I was inspired to try some kefir from the supermarket, bio-tifuls specifically. Which i loved, delicious as well as healthy.

So i decided to try making my own, which has been a disaster so far.

I bought the grains online. Every evening i sieve out the grains, drink the ‘kefir’, clean the jar, then put the grains back with another 250ml of full fat cows milk.
I thought if i kept doing this they would slowly grow until there was enough to ferment a batch and they have grow considerably, easily tripled in size by now.

But the kefir hasn’t thickened at any stage. It went from tasting like just milk, to milk with a tang, then eventually to what tastes like sour, fizzy milk. Disgusting. Most material online suggests if it doesn’t thicken it means it has gone past that stage and separated into curds and whey but it hasn’t. I have been throwing grains out the last few days to reduce the rate it ferments, which has reduced the sourness, but it hasn’t thickened at all. I have had the grains 10 days now.

Were they bad grains? Or was I mislead by the commercial product into thinking I could get thick kefir at home when it isn’t possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, the company I bought them from were not useful at all when it came to advice.

Hi tamatthews01
If you’ve only had your grains 10 days and they have tripled in size any you are throwing them away that is an impressive rate of growth (faster than I’ve witnessed!) so I’d think they are happy. Rather than throwing away excess grains you can eat them (I do this whenever I have spare)
I don’t think you are letting it ferment long enough.
To get thicker Kefir you may want to try letting it ferment longer, you still strain every day like you are doing but then put the Kefir back in a jar (leave the lid loose to let the gas out if you don’t like the fizz) and let it ferment another 12-28 hours (temp dependent) It should thicken (keep giving it a shake to check), mine still thickens even in the fridge. If I want really thick Kefir (similar to Greek Yogurt to eat with a spoon I let it ferment until it completely separates and then strain it in a fine sieve to remove the Whey, and eat the remaining thick Kefir.
How many grains do you have to ferment the 250ml of milk? I have approx. 1 teaspoon full of gains which ferments approx 300ml of milk in less than 24 hours at room temp.

Hope that helps

Thank you for that advise 🙂
i added another jar to the rotation, so i strain the grains put them in one jar with new milk then transfer the kefir to another jar and leave for 24hrs.
It is not perfect, the kefir is a bit grainy. Not quite as thick as I would like but many many times better than before, it was pleasant to drink.
And it is more than 1tsp I have, near 1.5-2, but it isn’t terribly warm in my kitchen.

If you leave it a bit longer to separate into curds and whey and then gently stir it as you pass it through the seive it should thicken. Strain it again if you think it still seems gritty. As another poster said, leaving it for a few hours lightly covered before putting it in the fridge should thicken it nicely. There’s a very useful Facebook page, Kefir UK with videos, tips etc.

It can take a while for kefir grains to settle down. I threw out the first couple of batches I ever fermented before I found the best place and temperature and time for my taste.
The recent hot weather has been very difficult for making Kefir. For example I lost one batch when the milk had obviously started to go off a tiny bit before I added the grains. so the resulting drink was very cheesy.
For my taste, what I like to do is to strain the grains just as the first tiny pockets of whey start to form at the base of the jar. Stir vigorously with a chopstick then strain. That gives a lovely pouring consistency. I store the excess in the fridge in flip top water bottles so the excess gas bleeds off as it forms as the second fermentation gets underway. The grains can either rest in the fridge in milk until needed or leave in full fat milk on the side to prep your next batch. My favorite milk is the homogonised Gold top – much easier on the digestions than regular milk.
For loads of info join the Fermenting Friends UK Facebook group. Members of that group are happy to share Kefir grains, sourdough starter and loads of other fermented goodies too

Newbie Revisiting : About #Bio-tiful #KEFIR I discovered ‘Bio-Tiful from Morrisons, but I couldn’t buy it at the store, only on-line. So writing to ‘Bio-Tiful Dairy, they suggested Sainsbury’s…… Holy Mosley’s they have a good selection and flavours AND they also have another kefir from “The Collective” (same price, but different levels of ingredients – Biotiful has the most).

As I initially was having difficulty finding Kefir, I only drank 2/3rds and refilled the bottle with warm Goats Milk and left it near the hob. When it seemed thick, I gave it a good shake, emptied 2.3rds again and refilled. The culture has been going and being consumed for 3 weeks, so I was in no hurry to chase Morrisons.

Now that Sainsbury’s have BOTH makes, I’m keeping a few going in the way I said above.

Q:??? Am I doing something dangerous?? Bad? or can I just keep going?????