Yet another "what's wrong with my kefir" thread...

[spughy]

I went away for 3 weeks and left my kefir grains in milk in the fridge. DH changed the milk once while I was away.

They aren't working any more. The milk doesn't really thicken - I get a cheesy completely coagulated mass on top, a whey layer, then just sour-ish milk on the bottom (like off sour, not kefir sour). If I stir it all together and put it through a strainer then yes, it's the right thickness, but it tastes all wrong, kind of like yeasty slightly off milk - not the distinctly "kefir" taste it had before. Also, it takes 2 days for the milk to get to this point, whereas before I had a nice 24-hr thing going - although it's fall, and our house is much cooler now, so that might be due to temperature at least in part.

Will the grains recover, in time? I can wait for that, I'm still making smoothies with the faux-kefir but I'd really like my nice tasting kefir back.

[simplepamom]

I am no pro, but I had read about someone 'resting' their kefir in yogurt once (and Dom's sight talks about resting them in water). My kefir seemed to be doing something little weird- can't even remember what anymore, it wasn't a big deal, but I tried resting them in yogurt and they did seem to go back to normal. I just put them in enough yogurt to cover- and left them for a short while- like 8 hrs or so, maybe even less.

Brenda

[quietserena]

Yes they will recover, from my experience. That has happened to me twice. I think some of your grains have gone dormant but they do come back.

What I've done to help them was use half the amount of milk I would otherwise and pitch it or use it for cooking. It just doesn't taste right and I can't get over that 'off sour' taste, even in smoothies. After a while the balance is once again achieved.

I think this happens because things get out of balance.

[spughy]

Originally Posted by simplepamom

I am no pro, but I had read about someone 'resting' their kefir in yogurt once (and Dom's sight talks about resting them in water). My kefir seemed to be doing something little weird- can't even remember what anymore, it wasn't a big deal, but I tried resting them in yogurt and they did seem to go back to normal. I just put them in enough yogurt to cover- and left them for a short while- like 8 hrs or so, maybe even less.

Brenda

Hey thanks! This seems to have worked. I might give them another little yogurt vacation, because the batch I just tried *smelled* right but wasn't thoroughly thickened, but they're definitely on the road to recovery! I think my yogurt is too thick, next time I will mix in a bit of milk so it can thoroughly penetrate better.

[Chicharronita]

I've discovered that my kefir grains really love colostrum. When I use that to make kefir, it comes out nice and thick, almost yogurt-ish.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by quietserena

I think this happens because things get out of balance.

I agree. It takes the yeast a lot quicker to bounce back from dormancy than the bacteria. Doing small ferments with more milk changes will get your kefir back to normal quicker. I do drink the off kefir -- I don't mind the taste and it's perfectly fine to drink. When it's too off, I use it for soaking oatmeal when I'm making granola.

I don't make smoothies much in the winter, and last winter, I changed the milk maybe 3 times the entire winter. In the spring, when I felt like smoothies again, it took probably 5 full brews before the taste and texture got back to normal.