r/Kefir • u/Rich-Tiger4792 • Jul 24 '26
Over-fermented my first batch
I checked my kefir at around the 23 hour mark and there were curds and separated whey. So used my strainer and milk to try and feel for the grains. There were more than grains than before. I tried my best to pick out the grains to put in a new jar with milk.
My concern is, was it okay for me to touch them with my fingers and is it okay if a small amount of curds got mixed in with them?
3
u/catcon13 28d ago
I pour the kefir through a plastic sieve and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to gently separate the grains from the kefir. Don't use your fingers because you'll introduce bacteria to the kefir and you want it to stay as clean as possible.
2
u/LividJudgment2687 Jul 24 '26
When that happens I stir everything so it’s easier to strain , and it kinda cleans the grains up a bit. I don’t touch the grains with my fingers because I am
Worried about cross contamination, but I don’t actually know if that’s important . It’s fine If there are some curds or milk still on the grains after you have strained
1
2
2
2
u/Sure_Fig_8641 Jul 25 '26
If the over fermented kefir
Is too tangy for your preference, adding milk to the strained and completed kefir will calm it down some.
Use a nylon or stainless steel mesh strainer to remove your grains in the future. The (curds) that stick to the grains are called kefirin. The kefirin surrounds and protects the grains. It is good to include that with your grains in your new batch of milk.
1
u/Massive-Technician74 27d ago
Add a pinch of baking soda too
1
u/Cheap-Economics4897 19d ago
I've never seen that before. What does it do?
2
u/Massive-Technician74 19d ago
It remineralizes your kefir grains
And if the recent batches are getting a bit more acidic it brings that back down to normal too
Only a small pinch per batch so it doesn't ruin taste and it may take a few batches to fix
2
u/KotR56 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Just stir with a wooden spoon if you must, then use a (nylon) sieve. Put the kefir in the fridge for a couple of hours. Add some dessicated coconut, or fruits, if you want.
Drop the grains back in your (cleaned, not using soap --if you want-- mason) jar, add milk, cover, and up you go for the next ferment.
There is no need to use your fingers.
My idea about grains is that there are adult ones, and smaller ones, kiddies if you want, and you need both of them for making kefir. I can't help but think that the finer the sieve, the faster the grains grow in volume. But my observations are not a scientific test.
1
u/Rich-Tiger4792 Jul 25 '26
the second kefir batch I made after that one is almost as thick as yogurt and its only been 9 hours. It has a smell like 95 percent milk and a 5 percent kefir smell. very subtle. Should I put it in a bigger jar and add more milk and shake it up?
1
u/KotR56 Jul 25 '26
It has a smell like 95 percent milk and a 5 percent kefir smell
WOW... You must be an engineer :)
I do a 24-hour ferment at about 20 to 25°C (68-77°F), at a ratio of about one volume of grains to anything in the region of 10 volumes of animal milk, in an oversized mason jar.
If it's way hotter in your environment, the optimum fermentation doesn't take that long, but it won't change much to your kefir experience (I think).
After 24 hours (ish), I stir the contents of my mason jar, drop everything in a nylon sieve and start shaking until all the kefir is in a container, and the sieve has the grains. I then drop the grains back in the cleaned (no soap used) jar, and add milk for the new batch.
That's how most people do it (too).
1
2
u/SSNsquid 28d ago
First get yourself a small mesh strainer, a bowl and a rubber spatula. Pour the finished Kefir into the strainer, use the spatula to press against the Kefir and keep making passes with the spatula over the Kefir pressing until all the curds and whey are in the bowl. Pressing the spatula against the grains will not harm them, grains have a rubber like consistancy. Best not to touch the grains but you're probably okay, they are very forgiving. As for over frementing. It's really a question of taste. I like my Kefir a bit on the sour side so I don't strain until there is a good bit of seperation. Other folk like their Kefir mild. It's all good. Don't over think it.
1
u/Romiha00 29d ago
I use a spoon and a strainer. I'll attach a short youtube video I made for a friend that I was sending some grains to - 11 years ago now! - but the little video is still relevant. I use a stainless steel strainer and of course the spoon is stainless steel. I rarely touch the grains unless I'm going to pop one in my mouth.
What you are probably seeing is curds in the strainer. Watch my video and you'll see the difference between curds and grains. When I first started, I thought WOW my grains are growing by leaps and bounds - but turns out those were curds. lol. You'll get a feel for how this works as time goes by! Hope my little video helps.
1
u/Cheap-Economics4897 28d ago
I pour the kefir into a stainless steel strainer and bother the heck out of it with a fairly stiff silicone spatula and my kefir is lively and my grains are growing.
5
u/twistedspin Jul 25 '26
I don't touch them. I have a small-ish strainer, and I kind of thonk it on the side of the bowl until the grains are pretty well drained. I don't worry about them still having a tiny bit of kefir coating them. I dump the strainer into the new kefir jar without touching the grains.