[clothdiapermama]

I'm still kinda new to the whole kefir thing, but when I strain my grains there is so much other milk solids that I have a hard time finding the grains. At first I thought that my grains were just growing very fast - but it's not all kefir grains.

I've tried rinsing off the grains before starting a new batch and the same thing happened again.

Am I doing something wrong or is that the way it's supposed to look?

Please help!
Oh, and should we be drinking this daily? Do you mix it into a smoothie?
TIA

 

[clothdiapermama]

I forgot to mention that the kefir liquid that I strain is clear. Is this right?

:

 

[alamama]

What kind of milk are you using? I had the same problem when I tried culturing raw cow's milk, because of the way it separates. It was difficult to separate the milk solids and kefir grains. Now we use goat's milk (naturally homogenized) and don't have that problem anymore.

Leanne

 

[Ilovelife]

It sounds to me like you are making very strong kefir. It also sounds like you are straining off only the whey. When you strain out the grains to use again, you should push the rest of the curds through into the kefir. Then you can shake/blend/stir the curds & whey together. Or you can use just the curds to make a kefir cheese. It's fine to use the kefir this way, but if you prefer it smoother & less strong, you can use more milk (or less grains) or strain it sooner. I use about 2 cups of milk to 1 T grains and strain after 24 hours. The time & ratio vary, though, depending on how hot it is. If it is very warm, the kefir will grow more quickly. Oh--I've also had the kefir curd up more quickly if the milk I used is not so fresh. HTH!

 

[clothdiapermama]

Thanks! I am using organic homogenized milk - so I don't think that's why it's separating.

However, it may be that I am using too many grains to milk ratio. (My grains seem to have grown recently.) Also, I may be letting it sit too long.

Kefir cheese .hmmm...I might have to try that although at this point I don't have enough curds to do this.

I'll give these suggestions a try.

Thanks!

 

[JaneS]

That means it has been sitting too long, if it separates into curds and whey. Try catching it earlier.

Or you can strain your grains and then buzz up the curds with the whey with a blender. Then let sit on counter to thicken and "mature" as the Dom says. This produces a nice thick and creamy kefir, like storebought texture but way more powerful.

I stir everything up with my slotted spoon before taking out the grains with the spoon, sort of shaking the curds off as I go. It separates the curds from the grains nicely.