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How Do I Know If My Kefir Grains Aren’t Good Anymore? #AskWardee 004

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"How do I know if my kefir grains aren't good anymore?” Watch or listen to find out! | AskWardee.tv

“How do I know if my kefir grains aren’t good anymore?” is the question on today’s #AskWardee.

The Question

Alina asks:

“How do I recognize if milk kefir grains are not good anymore and need to be replaced?

The reason I am asking is that for the longest time my kefir grains were not growing. In the end I found out the reason. It turned out that the temperature in my fridge was too warm so my raw milk was starting to turn sour in less than 10 days. I would still use the soured milk to make the kefir and I think that this is what made the grains not grow. Competition from the bacteria from souring milk?

I have turned down the temperature and the milk lasts for ever now. At least 3 weeks. How long raw milk is supposed to last anyway?

Now I do not use sour milk anymore and the grains grow quite nicely (for the first time) but I noticed that the kefir becomes yeasty. There is this yeasty “blanket” on top. I stir it in and it is still good but I wonder if maybe I should get different kefir grains. Maybe these ones are not that beneficial/healthy anymore?

Thank you very much. –Alina”

Links Mentioned

How do you keep your kefir grains healthy? How do you tell if they’re doing well or not?

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We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).

About Wardee Harmon

Wardee lives in the Boise area of Idaho with her dear family. She's the lead teacher and founder of the Eat God's Way online cooking program as well as the author of Fermenting, Sourdough A to Z, and other traditional cooking books. Eat God's Way helps families get healthier and happier using cooking methods and ingredients from Bible Times like sourdough, culturing, and ancient grains.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. angela says

    Hello,

    I went to drain my kefir and when I looked inside, the top surface of the milk was think, pink and very slimy. I figured it was not good to drink it so I got rid of the milk and the grains. Can you please tell me what I did wrong? I have been making kefir for about 6 months now and never had a problem.
    Thank you so much!
    Angela

    • Vicki Henry says

      Hi Angela,

      It sounds like your grains were under some type of stress. Usually its from temperature changes, too many grains in the milk, or changing the type of milk. It could also be from contamination.

      Since you say that they were also pink my guess is they got contaminated somehow. 🙁

      ~Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team