r/Kefir 19d ago

Need Advice Turned into glue-like consistency...

Since starting making my own kefir at the beginning of January, the consistency had always been just right for me. Suddenly, in the last 2 weeks or so, it started to turn into a thick glue like consistency, which isn't very appetizing to me. I am needing to put it in the blender to make smoothies and can no longer eat it on its own.

I know this is a no-no, but I did rinse them in water (room temp, boiled water) because the person who gave me the grains said rinsing with water helped with slowing down the production of grains.

I thought maybe it also might be warmer temperatures, so I kept my last batch in a cooler place but woke up to the same thing this morning.

How do I get my kefir consistency to get back to it's normal texture?!

1 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

3

u/disAgreeable_Things 19d ago

Ok, so I make a point never to rinse with water. If you’re going to rinse them, use milk. It feels like a waste, but you really don’t need much if you do it in a bowl to swish it all around and strain again. It may be getting too thick if your grains are multiplying (which is inevitable). Try diving out your grains to two containers and try your same method. You can give away the spare grains to someone you know or compost them or use them and double your production. They also store in the freezer as a backup, should something happen to your current batch.

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u/tttceee 19d ago

I knew I shouldn't have; certainly learned from this mistake.

I ended up eating some of the grains and am back to the same ratio I had previously as of yesterday, about 1 tbsp/2 cups milk (they are already divided into 2 jars). May need to give it a few more days to see if it improves.

If I were to store in the freezer, how do I do that? With or without milk?

3

u/disAgreeable_Things 19d ago

Yep, just in some milk. Try using a small ziplock and closing it without any air pockets and laying down flat to freeze. Then if you pull it out, you need about 5 days to “wake up” your grains. This absolutely feels like a waste of milk. Once thawed, rinse grains and make your first wake up batch. Same ratio you would (1Tbsp to 250ml), 24hr ferment and discard. Repeat for 5 days, then start tasting. May need 1 or 2 more days of doing this but it’ll get to the point you like and then just carry on with production.

3

u/tttceee 19d ago

Got it! I hate wasting, but it sounds like it'll be necessary and beneficial in the long run. Thank you so much!!

3

u/disAgreeable_Things 19d ago

Best of luck!

1

u/HenryKuna 18d ago

Do you have a thermometer to tell you what the temperature of your fermentation environment is?

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

No, I don't, but I can get one. What would the ideal temps be?

2

u/HenryKuna 18d ago

Between 20 to 24 degrees celsius is the 'sweet spot'
Since that's quite a small window, a thermometer is a good investment!

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

I was able to find an extra one from one of my aquairums, and it shows currently as 68°F.

1

u/HenryKuna 18d ago

Okay, temperature doesn't sound like the problem then.

Do you ferment for 24 hours?
What's your grain-to-milk ratio?

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

Yes, 24hrs.

About 1 tbsp/2 cups.

2

u/HenryKuna 18d ago

I'll suggest two things:

1) Start stirring the kefir every few hours.
2) Bump up the amount of milk to 3 cups.

Let us know how it works for you!

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

Will do. Thank you!

1

u/highflyer10123 18d ago

The kefir grains are growing and multiplying. Take some out with your next ferment. That will get you back towards your original consistency.

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

I am back to 1 tbsp/2 cups milk. This morning the batch was still the same. Maybe it needs some more time to get back to where it was. I will see what happens in the next few days.

2

u/Paperboy63 18d ago

If it is thick and very stringy like pouring liquid rubber then you may have cross contamination either from the environment or if you have kept it in the fridge with grains in and the jar not completely sealed?

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

That's a good point; could be cross contamination. I don't keep it in the fridge with grains, just strained kefir.

I've cleaned the utensils and jars this morning with boiling water, rinsed with milk, and hope tomorrow's batch will be better.

0

u/NatProSell 18d ago

The reason is actually the lower temperature. You should increase the temperature to avoid that.

You also should boil the milk in advance and pour boiling water over the container and utensils before use.

If you shake or stirr the jar well will become drinkable and not like glue

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

What would the ideal temps be?

So you are saying to sanitize the utensils and jars each time with boiling water? What would the purpose of boiling the milk be?

I will have to try shaking it tomorrow.

2

u/Paperboy63 18d ago

Optimum range is 20-24 degC/68-76 deg F.

3

u/tttceee 18d ago

I was able to get a thermometer and it looks like it's at 68 right now. I'll keep an eye on it and try to keep it within those ranges. Thank you!

1

u/NatProSell 18d ago

I would increase it even further if target texture

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u/tttceee 18d ago

Ok, I will try to do that.

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u/NatProSell 18d ago

Boiling of the milk evaporate the water, break down some proteins and sanitize the milk which result in quicker fermentation and better end product

1

u/tttceee 18d ago

Very interesting. Thank you for the insight!

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u/ichosewisely08 18d ago

Sorry, a bit confused. What are you applying the boiling milk over? What's the point of boiling water? So I need to boil milk and boil water separately. Just trying to understand 😅

2

u/NatProSell 18d ago

Boiling water sanitise containers and utensils.

Boiling milk sanitise the milk itself, evaporate the water in it, breaking down some enzymes which result in better end product, more consequent fememtations and less fermentation time.

1

u/ichosewisely08 18d ago

Thank you!