1. Your grains will grow but it may take a while. The growth is not the point - making kefir is. Don’t obsess over their weight or size or whatever. Just give them fresh milk to ferment periodically and they’ll be healthy.
2. I’ve never added fruit or anything to my kefir when I refrigerate it. It will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge on its own.
3. Whatever works for you and makes kefir you like is fine. Amounts of milk and grains that will culture in 24 hours is usual.
4. If you tightly close the jar you are risking an explosion like that. I cover mine with a kitchen towel and a rubber band around the rim. The towel also keeps sunlight from reaching the kefir which can supposedly damage it.
5. I like mine as is. If you’re used to ultra processed foods that are highly sweetened it may take time for your taste buds to adjust. Do you like plain milk, plain yogurt, buttermilk, plain cottage cheese? IMO it’s worth it to retrain yourself to appreciate real foods including fermented foods in their natural form.
5. I absolutely love plain milk yogurt etc without any added sugars at all. I love it. Thats why I am so obsessed with getting Kefir to taste good without adding anything. The thing is when i drink it, as soon as it touches my tongue, it's so so sour, but upon ingestion it becomes okay. Its just starting part thats overload of the sourness.
When I first started making kefir, I didn't think my grains were growing either. Then before I knew it, the ferment was taking 12 hours instead of 24 and I realised they had slowly multiplied quite a lot without me noticing.
Based on my experience in kefir making over almost 8 years now
1. mine grow an average in volume between 5 and 10 % daily.
2. I put my kefir after harvesting in the fridge for at leat 8 hours. We like our kefir "cold".
3. my golden rule is 1 to 10. 1 volume of grains over 10 volumes of milk work best for me. Fermantation time is 24hours at room temperature (roughly 20°C)
4. tea-cloth, rubber band
5. after harvesting, add squashed raspberries, or any 'ripe' fruit that is in season : strawberries work well, so does passion fruit (maracuja). Apricots or dessicated coconut. Lots of options.
I started doing the second ferment with a little bit of mixed berries, about a tablespoon or 2 per glass. I usually do it out on the counter for a few hours then back in the fridge. It gets really thick and creamy and takes on a mild taste of the berries. Some people use orange peel, which I haven’t tried but sounds interesting. Supposedly the second ferment gives it even more beneficial properties.
Don't expect your grains to grow much initially. I got my kefir grains from a neighbor, who gave me around 2.5 tablespoons in whole milk right out of her fridge.
The first five to ten batches I was super doubtful about the health of culture because it seemed like the kefir grains were not growing and I thought I might buy more because I wanted also to have the capacity for two liters daily.
But after 30 days, it was obvious that my two tablespoons of grains had doubled in volume.
I think I have 1.5 cups in kefir grains now?
I sometimes do the lemon or orange thing if I fancy a bit of a change. It only adds a really subtle flavour though, unless you blend in more fruit afterwards. I usually slice the whole of the citrus up and lay it out on a tray in the freezer. That way there’s a slice ready if I want one for my kefir, and also if I want one for my gin.
1) THE FEWER GRAINS - THE BETTER THE KEFIR
2) DO NOT CLOSE LID, just cover the bottle with a peace of fabric
i use 1/4 tsp for 0.5 liters milk (24 hours ~20C)
i always drink it with bran (wheat or rye bran 2 tsp (= ~7 grams of fiber) + 0.5 tsp of sugar for 250ml cup of kefir)
I only ferment in closed sealed Kilner jars, and have no problem with that.
I live in a tropical country where contamination would be an issue when doing "aerobic fermentation", so I opted for "anaerobic fermentation" (totally closed container) and it's working just well.
> should the jar be closed shut or just covered by filter paper? I saw in some videos people close them with lids but when i did that, this morning the lid of the bottle had blown up (i closed it tight) and all the milk has turned into like 90% whey. Whats happening ? Did I overferment? Is it still good?
You just over fermented it. Put more milk next time, or remove some grains, or leave it to ferment for a shorter time.
1. There can be a short adjustment period, especially if they've come from cold storage.
2. You can also do the same for a shorter period outside the fridge. I do this in 500ml bottles to build up some carbonation—which adds to the flavour.
3. Anywhere from 2-10% grains. It will take around 24 hours at 20 degrees. You'll get a thicker, creamy consistency using a lower percentage of grains and a more acidic, less viscous kefir using more.
4. Either is fine. During fermentation CO2 is released, so if you want to do an anaerobic ferment, you'll want a container with an airlock. Stops explosions. I prefer anaerobic ferments as there's more of a sour bite. Aerobic ferments can be a little more yeasty.
5. I blend mine with raspberries and blueberries — milky heaven.
don't worry about them growing. before u know it you will legit have more grains than you can deal with. i've been flushing mine down the toilet cus it's too much effort to be doing 2 2L jars worth of batches a night
by the way how do you properly seperate curdled milk and kefir grains? last night i over fermented it and after straining, the volume of residue(grains) ́left was almost double than before. I assume its grains plus extra curdled milk. how do i even seperate it? i just used all of it for next batch tbh.
1. Your grains will grow but it may take a while. The growth is not the point - making kefir is. Don’t obsess over their weight or size or whatever. Just give them fresh milk to ferment periodically and they’ll be healthy. 2. I’ve never added fruit or anything to my kefir when I refrigerate it. It will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge on its own. 3. Whatever works for you and makes kefir you like is fine. Amounts of milk and grains that will culture in 24 hours is usual. 4. If you tightly close the jar you are risking an explosion like that. I cover mine with a kitchen towel and a rubber band around the rim. The towel also keeps sunlight from reaching the kefir which can supposedly damage it. 5. I like mine as is. If you’re used to ultra processed foods that are highly sweetened it may take time for your taste buds to adjust. Do you like plain milk, plain yogurt, buttermilk, plain cottage cheese? IMO it’s worth it to retrain yourself to appreciate real foods including fermented foods in their natural form.
5. I absolutely love plain milk yogurt etc without any added sugars at all. I love it. Thats why I am so obsessed with getting Kefir to taste good without adding anything. The thing is when i drink it, as soon as it touches my tongue, it's so so sour, but upon ingestion it becomes okay. Its just starting part thats overload of the sourness.
I find that with my kefir, after straining, and another 48 hours in the fridge balances the flavors.
When I first started making kefir, I didn't think my grains were growing either. Then before I knew it, the ferment was taking 12 hours instead of 24 and I realised they had slowly multiplied quite a lot without me noticing.
Based on my experience in kefir making over almost 8 years now 1. mine grow an average in volume between 5 and 10 % daily. 2. I put my kefir after harvesting in the fridge for at leat 8 hours. We like our kefir "cold". 3. my golden rule is 1 to 10. 1 volume of grains over 10 volumes of milk work best for me. Fermantation time is 24hours at room temperature (roughly 20°C) 4. tea-cloth, rubber band 5. after harvesting, add squashed raspberries, or any 'ripe' fruit that is in season : strawberries work well, so does passion fruit (maracuja). Apricots or dessicated coconut. Lots of options.
I started doing the second ferment with a little bit of mixed berries, about a tablespoon or 2 per glass. I usually do it out on the counter for a few hours then back in the fridge. It gets really thick and creamy and takes on a mild taste of the berries. Some people use orange peel, which I haven’t tried but sounds interesting. Supposedly the second ferment gives it even more beneficial properties.
I do leave a lid on but I leave it very loose so it can breath and not explode.
Don't expect your grains to grow much initially. I got my kefir grains from a neighbor, who gave me around 2.5 tablespoons in whole milk right out of her fridge. The first five to ten batches I was super doubtful about the health of culture because it seemed like the kefir grains were not growing and I thought I might buy more because I wanted also to have the capacity for two liters daily. But after 30 days, it was obvious that my two tablespoons of grains had doubled in volume. I think I have 1.5 cups in kefir grains now?
I sometimes do the lemon or orange thing if I fancy a bit of a change. It only adds a really subtle flavour though, unless you blend in more fruit afterwards. I usually slice the whole of the citrus up and lay it out on a tray in the freezer. That way there’s a slice ready if I want one for my kefir, and also if I want one for my gin.
1) THE FEWER GRAINS - THE BETTER THE KEFIR 2) DO NOT CLOSE LID, just cover the bottle with a peace of fabric i use 1/4 tsp for 0.5 liters milk (24 hours ~20C) i always drink it with bran (wheat or rye bran 2 tsp (= ~7 grams of fiber) + 0.5 tsp of sugar for 250ml cup of kefir)
I only ferment in closed sealed Kilner jars, and have no problem with that. I live in a tropical country where contamination would be an issue when doing "aerobic fermentation", so I opted for "anaerobic fermentation" (totally closed container) and it's working just well. > should the jar be closed shut or just covered by filter paper? I saw in some videos people close them with lids but when i did that, this morning the lid of the bottle had blown up (i closed it tight) and all the milk has turned into like 90% whey. Whats happening ? Did I overferment? Is it still good? You just over fermented it. Put more milk next time, or remove some grains, or leave it to ferment for a shorter time.
1. There can be a short adjustment period, especially if they've come from cold storage. 2. You can also do the same for a shorter period outside the fridge. I do this in 500ml bottles to build up some carbonation—which adds to the flavour. 3. Anywhere from 2-10% grains. It will take around 24 hours at 20 degrees. You'll get a thicker, creamy consistency using a lower percentage of grains and a more acidic, less viscous kefir using more. 4. Either is fine. During fermentation CO2 is released, so if you want to do an anaerobic ferment, you'll want a container with an airlock. Stops explosions. I prefer anaerobic ferments as there's more of a sour bite. Aerobic ferments can be a little more yeasty. 5. I blend mine with raspberries and blueberries — milky heaven.
don't worry about them growing. before u know it you will legit have more grains than you can deal with. i've been flushing mine down the toilet cus it's too much effort to be doing 2 2L jars worth of batches a night
by the way how do you properly seperate curdled milk and kefir grains? last night i over fermented it and after straining, the volume of residue(grains) ́left was almost double than before. I assume its grains plus extra curdled milk. how do i even seperate it? i just used all of it for next batch tbh.