Kefir questions - Page 2

[es1967]

How long can one keep kefir in the refrigerator? I have some of the first batches in the refrigerator and was thinking of using it to make a cheese

spread w herbs.   Its not as good as the kefir I am making right now so I'm trying to find alternate uses. Its about a week and half old.  I'm pretty sure I read it can last several weeks but I cannot remember. Thanks.

[JMJ]

umm... I'm not sure it really goes bad.  From a food safety perspective, it is acidic enough that it is not going to allow anything to grow.  From a taste perspective, it may continue to sour at a slower rate.  If it sat around long enough that the top was able to dry, it could potentially grow mold, though this would take probably at least a year in the fridge.  Dom (from Dom's kefir site) mentions leaving some on the counter for months with a bit of olive oil on top to prevent mold and claims that it was good (I'm sure quite sour).  Basically, I wouldn't worry too much if it's not something that has been in the fridge for over a year and smells funny or has something growing on it.

[es1967]

Well my Kefir was tasting awesome and then two nights ago I started using the raw milk and I am so sad b/c the kefir is just not tasting good.  I noticed the same thing when I switched brands of milk the other week.  So I am hoping by tomorrow it will be better.  Had a friend come over this past weekend -she loved the kefir and is now making it herself.  She used another type of milk and she says it has not turned out well either.  So the switching milk seems to be a problem for us.  Also, put some extra grains in coconut milk tonight.  Can't wait to see how it turns out.  Last weekend I traded some milk grains for water grains and have been making flavored water kefir.  Tomorrow I'm going to try the coconut water kefir.

JMJ-hope you are still around.  How much milk do you use to freeze milk Kefir grains?  Thought

I might freeze a backup since they are growing rapidly.

[JMJ]

I've seen the recommendation to not freeze MKG with liquid milk because of the expansion of the liquid when it freezes.  Dom recommends covering them with powdered milk to freeze them.  You could also look into drying them for longer term storage.

[es1967]

Thanks for the info about freezing.   I'm on day 4 of using my raw milk with not much success.

Yesterday, the milk turned into whey(I think thats what its called) and today it was close to it.   Its funny b/c it does not have much of a sour taste to it but its thick.  I'm thinking that maybe with the raw milk I need less grains. It seems to go faster but hardly any sour taste.  I noticed that after a few days in the fridge it finally gets a more sour kefir taste.

Do you know if its okay to keep my kefir grains in the Kefir that it made and put in the refirgerator for a

day or so?  Or does it have to be in fresh milk?  I was thinking maybe it would make it more sour and I would not waste more milk.  When you do store grains in milk in the fridge-does it have to be in a large amount of milk or can it be a cup or less?  Its only for short periods 2-3 days max.

thanks

[JMJ]

I put kefir grains in a small amount of fresh milk or undercultured kefir to put them in the fridge. You might try using less grains, or you might try culturing it longer. I'm not sure exactly what's going on for you. Sometimes, it can separate into curds and whey somewhat before it's done. Just shake it back together and let it keep going. If it's separated but not really sour, I wonder if that's what is happening.

[es1967]

Thanks.  Yesterday it was so seperated (little tiny bits of cottage cheesy looking things) it won't even stir up together so if I leave it longer it would just get worse.  Thought it might get better in fridge overnight but did not.  I was thinking maybe if I put that batch in the blender or something I could get it all smooth.  My house is 78 degrees or more and the kefir I was making w the other milk was done in about 20-24 hours.  This one at 24 hours is super thick but not sour and has the little curds that can't mix in.  I think yesterday I did not have enough milk.  Also, my kefir grains are all clumped up together in one peice now.  This happened after I refrigerated last time.  Wonder if I can just cut the grains apart?

[JMJ]

This was a post from further up in the thread.

Originally Posted by babywearer_anon 

By the way, on the Yeemos site they recommend putting kefir grains in the blender if they are clumped together or if they are old and crusted (!).  

They said it increases the surface area of the grains and makes them work better.  

I wonder if the clumping grains might be your problem.  I would be careful about not pureeing them in the blender, though, just chopping, and I would assume you could do that just fine by hand as well.

[es1967]

Yeah, I kinda worry about putting them in a blender. I don't have that much extra right now and hate to risk it.  So I'll try the chopping.