but I’m tired of preparing it and needing it with every meal. Is there a capsule/tablet alternative that works similarly but lasts longer, so I only need to take it once or twice a day? Would love recommendations from people who’ve actually tried on
How can i revive them to restart my production?
I left my grains to rest in the fridge but apparently didn’t use enough milk because it not just fermented but over fermented. Assuming this is okay to drink? And my grains still look good? Pics of fermentation, strained kefir and current state of grains. Thanks!
hi everyone, i’ve seen that using a plastic strainer is highly recommended when making kefir. but doesn’t straining kefir through plastic potentially cause microplastics to enter the kefir and, consequently, our bodies? is this a health concern, and could long-term exposure to microplastics increase the risk of cancer?
I’ve never made kefir before or even consumed store bought kefir. However, I’m having severe gut issues and my microbiome is cooked. It’s gotten so bad over time that I can’t even consume bread or carbs with severe stomach issues. I want to make so can someone recommend a recipe and advice for dairy free kefir. (I’m lactose intolerant.)
When I first started consuming kefir, I did something stupid and drank a whole mug of homemade kefir on day one. For the first two weeks, I was farting a lot more and it would smell terrible when I would go to the toilet for a dump. After the first 2 weeks, the farting and bowel movement improved considerably. This made me realize the importance of starting slow...
The only explanation I could find online was that lots of bacteria was being killed in my gut.
I am glad though that I started this kefir journey as my health has improved noticeably.
Closed lid, in the fridge for a few days. It was liquidy at first but after some stirring it became like this. Im adding some juice and wait for it overnight for now tho
So I've been using UHT for my grains since we don't have any easily accessible pasteurized milk in our place and so far my grains have been making kefir just fine but my grains have pretty much stayed the same volume since I started unlike the ones I see here where their grains multiply rapidly.
I saw a comment in one of the posts mentioning using heavy whipping cream with milk to 'feed' the grains. Is this really effective? I thought the grains feed on the lactose in the milk, not the fat content, would like to know what others think
So I have tried probably a dozen brands of Kefir over the years, and I tend to prefer the fizzy, 'clean', refreshing kind of kefir, albeit for a long time I was primarily drinking 'full-tasting, fatty, non-fizzy' kefir. I assume they pasteurize both milks before culturing & fermentation, so perhaps it's more about the fat content and the kefir starter they use?
I got some grains online and I made 3 batches, I threw the first 2 away and put the 3rd in the fridge yesterday. Today i took a sip and noticed 2 things compared to store bought. 1. It's not as thick, 2. It had a strong yeast flavor. Are these normal?
It was my first time having any, and I had about ~16 ounces of Lifeway brand kefir (yes, I know I am stupid). I had some yesterday, and a tiny glass today (maybe 4 ounces), when I immediately started to feel not so great. I'm feeling pretty nauseous, slightly feverish, and just general GI upset. My boyfriend, who is Polish (they eat fermented stuff all the time), reassured me that I shouldn't have any reaction, but he failed to understand how weak my stomach is. I have my first day of classes tomorrow!
Also to add, I have some issues with anxiety and emetophobia, so my brain often makes my symptoms worse than they actually are. I am also recovering from a slight cold at the moment, so some of what I am feeling may be caused by that.
What can I do to help myself manage this? How long should this last? I'm staying as hydrated as I can, right now.
EDIT 1: corrected some spelling errors and edited for clarity
EDIT 2: one advantage of using a finer sieve like a large sized tea strainer - is that you don't lose the smaller (developing) kefir grains - the shaking the container before pour sufficiently liquifies the mixture so the liquid will drain through tea strainers as well - while leaving the small kefir grains in the tea strainer - this seems to give rapid increase in kefir grains over time - as the liquifying and using finer tea strainer etc ensures you don't lose the (developing) small kefir grains
EDIT 3: a few of the comments have pointed out products, which include a built in grill/sieve into the container, which allow a simple pour - example: "Kefirko" - https://kefirko.com/product/kefir-fermenter/
**EDIT 4: u/Paperboy63 has correctly pointed out that the simple "pour" method in IDEA 2 below, harkens back to how kefir was originally used - ie hanging animal skin bag holding the kefir mixture at the entrance of the tent - the story of that is that every visitor would nudge the bag as they entered as a rite of passage - it would keep the bag agitated - and probably during pour they would also shake the bag before pouring (if the bag is large enough and filled enough, less of the kefir grains would escape during pour - or if it did, they would put them back in the bag?)
Making kefir at home - bouncing off some ideas for low-effort/time-saving strategies for people who don't have a lot of time to be filtering out the Kefir grains - and an idea on avoiding stirring with spoon
IDEA 1: SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED
Most YouTube videos on straining kefir grains from the mixture tend to use a strainer and then use a spoon to mash the kefir grains to extract the last bit of liquid
Nearly all the videos seem to do it this way
However, I suspect this unnecessarily damages the kefir grains
A better way maybe to just keep tapping the sieve repeatedly until the liquid has dripped down
NOTE: it helps to liquify the mixture - esp if the mixture has gelled like stiff yoghurt - close the lid of the container containing the Kefir mixture and shake it a bit - twist it in one hand 2-3 times lightly - this is usually enough to liquify the mixture - this helps filter it when you pour it into the sieve or medium sized tea strainer
Can use a medium sized tea strainer too
Pour the (now liquified) kefir mixture one sieve or tea strainer full at a time into the tea strainer etc
WITHOUT using a spoon, just keep tapping the strainer on the glass you are pouring into - this agitation is enough to keep the liquid flowing down into the glass
Then just toss the (now dry) kefir grains into a separate clean plate
Repeat until have filtered out all the kefir mixture - so have liquid in glass - and (dry) kefir grains on the separate plate
Put the (dry) Kefir grains from the plate back into the original container
NOTE: don't have to wash the original container - can just keep using it - unless it gets clogged up with too much cream over time etc (then could wash it I guess)
And pour in new milk into the container over the Kefir grains
IDEA 2: JUST POUR, AVOID FILTERING
An alternate - although cruder - method that I don't often see mentioned in YouTube videos (though some here may have mentioned it) - is to not bother filtering
I know some folks who just pour off a bit from the mixture - and replace it with an equal amount of new milk
The problem with this approach is that you will lose some Kefir grains occasionally in the liquid - which you will drink - which is ok
But you may find that the Kefir grains are not increasing over time as would do usually - because they are losing kefir grains all the time
However I know some people who seem to have used this low-effort approach and the Kefir from a small container seemed to have lasted them 1-2 years - after which they went looking for new kefir grains
(a solution to this problem could be to maintain a separate jar of Kefir mixture which you change rarely ie once a week or rarer - this would be the repository or backup kefir grains - in case the low-effort container runs dry of kefir grains)
I have this interesting situation. Beginner with kefir, had many grains that quickly fermented milk. Resulting kefir was quickly separating, clear-yellow on the bottom and curd on the top, strong acidic taste.
I froze all of it in 4 zip lock bags with a drop of milk on them. A month later, used a 1 bag of frozen grains to start producing kefir again. The result: very thick kefir, no separation, same consistency top to bottom and very mild taste, no acid taste at all. I like it more like this but what happened?
My first batch from my grains. Do grains start to multiple over time?
Looking for active kefir
I’ve been drinking Blue Bay kefir and really like it, but I’m wondering if there are any store-bought kefirs that are even more active/fizzy?
I’m looking for something that’s bubbly and clearly still fermenting, rather than just a yoghurt-like kefir. I know homemade with grains is probably the best option, but I’d prefer something I can just buy.
Any recommendations?
After receiving my grains (about 1 tablespoon)and reviving them over three days, they were doing great until my autistic son dumped them out in the grass on hot summer day. Not sure how long they were out maybe an hour or so. I gathered what I could out of the grass and threw them in with the those stuck in the jar. Looked like I had about half of what I started with, rinsed them with milk and within the next 24 hours they produced perfect Kefir. It’s like a little sunlight supercharged them. Glad they were resilient.
I just started to have to take antibiotics and have heard kefir can combat the damage done to the gut micro biome. Does anyone know how much and the frequency of kefir you should consume while on the drug?
After months of fussing with a strainer and spatula, I switched to this and it's such a relief.
It's a 64oz glass mason jar pitcher with a removable plastic infuser cage from Amazon. The gap between the bars is perfect — grains stay in, kefir flows out. No metal anywhere.
My process: when it's ready, I lift out the infuser and pour the fresh kefir into a jar I take to work for lunch. Then the infuser with the grains goes back in, I pour in fresh milk (which rinses the grains a bit too), close it, and set it in a lower cabinet. 24 hours later, next batch. That's it — no straining, no spatula, barely any cleanup.
Bonus: the texture and even the taste came out better than my old strainer method.
Only thing I'll need to do eventually is remove excess grains — they're growing fast, already filling half the infuser. So far, so good.
Sharing in case it saves someone the daily hassle. Pics: the product, and my setup mid-batch.
Are water kefir grains harder to maintain or anything like that compared to milk kefir grains? cause i had water kefir from trader joe’s today and really liked it.