Kefir making questions

[Grace&Violets]

I found someone local that gave me some kefir grains that have only been in organic milk. Yay! Anyway, I put them in a clean jar with 4 cups of milk, rubberbanded a coffee filter to the top of the jar and had planned on leaving it for 24 hours...I accidentally left it for closer to 36 hours. It turned out really lumpy and doesn't taste good at all. I really hope I didn't ruin my grains.

 

Can anyone tell me if I ruined it or not? Also, if you could share your method of making kefir and how you make it so that your kids will drink it, I would love to know. My kids like the store bought kind, but I couldn't even drink the stuff I made. And I feel like I wasted 4 cups of good organic milk in the process!

[cowgirl8]

I had to look kefir up, never heard of it. Sounds yucky, but, the health part of it is interesting.

[CrabGrassAcres]

I like it salted, no sugar, like buttermilk. My sister prefers it in smoothies. My daughter likes it sugared and flavored like yogurt.

 

If it is too clumpy, gently pour off the excess liquid. (I salt this and drink it, but you can use it for bread.) Then strain the rest so you don't lose your grains. You can gently work it thru the mesh but don't press too hard. Pour a little fresh milk over the grains into your container that has the thickened milk. Put the grains into fresh milk. Take the milk that was strained and put it in a capped container for 24 hrs so the fizz builds up and the taste improves. You serve out of this container and strain each day's production from the grains into it. It doesn't need to be emptied and washed too often, every two or three weeks is more than enough.

 

 

[Grace&Violets]

Thanks Trish! Do you cap your kefir while it's fermenting or do you put a cloth or coffee filter over it? I'd like to make it as fizzy as possible, because that's the way the kids like it. And it's ok that it was sitting for 36 hours?

 

I couldn't find the grains through the clumps after I strained it, so I'll try pouring the milk over it while in the strainer next time. That makes sense, since you're not supposed to rinse with water.

 

To make it sweeter, can you just add sucanat and fruit juice to it or is there another way you do it?

 

Cowgirl8, it's really good, kind of like a yogurt smoothie or something, if it's sweetened the right way.

[Prickle]

I keep mine a quart jar and just twist the lid loosely. Every once in a while I close the lid tight and turn it upside down then back right side up and un-tighten the lid again. This helps the grains come in contact with all of the milk and, in my experience, seems to keep it from separating.

 

I think a cloth over the top might let in other critters you don't want in there. Because it's a ferment you want to cover it with something that will let the gas escape but doesn't let too much air back in.

 

I find when it's warm that 12 hours is about right. During the winter it takes about 24 hours.

 

If its lumpy and yucky I would toss that batch, rinse the grains and start over. When I rinse my grains and start over it usually takes a little longer for the kefir to thicken the first time. And sometimes that first ferment is just thinner than usual no matter what. I just drink it like that. The second time it's usually back on track.

 

Kefir will separate if there are too many grains for the amount of milk or if it's left to ferment for an extended amount of time. It shouldn't effect the taste, just blend to back together. Although the longer you leave out the tangy-er it will get.

[cowgirl8]

I'm pretty excepting of most things, but this just sounds very weird, like a lab experiment. I'm not sure if i could eat something set out

When i was in England, i found that refrigeration was not what it is here. In stores, eggs were left out. Most homes had very small refrigerators, like apartment sized ones. The family i stayed with left their fresh milk out on the counter. She also left cooked meat sitting out. I dont find myself picky, but i guess if i know its been sitting at room temp, i'm a little grossed out and i cant explain why.....

[Prickle]

I'm pretty excepting of most things, but this just sounds very weird, like a lab experiment. I'm not sure if i could eat something set out

When i was in England, i found that refrigeration was not what it is here. In stores, eggs were left out. Most homes had very small refrigerators, like apartment sized ones. The family i stayed with left their fresh milk out on the counter. She also left cooked meat sitting out. I dont find myself picky, but i guess if i know its been sitting at room temp, i'm a little grossed out and i cant explain why.....

 

My mom's husband is with you, he thinks anything with cultures in it is weird and gross.

 

But this isn't just leaving something out to spoil. It's very similar to yogurt it just does it's thing at room temp instead of needing to be heated.

 

It goes through basically the same process as pickles and sauerkraut...which I'm sure doesn't do anything to make it sound more appetizing

[CrabGrassAcres]

If you don't cap it you will lose the fizz. Just be careful when you open it that it doesn't fizz all over the counter.

 

When I was in Colorado I could leave things out much longer than here. Stuff goes bad very rapidly in the heat here. I wouldn't dream of leaving milk out unless I was culturing it.

[Grace&Violets]

I'm pretty excepting of most things, but this just sounds very weird, like a lab experiment. I'm not sure if i could eat something set out

When i was in England, i found that refrigeration was not what it is here. In stores, eggs were left out. Most homes had very small refrigerators, like apartment sized ones. The family i stayed with left their fresh milk out on the counter. She also left cooked meat sitting out. I dont find myself picky, but i guess if i know its been sitting at room temp, i'm a little grossed out and i cant explain why.....

 

From what I've learned, the eggs sold in England are not washed, so they have a longer unrefrigerated shelf-life. Although I'm sure of the milk...I'd rather have that cold. As for meat, I probably would keep that cold, but we do keep cooked bacon on the counter all day and snack on it. We've never gotten sick from it.

[Grace&Violets]

Maybe I will try the 12 hour ferment and see how that tastes, then slowly increase the ferment time on subsequent batches, until we figure out what tastes good to us. I checked it at 12 hours (the first batch) and it didn't seem done, but I didn't taste it.

 

So my next question: What is the ratio of grains to milk that most of you use? I think I had about 1 tbsp grains and I poured 4 cups of milk onto that. I used a 1/2 gallon jar with a glass latch-top because I heard that you shouldn't fill the jar to the top. If I were to use quart jars instead, how would that work with ratios?

[Prickle]

Maybe I will try the 12 hour ferment and see how that tastes, then slowly increase the ferment time on subsequent batches, until we figure out what tastes good to us. I checked it at 12 hours (the first batch) and it didn't seem done, but I didn't taste it.

 

So my next question: What is the ratio of grains to milk that most of you use? I think I had about 1 tbsp grains and I poured 4 cups of milk onto that. I used a 1/2 gallon jar with a glass latch-top because I heard that you shouldn't fill the jar to the top. If I were to use quart jars instead, how would that work with ratios?

 

I have about 2 Tbls in my quart jar. I leave about a 1/2" head space.

[Grace&Violets]

So, I added the kefir grains to a 1 quart jar, leaving about 1/2"-1" at the top (like Prickle said). I put it in the cupboard for 24 hours, strained it and put the kefir in the fridge for a few hours before I tasted it. It turned out really creamy and good. Mixed with a little OJ, it tastes like an orange dreamsicle. Yum! Now I need to figure out how to flavor it, other than just orange juice.

[Prickle]

I use jam mostly.

 

Banana is good and fresh berries.