importance of fermenting kefir?
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orka1998 6 years, 11 months ago.
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I like my kefir mild. I have been fermenting it for 12 hours. Is it more beneficial to leave it longer or does it matter at all?
mariegirl
Everything I’ve read says about 24 hours, but can go up to 48. but that’s for water kefir.
This site has a ton of info,
http://www.yemoos.com/mainwaterkefir.htmlMine is milk kefir and I read to ferment it at least 12 hrs and of course longer. I’m also starting a probiotic pill today and wonder if this is enough. I don’t know how much longer I could ferment it without enjoying it.
mariegirl
Hi mariegirl,
I think you should ferment it at least 24 hours to allow grains to “eat” all the sugar out of the milk. Try to experiment with amount of milk and grains, put little more milk which will give you a slightly lighter taste.
Also, to improve taste, you can use some stevia.
Mainly, you get used to it over time. It is an acquired taste. Just think of it as medicine and drink it down.
I personally love it, but I’m used drinking it since I was a kid (it’s pretty common drink in the part of the world I come from).
Have fun with it 🙂
Arijana
Hi Arijana
My kefir has a bit of a “cheesish” taste. A bit like cheese that has been in the sun, slightly rancid. Is that normal? I drank it over the last two weeks and thought it was normal since I’d never tasted kefir before, but now my father, who drank kefir as a child, told me it should not taste like this. My kefir does not really taste sour, it’s more mild with this strange taste. I sometimes get stomach pain after drinking it and thought it was die-off, but now I’m wondering whether my grains are bad and the pain is due to some bacteria that should not be in it?
I’ve tried different fermenting hours between 12 and 48 hours, the taste is always the same, just gets stronger with time. I fermented it at room temperature (maybe around 21 degrees), I did not try fermenting it at 15 degrees.
Would be grateful for help!
Chloë
Chlofloso wrote: Hi Arijana
My kefir has a bit of a “cheesish” taste. A bit like cheese that has been in the sun, slightly rancid. Is that normal? I drank it over the last two weeks and thought it was normal since I’d never tasted kefir before, but now my father, who drank kefir as a child, told me it should not taste like this. My kefir does not really taste sour, it’s more mild with this strange taste. I sometimes get stomach pain after drinking it and thought it was die-off, but now I’m wondering whether my grains are bad and the pain is due to some bacteria that should not be in it?
I’ve tried different fermenting hours between 12 and 48 hours, the taste is always the same, just gets stronger with time. I fermented it at room temperature (maybe around 21 degrees), I did not try fermenting it at 15 degrees.
Would be grateful for help!
Chloë
Chloe
I am excatly the same as you, I smelt it and thought is this really going to do me any good??
I didn’t think mine was thick enough, still really running so I am leaving mine for a 48 hour period. I think I used far too much milk in my first batch though thus the reason it’s taking so long.
Just an open question to anyone – Kefir is safe to drink even though it’s been left on the side for two days? You can’t get food poisoning can you?
Chlofloso wrote: Hi Arijana
My kefir has a bit of a “cheesish” taste. A bit like cheese that has been in the sun, slightly rancid. Is that normal? I drank it over the last two weeks and thought it was normal since I’d never tasted kefir before, but now my father, who drank kefir as a child, told me it should not taste like this. My kefir does not really taste sour, it’s more mild with this strange taste. I sometimes get stomach pain after drinking it and thought it was die-off, but now I’m wondering whether my grains are bad and the pain is due to some bacteria that should not be in it?
I’ve tried different fermenting hours between 12 and 48 hours, the taste is always the same, just gets stronger with time. I fermented it at room temperature (maybe around 21 degrees), I did not try fermenting it at 15 degrees.
Would be grateful for help!
Chloë
Hi Chloe,
I cannot tell if your kefir is bad or not without actually tasting the kefir, unfortunately cyber space is not that advanced yet 🙂 I can try to describe what kefir should taste like and some of my experiences with fermenting it and you try to see if you can fix it or not.
As for taste of kefir, it can be sour, it can be thick or runny, but what you must taste in kefir is its process of fermentation, I call it the soda effect, the similar taste in your mouth like when you are drinking soda. This is how you can tell the difference between plain yoghurt and kefir, taste is very similar but kefir has that sizzle in the mouth. Sometimes it can get really strong, it’s almost burning your mouth, like fresh coca cola would. This is normal for kefir and the longer you leave it to ferment, the stronger it gets.
If you have too much grains and if the house is too hot, then it can be really sour as well. 20 degrees C is perfect temp for kefir so this is not the cause for it. Being sour can be normal also, just not that tasty.
Next thing that I noticed from years of making my own kefir, it tends to taste much better when you use higher fat milk and it is also thicker when you make it with whole milk. I always use highest fat milk I can get my hands on for kefir. Trust me, while on this diet, you do not need to worry about fat and gaining weight so go for the strongest milk you can purchase and try that.
It is possible grains are not good, but they don’t die easily when handled properly. They are sensitive to metal, so watch out for that.
Did you get your grains just recently? How many batches did you make so far? Note that if you just recently got your grains, it takes few batches until you get the nice kefir so it is possible that you toss first few. Not sure how many times you rotated the milk. The more you make it, the better it gets as your grains get happy with their daily food rotation. The more you feed them, more happy they are to produce kefir for you and they grow. They pretty much double in a week or so.
Now, if your kefir is really mild taste and you get this reaction after drinking it, either the grains are not good or it hasn’t been fermented right. Are you using glass/plastic utensils and dishes only? Plastic strainer? You are not mixing it with metal spoon or something?
The other thing I can think of is the type of milk. If it was processed heavily with low fat, maybe this damages the probiotic?
These are all the things I can think of that could make your kefir bad.
Let me know if any of this helps at all!
Arijana
sammcl wrote:
ChloeI am excatly the same as you, I smelt it and thought is this really going to do me any good??
I didn’t think mine was thick enough, still really running so I am leaving mine for a 48 hour period. I think I used far too much milk in my first batch though thus the reason it’s taking so long.
Just an open question to anyone – Kefir is safe to drink even though it’s been left on the side for two days? You can’t get food poisoning can you?
Hi sammcl,
The trick is to use right amount of grains and milk. About a tablespoon of grains should make about 400ml of kefir. I don’t really measure it, I make it for years so I just go by visual estimation.
Another thing to consider is the amount of fat in milk you are using. Less fat produces thinner kefir. More fat gives thicker kefir. If you ferment to long, it could turn runny as well so fermenting longer doesn’t really produce thicker kefir.
If you left it to ferment for two days, it’s perfectly safe, but generally it is best if it’s fermented for 24 hours. The taste is best if you drink it right away after straining it. I drink it same time every day and this is when I strain it, put a new batch and drink what I have strained. If you want to save it for later then you must put it in the fridge, but keep in mind that even if you put it in fridge, some additional fermentation will occur so don’t leave it too long or you might not like the taste.
Did you just get your grains? If yes, first few batches may not be that great. You some grains come with instructions to toss first few batches (I read from other people on the forum, I always got live grains from someone I know, last ones my mom pulled out of the freezer and got going for me before she gave them to me).
Hope this helps. Please let me know if not. Good luck and happy kefir making 🙂
Arijana
orka1998 wrote:
Chloe
I am excatly the same as you, I smelt it and thought is this really going to do me any good??
I didn’t think mine was thick enough, still really running so I am leaving mine for a 48 hour period. I think I used far too much milk in my first batch though thus the reason it’s taking so long.
Just an open question to anyone – Kefir is safe to drink even though it’s been left on the side for two days? You can’t get food poisoning can you?
Hi sammcl,
The trick is to use right amount of grains and milk. About a tablespoon of grains should make about 400ml of kefir. I don’t really measure it, I make it for years so I just go by visual estimation.
Another thing to consider is the amount of fat in milk you are using. Less fat produces thinner kefir. More fat gives thicker kefir. If you ferment to long, it could turn runny as well so fermenting longer doesn’t really produce thicker kefir.
If you left it to ferment for two days, it’s perfectly safe, but generally it is best if it’s fermented for 24 hours. The taste is best if you drink it right away after straining it. I drink it same time every day and this is when I strain it, put a new batch and drink what I have strained. If you want to save it for later then you must put it in the fridge, but keep in mind that even if you put it in fridge, some additional fermentation will occur so don’t leave it too long or you might not like the taste.
Did you just get your grains? If yes, first few batches may not be that great. You some grains come with instructions to toss first few batches (I read from other people on the forum, I always got live grains from someone I know, last ones my mom pulled out of the freezer and got going for me before she gave them to me).
Hope this helps. Please let me know if not. Good luck and happy kefir making 🙂
Arijana
Cheers.
Well I will drink my first batch tonight and see what happens! It won’t make me ill will it if the grains are not quite back to optimum yet will it?
sammcl wrote:
Cheers.Well I will drink my first batch tonight and see what happens! It won’t make me ill will it if the grains are not quite back to optimum yet will it?
Have a little taste first and see if it seems as I described it. If it tastes bad, toss it. Taste each batch until you get it right. I think by third of fourth batch it should be alright depending on the quality of grains. The second one might be good.
Watch out for bitter taste, first batch might be a little bitter. Kefir should not be bitter and if you feel bitterness toss it please.
Let me know how it went and if you have any more questions.
Arijana
orka1998 wrote:
Cheers.
Well I will drink my first batch tonight and see what happens! It won’t make me ill will it if the grains are not quite back to optimum yet will it?
Have a little taste first and see if it seems as I described it. If it tastes bad, toss it. Taste each batch until you get it right. I think by third of fourth batch it should be alright depending on the quality of grains. The second one might be good.
Watch out for bitter taste, first batch might be a little bitter. Kefir should not be bitter and if you feel bitterness toss it please.
Let me know how it went and if you have any more questions.
Arijana
I think I am gonna toss the first batch to be safe!orka1998 wrote:
Cheers.
Well I will drink my first batch tonight and see what happens! It won’t make me ill will it if the grains are not quite back to optimum yet will it?
Have a little taste first and see if it seems as I described it. If it tastes bad, toss it. Taste each batch until you get it right. I think by third of fourth batch it should be alright depending on the quality of grains. The second one might be good.
Watch out for bitter taste, first batch might be a little bitter. Kefir should not be bitter and if you feel bitterness toss it please.
Let me know how it went and if you have any more questions.
Arijana
It was like you described so I drank it… Not the nicest tasting stuff, but bottoms up!I had my first glass of water kefir last night double fermented 96 hours and with a slice of ginger. It tasted like lime soda with the carbonation, I was burping there was so much fizz so good.
But does it have to be undrinkable before it’s good. Can I get away with maybe, 16 hrs?
I also put my grains in the fridge with a little bit of milk to preserve them for about 4 days. I drained them and added more milk to ferment. Is the kefir that I drained still good? It taste like it’s bad; almost like apple cider vinegar. Should I just dump it or can I use it in my pancakes? I’m certainly not drinking it!!
mariegirl
mariegirl wrote: But does it have to be undrinkable before it’s good.
That depends on your taste. I usually ferment mine for around 30 hours and love the taste. The longer it’s fermented, the less the chance it has for causing any type of reaction.
Can I get away with maybe, 16 hrs?
This would allow a good chance for lactose sugar remaining in the end product, which would feed the Candida in your system.
I also put my grains in the fridge with a little bit of milk to preserve them for about 4 days. I drained them and added more milk to ferment. Is the kefir that I drained still good? It taste like it’s bad; almost like apple cider vinegar. Should I just dump it or can I use it in my pancakes? I’m certainly not drinking it!!
This milk isn’t really ‘kefir’ as it hasn’t fermented in the required environment. I’ve never read any type of information on drinking this milk, but the fact that the instructions read to “change the milk” every so often tells me I wouldn’t want to be the tester.
Able
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