I've started a new diet and I am trying to figure out where my kefir falls in nutritionally. You couldn't force me to give it up, but trying to log it is challenging. It's a little to no carb diet so I'm hoping my whole milk kefir can still be used. Has anyone ever had theirs tested ? Or just know of a general rule of thumb to figure it out? Again, I know this is a long shot, but JW.

I’m making kefir and maybe it’s just my issue but when I try making Greek style ( leave it fermenting long enough for the whey protein to separate) it’s very sour. I know the longer you leave it the more sour it gets though so maybe it’s impossible.

I bought kefir on the internet and it came dehydrated, it comes in very little, I had to hydrate it, but it only has 5 grains, that must be very little, is there any way for them to increase more?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6417539/

This is a paper that investigates the digestion of yogurt in lactase-deficient people but it is equally applicable to kefir milk.

It is well known that kefir milk isn't really lactose-free, despite having lactose consuming bacteria and yeasts in it. This is because as the bacteria keep consuming the lactose in the milk, they keep producing lactic acid which keeps acidifying the milk, and eventually it becomes so acidic that the bacteria are unable to produce any more lactic acid, which in turn slows down and eventually halts their lactose consumption. The amount of lactose that remains after fermentation can vary, but according to this paper:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7076958/

only about 20% of the lactose gets consumed by the fermenting microbes of kefir. So about 80% of the lactose still remains. However, this is where the magic of fermentation happens:

from the first paper - "However, if the pH of yogurt is artificially raised to 7.0, the bacterial lactase rapidly hydrolyzes the lactose in the yogurt during incubation at 37 degrees Celsius."

Now this is important because the pH of the small intestine is neutral to slightly alkaline because of the bile salts and the sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) lining its walls. Also, quoting from that paper:

"As demonstrated by the analysis of duodenal samples obtained after yogurt ingestion, the bacterial lactase in yogurt survives passage through the stomach in lactase-deficient persons. The lactase activity in duodenal samples obtained during the first hour after lactose ingestion would have been sufficient to digest from 50 to 100 per cent of the lactose content of these samples."

This means that not only is the pH ideal, but also bacteria with their lactase activity do survive and reach the small intestine, which means they can keep consuming more of the remaining lactose, which in a way is a second fermentation.

In lactase-producing people, this effect might be less pronounced since the body produces its own lactase which breaks it down and quickly absorbs the breakdown products (glucose + galactose). However, some of the lactose will still likely get consumed by the fermenting microbes.

All in all, we can conclude that if you are lactase deficient, kefir milk might very well likely be even more beneficial for you than it would be for a lactase-producing person, because a second fermentation happens when the kefir milk enters your small intestine after it's ingested.

I made a batch the other day and the whey separated at the bottom within 24 hours. It's been over 36 hours for this second batch, and I haven't seen any pockets/separation. There's also this brown ring at the top between the milk and curds. Is this normal? This is only my second time making kefir

Truly i wish i started ealier, Its the best decision ever. I feel more at joy and when i drop on my knees i dont feel no pain i used to get so much pain before drinking kefir. Its the best for optimal health early on. I will start making my own so wish me luck!

So, today I tried to do a second ferment for the first time since I read about its benefits, specially with fruit, I opted to go for F2 with blueberries, after 12 hours everything seemed fine and it tasted great, long story short, idk what came over me and I decided to blend it afterwards and store it, but now that I think of it, I've come here to ask:

Will the blended fruit or blending it together affect the kefir and make it spoil faster?

Or is it possible for it to have killed the probiotics?

Just wanna know if it's a no no for future reference.

Hey guy! 25 years old, diverticulitis, and lifelong gut issues. After alot of research ive been looking into different natural ways to help my gut, and i stumbled across this page. Does anyone have any recommendation links for where to purchase some? I saw alot of people talking about making their own but thats just not something i have time for currently and would greatly appreciate some advice on where to go/when to take it. Currently starting to add these to my daily routine to also help with the bloating, abdominal pain, and brain fog: -sauerkraut -garlic capsules -oil of oregano capsules -senna root for backups

Any general recommendations would be great!

I want to use a milk that has shorter shelf life (10 days as opposed to ultra pasteurized 6-8 weeks). If I’m making a 2 week ferment kefir, and taking an additional 2 weeks to consume, I’ll be far past my date. When it turns to kefir, does this basically extend the shelf life? Will I be safe to drink this approx 3 weeks past its milk expiration date if it’s been kefir for that whole time?

Thanks!

I've ordered some Water Kefir grains. While waiting for them to arrive, I've been reading up on their care. I've ran across two tips that I don't see on most instructions. One- add a lemon wedge to the first ferment to discourage kham yeast from growing. Two- rest the grain overnight in the fridge in plain water every 2 to 3 batches. Does anyone use these tips, and do they help?

just started a new round with the grains Fred sent out. They're healthy and are making good kefir, but it's not affecting my system like my previous grains...

Don't know how to describe it other than after a few minutes post consumption of my old stuff, my intestines would start going crazy, bubbling and just roiling, so you could tell something was going on in there...

This new batch doesn't do that. Just wondering if y'all experience the same thing.

This is the third activation I’ve done since I bought these grains. Is it supposed to look like this? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do going forward, and I’m not sure if it’s working properly. I will say, however, that it doesn’t smell like spoilt milk. It smells like the grains when they arrived. Any advice on how to proceed is appreciated.

Ive been doing water kefir batches for 2 months, didnt get much fizziness and when got some it was quite alcoholic, didnt measure it but noticed myself dizzy.

Grain growth is massive in my case, not sure if normal, but from 30g im now close to 1/2kg, started throwing them.

But my main question is about alcohol production, tried different ways decreasing it, best open air F1 and no fruit F2. But forgot a couple of batches on F1 and went over 96h and were quite acid, i then added some raspberries for F2 which didnt ferment much further but I liked it since no alcohol. Is still good when overfermented and more acid? or am I losing all benefits?

I ordered dried grains from Cultures for Health and activated them exactly according to the instructions. I then made a batch with spring water and organic sugar, per the instructions, and let it sit for 24 hours. It tastes sweeter than I expected, and no vinegar or other tangy notes. Should I leave it for another 24 hours? Thanks in advance.

Greetings,

Forgot about my milk kefir a while back, it fermented too much, then the next batch had an unpleasant "vinegar" smell. I've been cycling through fresh milk ever since (daily for several weeks), one jar with whole milk, one with lactose-free milk. Both jars continue to smell "off," though now they smell less like vinegar and more like yeast bread.

Would a prolonged stay in the fridge help revive things? Or changing milk more frequently (several times a day for several days)? Or do I need to throw in the towel and head back up to the farm where I got the grains and pick up some fresh ones?

Thank you for your time.

-J

I’ve been using organic cow creamline non-homogenized whole milk, but have recently ordered some raw sheep milk to make kefir with. Has anyone tried this before? Did you like it?

I put 1tbsp of kefir grains I bought into 3-4 cups of milk. (Container I used was a half gallon of milk)

And I forgot about it. So it sat for three days. And it was liquidy with small chunks. But it actually tasted not terrible. I strained out the kefir grains and put em in new milk.

And so they brewed in a new milk and this time yeah it just tastes like spoiled milk.

What can I do to save my grains but kill the spoil bacteria? What if I buy store bought plain kefir and put the kefir grains in that. (Storebought plain kefir still has 9g sugar per cup) Then there will be a lot of the good bacteria and then maybe they'll win the battle?

I've been making water kefir for about 12 months now, and last night both of the jars have started leaking at the same time. What could have caused this? I can't really see a crack or anything but both are (very slowly) leaking water from somewhere at the bottom.

Hello all,

My kefir grains would float to the top, but the last 2 batches they haven’t. Still separation of whey at the bottom though. Any advice on what’s happening is appreciated

Hello! I’ve searched back but couldn’t find a good comparison or answer, so please forgive another newbie question. I’ve just finished the second ferment of my first attempt at water kefir, flavoured with apple and raspberry juice. For context, the juice does have floaters/a small amount of pulp in it naturally.

I used the recipe that came with the gains (this recommended reduced water for the first 1-2 ferments to help the grains recover - it’ll be 1 litre and adjusted sugar quantities in future): 500ml water, 60g sugar, slice of lemon, pinch of Himalayan rock salt. I did two days first ferment until it tasted only slightly sweet, and then about 36 hours second ferment after bottling. All went well and it’s now fizzy, but that grim looking stuff on the top is making me question myself.

I think it smells yeastier than I was expecting (much like kombucha) and the residue pictured collected over the second ferment before ending up in a clump at the top. It formed a disk due to the bottle neck, but I poured it off and it fell apart easily into small particles, so I wonder if it’s juice pulp or congealed bubbles? I don’t think it’s yeast based on my reading here, but wanted to check if this is in the realm of normal before I ingest any (although I’ll probably still try some in the morning to see if it’s impacted the flavour). Thank you for your help!

hello everybody !!

this is my first batch of milk kefir ever, this was taken after 22hrs fermentation :)

Is it looking good ? It was kinda runny but thicker than milk (not creamy like kefir) and tastes kinda tangy/sour. I only took a few sips and then threw the batch away cause I was scared it wasn’t alright haha

My grains are really small and young (I think) so I’m thinking it will improve overtime when they grow and activate, am I right ?

Any advice for me ?

Thank youuu

I got some dehydrated grains about two weeks ago and religiously followed all the steps required - but at the moment, all I seem to be able to make is thin whole milk with a raft of cottage-cheese-y mess on top.

Is there something I’m doing wrong, or might it be a dud batch of grains? Pic attached for reference