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Stored dairy kefir grains rehab?
Posted:
Mon Apr 01, 2019 1:28 pmby baerdric
I had my kefir in the fridge to store it for a while, actually about three months. I only changed the milk in it twice. I brought it out and have been making kefir with it for 4 weeks now, but while the first batches turned out nicely, it gradually ended up separating before it turned to kefir. I have runny but kefir flavored milk, then curds and whey. All this in less than 24 hours. My temperature is a steady 75ยบ and although the grains grew at first, so I took out about half, it's now only about two tablespoons of grains in two cups of milk.
Did I ruin my grains by storing them so long (and if so, why did they work at first)?
Or am I doing something wrong now? Maybe I should add more of the stored grains?
Is there anything I can do to restore my grains to best health?
Re: Stored dairy kefir grains rehab?
Posted:
Tue Apr 09, 2019 12:32 amby baerdric
From reading another thread, I decided to try rehabbing my grains by over-fermenting them for 72 hrs then cooling them to change the PH. Apparently this is to bring the yeast and bacteria more into harmony.
But apparently it didn't work. I think I will try again, since I don't have anything else to do with them...
The product still seems like kefir, just really thin, and I've been drinking it, but I squeeze a lime in it and blend that in to help thicken and flavor it. Really nice actually.
Re: Stored dairy kefir grains rehab?
Posted:
Mon Apr 15, 2019 8:44 pmby baerdric
The second cycle of 72 hour ferment followed by chilling has not seemed to work. I'm doing another sample with just the one largest grain (about 1 inch). If it doesn't thicken I'll let it go another 72 hrs. and try again.
Re: Stored dairy kefir grains rehab?
Posted:
Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:57 pmby baerdric
I think I fixed my grains.
I did get a small sample of another batch, and a very little piece (1/8th inch) broke off when I put it in the jar. I took that and added it to my improperly working grains and while the first batch didn't have a different result (runny and foamy), the second round seems to be completely fixed. Fully gelatinous after 24 hours.
Short of separating all the grains and testing each one individually, I won't know for sure, but I believe that my bacteria portion was completely dead, and not just off-balance. If that is so, then I further speculate that the tiny portion I put in, repopulated the whole batch.