“I made coconut kefir with kefir grains. They don’t smell or taste good now. Did I ruin my grains?” asks Janet M. on today’s #AskWardee. I’m sharing my thoughts below!
The Question: “I made coconut kefir with kefir grains. Did I ruin my grains?”
Janet M. asks:
I read somewhere that I can make coconut kefir out of coconut milk. I tried it with coconut milk from a carton, the kind you would drink or put on cereal, not from a can. It didn’t work and now my milk kefir grains don’t taste or smell as good. Almost like it’s too sour or ‘bad’. Did I ruin my kefir grains?
My Answer:
For more information on coconut kefir, refer to #AskWardee 002: How To Make Coconut Kefir {3 ways}. I’m not sure whether you made coconut kefir with water or milk. I’m leaning toward milk (from your message).
To clarify, the difference between the 2 is that coconut milk has the cream and the water, so it ends up white and creamy and much like a milk alternative. To ferment that is what most people would call coconut kefir.
Anyway, you can ferment either and your real question is… did you ruin your grains?
Not necessarily.
Remember: your milk kefir grains prefer cow or goat milk, not coconut milk or coconut water. They are not going to thrive and grow in coconut milk or water as they do in regular milk.
Yet that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn how to make coconut kefir with kefir grains — and still keep your grains alive and well.
I would think that alternating between coconut milk (or water) and regular milk will generally keep your grains happy.
Perhaps your first batch was off due to the grains not being used to the coconut water and then going back to regular milk. They might perform poorly until they get back on track.
Perhaps the grains did suffer a bit; but they probably didn’t die. Put them back in regular milk and do a few batches to try to restore them.
Kefir grains are a bit like people. They have tastes and preferences and want to be happy. We have to play with the variables to keep them happy and producing for us. 🙂
If you’re interested in fermenting, please grab my free gift for you — the fermenting formulas cheat sheet that will give you easy formulas for all kinds of ferments like kraut, salsa, pickles, relish, and more…
What should you do in the future?
I suggest keeping back some grains that always kefir your regular milk — you can always count on them. Then, also have a set of grains that switches back and forth between regular milk and coconut milk (or water).
Links Mentioned:
Do you know how to make coconut kefir with kefir grains?
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