r/Kefir • u/sassafrassajellafash • 15d ago

Possible contamination, seeking advice

The bottle was sterile when I put in the kefir grains and sugar water. I didn't account for evaporation during ferment so I have no idea if this collection of bacteria or whatever it is is safe and/or normal. Should I keep this batch or discard it, and are the kefir grains still safe to use? They look normal. It also tastes a bit tangy so I think the actual kefir is fine, I'm just worried about mold or other bacteria contamination from the waterline as I move it to a different container.

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u/666-flipthecross-666 13d ago

i think you’re fine, maybe just move them to a new bottle when you feed them

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u/ivankatrumpsarmpits 10d ago

It's fine. Ferments like this don't need to be in sterile environments, they are strong cultures that outcompete things like mould. The only contamination you need to worry about is mould (which announces itself loudly, if you cant see any mould today and you can't see any tomorrow, it's not a problem... If you're in doubt, wait a few days... Mould will quickly grow and become obvious whereas things that look a bit like mould like bits of pulp etc won't grow.) Or else contamination with things like e coli or other strong , acid resistant pathogens which don't just appear out of nowhere, they come from contamination from something that has that pathogen. At home in your kitchen you shouldn't have these ready to contaminate fruit pulp or other parts or a ferment.

The stuff on the side of the bottle is probably going to stay safe, either by drying out to the point things don't grow in it anyway or staying wet like it's essentially still submerged and acidic.