch is in the fridge will have some tomorrow morning.

Here's the thing with Kefir...........

How do I know whether it has gone off or whether it is meant to be that way? I have enver had it before and it tastes a bit like sour milk. How can I tell? I want to start drinking it and if it is good for me I can certainly acquire the taste but I need to ensure I am drinking it when it is right and not off.

I don't think it can get "off." As long as there is no mold growing on it (and that would be obvious) it will change a bit but all variations are fine. Regular kefir, left long enough, can get downright alcoholic. Kind of like a milk beer. LOL!

I have a two quart container in my fridge which has a wide screw on top, making it easy to pour stuff into it. The top then has a smaller flip top smaller opening which makes it easy to pour smaller amounts out. I just keep adding batches to it. Maybe once every month or so I wash out the main container to get off the cheesey stuff that builds up around the lid. I don't think you even need to do this, except for aesthetic reasons. Remember, this stuff was originally made in goat-skins. LOL!

When I'm getting a surplus of kefir, I make some cheese. I make various products. One has most, but not all of the whey strained out. This, when whipped up, can be used just like yogurt, but it's more stable. Then there is the more strained variety Brenda described.

Recently, I strained some under pressure, in a coffee filter and in a plastic wicker container, with a big jar of water on top for weight. I wound up with something that is about the size and shape of a camembert. I hung it up, still wrapped in the coffee filter and in its basket, in the basement just to see what's going to happen as it ripens. Currently it stinks ... but then, again, so do some of my favorite cheeses.

That cheese sounds fantastic, let's hope the smell goes away!

OK, As long as there is no mould then it is OK? I alwasy wonder about milk as that goes off if left at room temperature for too long.

This morning I blended some coconut ice cubes, some kefir and some frozen berries to form a sort of icy slush and it was very very yummy.

Maggie, love the cheese experiment! I bet it's going to be fantastic!!!

Alceme, remember that kefir was made for centuries by cultures that had NO refrigeration. The grains, in fact, work best at room temp and actually do change the composition of the milk. And like Maggie say, the stuff was carried about in sheep and goat skins--stomachs, actually, I think. It's really, really difficult to mess up kefir. If you keeping the kefir covered while it's fermenting (to prevent accidental contamination by foreign substances and/or air-borne yeasts/bacteria) and refrigerating when it's done--can't imagine too much going wrong.

Ugh, it's all putting me off, but I shall perservere! It has been 24 hours now but I see no separation so will leave it till tomorrow morning (it is about 2am here). It is also really really stinky.

Alceme, you could put it in the fridge now. It will continue to ferment, albeit very slowly. Really, really stinky?? Hmmm. I have to put my nose almost in the kefir, and then I'll smell a rather yeasty smell, that actually smells pretty good to me. Now goat milk itself smells stronger of course. Can you describe the smell??

It just smells sour.

Do you use full fat cow's milk? I might try that next.

The batch I made yesterday is in the fridge in a jar with a lid, it is OK to keep adding to it right? I can keep it in the fridge for how long?

I've used everything from full fat to fat free. Most people probably used full fat, however, I generally use 2%. That's just me.

Well, kefir's going to last in the fridge a good while, but I don't know exactly how long to tell you. The yeasts will continue to slowly ferment, creating a slightly more alcoholic product over time, the taste will get sharper. I don't think I've added to a batch longer than maybe a month before I've decided to make cheese or some such. Like Maggie said, if you are keeping it around for a while, you might want to wash the container occasionally. I doubt if it would "go bad" as much as just reach a stage where the taste or smell would be personally objectionable, as long as it didn't get contaminated.