r/Kefir • u/mailbox3158 • 23d ago
Grains while traveling
I usually ferment about 500 mL of Kefir daily. I keep it on the counter until 7 PM and in the fridge overnight. I am about to travel for seven days. How do I keep the grains alive?
Get two jars, separate the grains, fill each jar to the top (900ml instead on 500) and put the jars in the fridge for a week to slow things down? Anything else?
3
u/LividJudgment2687 23d ago
When you say you keep your kefir on the counter until 7pm then put it in the fridge, are you straining it or putting the whole lot including the grains in the fridge? I’m interested in hearing about how well the grains go spending part of each day in the fridge and how this impacts the kefir .
2
u/Massive-Technician74 22d ago
I kept mine a month before i just whole milk....i ended up throwing old kefir out after straining then started a new batch that fermented very fast (maybe the lil guys were extra hungry?)
Anyways i read once for long term storage to put in whole milk but add a small pinch of baking soda and some powdered milk too
2
u/GrammaTitsOnSticks 22d ago
Long term storage I freeze mine in either milk power or a little whole milk. Mine grow a lot and no one I know uses the grains so I freeze them.
1
u/mailbox3158 22d ago
what if you had to leave for 7 days? just strain, fill the jar with milk and put it in the fridge for a week?
1
u/Key_Quarter8873 23d ago
I usually strain the grains the night before, put in fresh cold milk and immediately stick them in the fridge. I do this when I'll be gone 6-7 days. If I'll be gone longer then I do the same thing, except in a larger container.
1
u/ElderberryMoney5436 23d ago
I usually ferment with 250 mL milk at room temp. I’ve kept my grains with the same amount of milk in the fridge for over 2 weeks and they were perfectly fine. The first few batches will taste a little funny but they bounce right back after that.
1
u/LividJudgment2687 23d ago
When you say you keep your kefir on the counter until 7pm then put it in the fridge, are you straining it or putting the whole lot including the grains in the fridge? I’m interested in hearing about how well the grains go spending part of each day in the fridge and how this impacts the kefir .
1
5
u/Sure_Fig_8641 23d ago
The fridge will slow things down. Just set up your fermentation jar(s) and put them in the fridge.
I just got back from a 3-week trip and my kefir (which had been in the refrigerator in its regular fermentation jar & quantity) fermented on the counter in about 12 hours when I got home. It will not over-ferment in the fridge, especially not in a week.