Kefir gone mad - some reassurance needed.

dannahaz

Hi All

Day 0, I obtained some fresh Kefir from Australia. Put it in a jar in the fridge, with abou 250ml semi skimmed milk. The instructions said after 24 hours to strain it into a clean jar with fresh milk, and then put the strained milk into the fridge for 24 hours before drinking it (apparently it improves).

Day 1, it was maybe a tiny bit bigger, strained it, put the culture in a clean jar, another 250ml or so fresh semi skimmed milk.

Day 2, a tiny bit bigger, strained it, put the culture in a clean jar, this time with about 300ml semi skimmed milk. Drank milk from Day 1, tastes like mild natural yoghurt only more runny.,

Day 3, bit bigger, strained, fresh jar, 350ml ish of whole milk. Drank milk from Day 2, tastes like mild natural yoghurt only more runny.

Day 4 definitely bigger, strained, fresh jar, 350ml ish of whole milk. Can't see the individual grains now as they are coated in milky substance. Drank milk from Day 3, thicker thank previously, slighly sour

Day 5 bigger still, quite thick and creamy looking. Strained, fresh jar, 400ml whole milk. Drank Milk from Day 4, very creamy, only slightly sour.

Day 6, Definitely bigger. Strained, fresh jar, 400ml milk. Drank milk from Day 5, was a little fizzy.

Day 7, Enormous. Turned into a thick sludge, with some clear liquid. Impossible to see the individual grains.


Now I realise that I have too much Keffir for the amount of milk I put in, and so it has had a bit of a hissy fit.

I've scooped out about a dessert spoon of the "culture" (well, the grains covered in white stuff) and put that in a fresh jar with about 330ml whole milk.

So, on to my questions:

I've left the remainder of the monster in a covered bowl with its milk - i.e. haven't put fresh milk in. To be honest, I don't fancy drinking the milk from today's batch. Am I being a wimp?

What should I do with the monster I have left? I don't want to start a second batch.... if I was going to give it away, how much should I give as a starter?

Have any of you made cheese or anything with your excess?

nick_b

Hi.
Do you belong to the fermented foods Yahoo group? If not, I recommend joining as you'll get loads of advice there.

HTH.

shykins

u can freeze some of the grains as a back up in case yr batch fails.. u can actually eat the grains as well not that they taste that great

as to how much u give away as a starter that would be up to u but a dessertspoon of grains would be agreat starter for anyone.. having said that some people give only 1 or 2 grains as starters if they dont have much.. as u found out they grow quick

HTH
x

LydiaSophia

This may help you

http://www.seedsofhealth.co.uk/fermenting/kefir.shtml

dannahaz

Thank you everyone who has responded so far. Looks like my Kefir is OK, just too overcrowded.

I've separated it now, so I;m back to culturing a small amount. I've put the remainder in fresh milk in the fridge and have added myself to the database on the Fermented Foods Yahoo group offering culture.

Thanks again