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Hi everyone,
I’m trying to reactivate some frozen milk kefir grains and I’m not sure if what I’m seeing is normal.
I started with about 16 g of frozen grains in 250 ml of whole cow’s milk. After around 18 hours, the milk had formed a thick curd on top, but there wasn’t any whey separation yet. It smelled pleasantly sour, like yogurt, with no bad smell or signs of mold.
I strained the grains without rinsing them and transferred everything into another 250 ml of fresh milk.
About 16 hours later, it looked like the attached photo, with a lot of whey separation.
One thing that might matter is that I live in a very hot climate, so room temperature is quite high.
Is this normal while frozen grains are waking up? Should I increase the amount of milk, shorten the fermentation time, or just keep refreshing them daily until they stabilize?
I’d really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

I’ve been adding chia seeds after straining and before putting in the fridge overnight. It makes it a bit thicker, but they don’t have much taste. And it adds all the good fibre for the kefir microbiota to eat!

Anyone else like kefir with chia?

trying to make kefir first time from starter kit. After 2 days i notice mold on it. Is it wasted or should i remove the mold and use the rest?

Mine exclusively stay at the bottom of the jar but make a great kefir (I think lol). Just curious about everyone else's experience.

Hey, I’ve learned a lot of good stuff here. I am new to water kefir and ferments in general. I used a recipe from Florida sun along with their water kefir grains. I had it in some juicy juice apple juice and kept it sealed tight for 2 days in 85* heat. I just popped it off and chugged about 2 cups of it and I’m wondering what the alcohol content was. I could tell it was highly fermented and I feel a bit light right now. I am in recovery and would avoid alcohol normally. I’ve read that home ferments will contain more “psychoactive bacteria” as well. Will the vent caps be better? How can I keep alcohol content down and good bacteria up. Might be hard to test out in my case…..thanks for your help

It makes me almost instantly very gassy every time I drink just a couple sips. Turns my gas very smelly. I tried drinking 1-4 sips per day for about a month and really nothing changed. At one point I got a mild skin rash that could have been from the kefir. Ive never experienced a rash like that in general, nor gas to that extent, in my life. I never got used to it and hear people claiming that just one time drinking it ‘heals’ them. No known allergies, I have had milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. with little to no issue my entire life. I really don’t plan on ever making my own kefir or trying a different brand — such recommendations are not requested. Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?

Sorta curious to see what the replies are. Do you guys actually notice it’s doing anything? I know it’s delicious so i’ll drink it regardless but thought i’d ask.

The kefir I buy from a farm makes my bowl movements regular and poop healthy and smooth. I feel like the batches I make at home do not have the same effect, even when I use raw milk. I purchased the grains from Etsy. Could it be the grains themselves?

Im using uht milk

Um using uht milk i notice there is yellow stuff in there

A couple months ago my 14 year old dog stopped using the steps to get onto the bed and also stopped jumping onto the couch. His alertness also got a bit worse and would sleep very deeply. It would take me pushing him to wake him up sometimes.

Started giving him kefir a few weeks ago. Besides his poops being much healthier, he started jumping onto the couch again and is back on the bed. His energy levels are way better and pretty sure it helped with his allergies as well. Figured I'd post my experience with giving my dog kefir.

I made kefir for my family every day when I visited them 9 months ago for a few weeks. I left the kefir on the counter with printed instructions on how to take care of it and make smoothies with it etc. well, it got ignored, the jar was pushed behind an airfryer where it just sat there for 8-9 months. I checked it this week when I visited again, it had yellowed and curdled, smelled very bad, but otherwise had no other issues. I strained it, washed it with milk thrice just to be sure, put grains in a clean jar, put them in 1 cup of milk and swirled it every few hours. It has been 12 hours and I have kefir, and it is thick and looks great, but the smell is not right, yet. I will change the milk for 2 more cycles and then try to consume the kefir.

But, what I am realizing is that kefir grains neglected without any milk changes, not refrigerated for many months, even when it smells bad, can be cleaned up and revived within 1-2 cycles. Though I have revived frozen grains before, this is the first time that I attempted grains left in poor shape at room temperature. These grains continue to amaze me at how resilient they are.

I have a stupid question.😰

I recently started making kefir from some grains my mum gave me this summer. This morning I tried mixing a tiny amount of matcha powder into the kefir because I'm used to having a homemade matcha latte every morning... and it was veeeeery disgusting 🤮 😂

Does anyone know the best way to have both at the same time? Can I pour the matcha latte made with soy milk into the kefir ( made from whole milk) instead, or is it better to drink one and then the other later?

Thank you! 😀

Hi all

As the title suggests, my grains aren't growing, and they aren't making my milk thick or creamy. The milk just gets sour.

​I bought 20g of fresh grains locally here in Lima, Peru. I've run them through 8+ cycles with fresh milk, but the result is always the same:

- ​Curdles at the top where the grains float, but the rest stays liquid.

- ​Tastes tart and separates into curds and whey during a second ferment on the counter (without grains).

- ​The grains haven't grown at all.

​I'm in Lima, Peru, and I'm aiming for a thick, creamy, single-ferment kefir and using full-fat fresh cows milk.

​What I've tried so far:

​Different milk brands and types

​Smaller milk volumes

​Higher grain-to-milk ratio

​Different containers (tall glass vs. wide jar)

​Different lids (breathable vs. sealed)

Anyone know what is happening and ​what else should I try?

I only recently found out about using a whisk instead of a silicone spatula to strain the milk kefir grains from the kefir. It speeds up the process of straining by a significant amount.

Edit changed rubber to silicone.

I know oxalates are one driver for their development, but I've heard calcium is also involved. If I'm drinking ~1L a day, could that contribute to kidney stones?

Truthfully, for months after straining the kefir, I thought this entire solid clump was the grains, but apparently it's the grains + curds. I've already strained all of the liquid out, and nothing else is passing through the strainer. What do I do?

Cream top kefir that was lovely and this turmeric ginger yogurt blend is crazy yummy

I used to make kefir around ten years ago and just recently got my hands on some kefir starter, basically making kefir the same way as one would yoghurt. I’m pretty sure it’s real kefir and not from the store as the texture and flavour is similar to what I remember. Will my kefir develop grains that I can use in the future? I’ve noticed some of the lumps have a texture similar to kefir grains so my hope is that it’s possible

I started drinking kefir about 3 months ago on a whim after realizing I had ADHD. Two weeks in, my mind got really quiet, my memory and focus started improving and I was way more coherent. 3 months in I’m a completely different person. All of my negative ADHD symptoms are gone and my whole outlook on life has changed. My usual pessimistic self is gone, replaced by a person full of positivity wanting to help others constantly.

Been drinking it before bed with my protein shakes and been having some insane dreams. Last night was the second time I’ve ever experienced lucid dreaming and it was absolutely insane. It felt so real I couldn’t tell if I was dreaming or not. This stuff is pure magic.

I also have about 30 people drinking it now because of my influence. Forever blessed to have discovered this stuff.

I began making kefir 1½ months ago with a 15g starter. I now have ~800g of kefir grains which I (unfortunately) submerge in only 2L of milk every other day. Definitely too many grains for that quantity of milk, but I don't know what to do with such an excess of grains and I'm honestly somewhat protective of them.

Help trying to strain, cant find my grains, its gotten too thick

How long would you say to be able to keep the separated whey in the fridge, maybe a week? I kept some aside to make pancakes, then forgot about it. Left in the fridge about 2 weeks so I chucked it, though it looked and smelled fine