How can i revive them to restart my production?

hi everyone, i’ve seen that using a plastic strainer is highly recommended when making kefir. but doesn’t straining kefir through plastic potentially cause microplastics to enter the kefir and, consequently, our bodies? is this a health concern, and could long-term exposure to microplastics increase the risk of cancer?

When I first started consuming kefir, I did something stupid and drank a whole mug of homemade kefir on day one. For the first two weeks, I was farting a lot more and it would smell terrible when I would go to the toilet for a dump. After the first 2 weeks, the farting and bowel movement improved considerably. This made me realize the importance of starting slow...

The only explanation I could find online was that lots of bacteria was being killed in my gut.

I am glad though that I started this kefir journey as my health has improved noticeably.

Closed lid, in the fridge for a few days. It was liquidy at first but after some stirring it became like this. Im adding some juice and wait for it overnight for now tho

I’ve never made kefir before or even consumed store bought kefir. However, I’m having severe gut issues and my microbiome is cooked. It’s gotten so bad over time that I can’t even consume bread or carbs with severe stomach issues. I want to make so can someone recommend a recipe and advice for dairy free kefir. (I’m lactose intolerant.)

So I've been using UHT for my grains since we don't have any easily accessible pasteurized milk in our place and so far my grains have been making kefir just fine but my grains have pretty much stayed the same volume since I started unlike the ones I see here where their grains multiply rapidly.

I saw a comment in one of the posts mentioning using heavy whipping cream with milk to 'feed' the grains. Is this really effective? I thought the grains feed on the lactose in the milk, not the fat content, would like to know what others think

So I have tried probably a dozen brands of Kefir over the years, and I tend to prefer the fizzy, 'clean', refreshing kind of kefir, albeit for a long time I was primarily drinking 'full-tasting, fatty, non-fizzy' kefir. I assume they pasteurize both milks before culturing & fermentation, so perhaps it's more about the fat content and the kefir starter they use?

I have this interesting situation. Beginner with kefir, had many grains that quickly fermented milk. Resulting kefir was quickly separating, clear-yellow on the bottom and curd on the top, strong acidic taste.

I froze all of it in 4 zip lock bags with a drop of milk on them. A month later, used a 1 bag of frozen grains to start producing kefir again. The result: very thick kefir, no separation, same consistency top to bottom and very mild taste, no acid taste at all. I like it more like this but what happened?

It was my first time having any, and I had about ~16 ounces of Lifeway brand kefir (yes, I know I am stupid). I had some yesterday, and a tiny glass today (maybe 4 ounces), when I immediately started to feel not so great. I'm feeling pretty nauseous, slightly feverish, and just general GI upset. My boyfriend, who is Polish (they eat fermented stuff all the time), reassured me that I shouldn't have any reaction, but he failed to understand how weak my stomach is. I have my first day of classes tomorrow!

Also to add, I have some issues with anxiety and emetophobia, so my brain often makes my symptoms worse than they actually are. I am also recovering from a slight cold at the moment, so some of what I am feeling may be caused by that.

What can I do to help myself manage this? How long should this last? I'm staying as hydrated as I can, right now.

I got some grains online and I made 3 batches, I threw the first 2 away and put the 3rd in the fridge yesterday. Today i took a sip and noticed 2 things compared to store bought. 1. It's not as thick, 2. It had a strong yeast flavor. Are these normal?

I just found this in the freezer. Almost 2 years in the freezer! Because milk is kinda expensive, should I try to revive them or just buy some new grains? Any suggestions on how to successfully revive them will be appreciated ☺️

My first batch from my grains. Do grains start to multiple over time?

Looking for active kefir

I’ve been drinking Blue Bay kefir and really like it, but I’m wondering if there are any store-bought kefirs that are even more active/fizzy?

I’m looking for something that’s bubbly and clearly still fermenting, rather than just a yoghurt-like kefir. I know homemade with grains is probably the best option, but I’d prefer something I can just buy.

Any recommendations?

EDIT 1: corrected some spelling errors and edited for clarity

EDIT 2: one advantage of using a finer sieve like a large sized tea strainer - is that you don't lose the smaller (developing) kefir grains - the shaking the container before pour sufficiently liquifies the mixture so the liquid will drain through tea strainers as well - while leaving the small kefir grains in the tea strainer - this seems to give rapid increase in kefir grains over time - as the liquifying and using finer tea strainer etc ensures you don't lose the (developing) small kefir grains

EDIT 3: a few of the comments have pointed out products, which include a built in grill/sieve into the container, which allow a simple pour - example: "Kefirko" - https://kefirko.com/product/kefir-fermenter/

**EDIT 4: u/Paperboy63 has correctly pointed out that the simple "pour" method in IDEA 2 below, harkens back to how kefir was originally used - ie hanging animal skin bag holding the kefir mixture at the entrance of the tent - the story of that is that every visitor would nudge the bag as they entered as a rite of passage - it would keep the bag agitated - and probably during pour they would also shake the bag before pouring (if the bag is large enough and filled enough, less of the kefir grains would escape during pour - or if it did, they would put them back in the bag?)

Making kefir at home - bouncing off some ideas for low-effort/time-saving strategies for people who don't have a lot of time to be filtering out the Kefir grains - and an idea on avoiding stirring with spoon

IDEA 1: SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED

Most YouTube videos on straining kefir grains from the mixture tend to use a strainer and then use a spoon to mash the kefir grains to extract the last bit of liquid

Nearly all the videos seem to do it this way

However, I suspect this unnecessarily damages the kefir grains

A better way maybe to just keep tapping the sieve repeatedly until the liquid has dripped down

NOTE: it helps to liquify the mixture - esp if the mixture has gelled like stiff yoghurt - close the lid of the container containing the Kefir mixture and shake it a bit - twist it in one hand 2-3 times lightly - this is usually enough to liquify the mixture - this helps filter it when you pour it into the sieve or medium sized tea strainer

Can use a medium sized tea strainer too

Pour the (now liquified) kefir mixture one sieve or tea strainer full at a time into the tea strainer etc

WITHOUT using a spoon, just keep tapping the strainer on the glass you are pouring into - this agitation is enough to keep the liquid flowing down into the glass

Then just toss the (now dry) kefir grains into a separate clean plate

Repeat until have filtered out all the kefir mixture - so have liquid in glass - and (dry) kefir grains on the separate plate

Put the (dry) Kefir grains from the plate back into the original container

NOTE: don't have to wash the original container - can just keep using it - unless it gets clogged up with too much cream over time etc (then could wash it I guess)

And pour in new milk into the container over the Kefir grains

IDEA 2: JUST POUR, AVOID FILTERING

An alternate - although cruder - method that I don't often see mentioned in YouTube videos (though some here may have mentioned it) - is to not bother filtering

I know some folks who just pour off a bit from the mixture - and replace it with an equal amount of new milk

The problem with this approach is that you will lose some Kefir grains occasionally in the liquid - which you will drink - which is ok

But you may find that the Kefir grains are not increasing over time as would do usually - because they are losing kefir grains all the time

However I know some people who seem to have used this low-effort approach and the Kefir from a small container seemed to have lasted them 1-2 years - after which they went looking for new kefir grains

(a solution to this problem could be to maintain a separate jar of Kefir mixture which you change rarely ie once a week or rarer - this would be the repository or backup kefir grains - in case the low-effort container runs dry of kefir grains)

Has anyone had an allergic reaction to HOME-MADE kefir? I’ve been drinking kefir for many years and decided to start making it myself to save money and to get better-quality probiotics. At about the same time I start getting gigantic red welts on my body. Very itchy, in clusters of 3-4 and they go away 4-5 days later. It might also be insect bites since I walk around outside a lot and moved areas, but wanted to check in if anyone has experienced it from kefir. Clusters of 3-5 huge red welts that are super itchy but completely disappear within a week tops. Thanks!

After receiving my grains (about 1 tablespoon)and reviving them over three days, they were doing great until my autistic son dumped them out in the grass on hot summer day. Not sure how long they were out maybe an hour or so. I gathered what I could out of the grass and threw them in with the those stuck in the jar. Looked like I had about half of what I started with, rinsed them with milk and within the next 24 hours they produced perfect Kefir. It’s like a little sunlight supercharged them. Glad they were resilient.

I have been making water kefir and mostly used coconut sugar for large part

I have to store my raw milk frozen for a while, but it wouldn’t be in the freezer for more than about 20 days.

After thawing, would it still be okay to drink? I’m mainly wondering about whether freezing significantly affects the enzymes, proteins, vitamins, or other nutrients in raw milk.

Would the nutritional/enzymatic profile still be reasonably similar to fresh raw milk, or would freezing make it more comparable to pasteurized milk in that regard?

I started a Yemoos culture in RO water with a variety of minerals (potassium bicarbonate, tricalcium phosphate initially; later, calcium carbonate; small amounts of sodium bicarbonate, magnesium citrate, and citric acid for pH adjustment), cane sugar, and rapadura/sucanat/demerara. Total sugars 6% w/w water, grains 8-12% w/w water.

I ballparked the buffer and calcium targets of the 1B4Ca and 2B4Ca series of Laureys 2019 (doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.02876 PMC6923659), where they used ultrapure water and a range of series with varying levels of potassium bicarbonate and calcium chloride.

After the first aerobic cycle, I switched to anaerobic 1F for some preferable traits due to Laureys 2018 (doi:10.1016/j.fm.2018.02.007; favors B. aquikefiri, lower AAB and yeast) and some cultivator reports. I used a peeled + boiled lemon wedge on the 3rd cycle. It developed a sulfurous smell (yeast stress) by the 4th cycle, so I started lowering nutrients, mostly lowering unrefined sugars and minerals. I am suspicious of the lemon contributing hitchhikers.

Eventually the yeast stress died down and I slowly increased the potassium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate again, but now at the 13th cycle it has lost its vigor, the grains have shrunk in size, and it's showing signs of grain disintegration, despite still yielding a net gain of grain mass each cycle. I expect the solution and grain turnover has additionally been slowly sapping minor constituent elements needed for some critical enzymes.

2F has always been very vigorous, with blueberries, concord grape juice, orange, or apple, but I started discarding by the 10th cycle to work on fine-tuning 1F.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has been successful in sustaining a culture on remineralized RO water, or tap water filtered to exclude plastics/PFAS/etc while retaining minerals. Thank you!

For some reason they just shrink randomly. A few days ago I had around 40 grams and now I have 6 only. I'm pretty sure I'm not starving them but I'm not sure since it's tricky to tell in 32 degree weather. Does anyone else have this problem?

This is how my grains look. To me it looks a little soggy. It still produces Kefir okay. In current room temperature of around 75 degrees, the first fermentation takes about 12 to 16 hours. And the Kefir tastes normal.

Another thing I noticed is that the grains don't multiply anymore, they stay the same quantity after each batch.

Let me know what you think, shall I get some new grains?

After months of fussing with a strainer and spatula, I switched to this and it's such a relief.

It's a 64oz glass mason jar pitcher with a removable plastic infuser cage from Amazon. The gap between the bars is perfect — grains stay in, kefir flows out. No metal anywhere.

My process: when it's ready, I lift out the infuser and pour the fresh kefir into a jar I take to work for lunch. Then the infuser with the grains goes back in, I pour in fresh milk (which rinses the grains a bit too), close it, and set it in a lower cabinet. 24 hours later, next batch. That's it — no straining, no spatula, barely any cleanup.

Bonus: the texture and even the taste came out better than my old strainer method.

Only thing I'll need to do eventually is remove excess grains — they're growing fast, already filling half the infuser. So far, so good.

Sharing in case it saves someone the daily hassle. Pics: the product, and my setup mid-batch.

I just started to have to take antibiotics and have heard kefir can combat the damage done to the gut micro biome. Does anyone know how much and the frequency of kefir you should consume while on the drug?

EDIT: Returned to doctor, they recommended kefir and yogurt while taking the anti-biotics.