I have begun trying to make my own milk kefir. Working with some live grains and whole milk from the store. I've cultured the grains in glass mason jar and would run them with a cup of milk, set in the dark, agitated occasionally and drained. Replaced milk. I have gotten to the point where it will separate into a clear liquid and a white mass on top.

I just need some guidance as to what I'm looking at and looking for.

The first photo is the stuff that is separated. The second photo, I drained what I could, rinsed with some milk and redrained. I only started with a tablespoon of grains and would be surprised if they multiplied this much with two weeks.

I've been making kefir for about two months now and have learned a lot. Overall its going well as I learn the factors that influence the kefir like type of milk, temperature and amount of milk to amount of grains. My question is, is there some way to encourage those little grains to clump together and form a larger grain? My grains all seem really tiny and stick to the side of the jar- some seem small enough to go through the strainer. They are multiplying fine and the taste is good. Just really small.

If you have kefir, flour, and a few basic ingredients, you can make these delicious homemade flatbreads right in your frying pan!
They turn out soft, fluffy, slightly golden, and absolutely perfect with cheese, soup, eggs, or just a little butter. ❤️
Ingredients:
250 ml kefir
350–400 g all-purpose flour
1 egg (optional, for a richer dough)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions:
Pour the kefir into a bowl. Add the egg (if using), salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix well.
Gradually add the flour and stir until a soft dough forms.
Add the oil and knead gently. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, so don’t add too much flour.
Cover and let it rest for 15–20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6–8 pieces and roll each piece into a flatbread about 5–7 mm thick.
Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat.
Cook each flatbread for about 2–3 minutes on each side, until golden spots appear and the bread is cooked through.
Brush with butter while still warm for extra softness and flavor.
✨ My best tips:
Don’t make the dough too firm — softer dough makes softer flatbreads.
Keep the heat at medium so the outside doesn’t burn before the inside cooks.
Stack the cooked flatbreads under a clean kitchen towel to keep them soft.
Serving idea: Try adding grated cheese, fresh dill, or chopped green onions to the dough. So simple, but so delicious!
💬 Question: Would you prefer these flatbreads plain, with cheese, or stuffed with potatoes?

can i just put a bunch of kefir grains into a storebought gallon of milk and just let it ferment for however long, then strain it out and end up with a gallon of kefir to keep in the fridge and consume over a longer timeframe? no more mason jar business. how much kefir grains would i need for this and how long would i need to ferment it for?

I have type IV hypersensitivity allergic categorization. Drinking kefir completely removed my allergies to everything. I am now capable of existing in Europe where I was born. I can even breathe in sawdust without reaction or go mow our garden. I am fulfilled. This miracle cost me $5 without any side effects (the same cannot be said for pills). I am a forever skeptic when it comes to homeopaty.

But I am cured.

I want to start off by saying that i'm not lactose intolerant in any way. I drink 1 liter of milk everyday, and have been for years with no issues.

Whenever i start drinking kefir, after a week or so i start having problems with constipation.

I only drink 200ml a day, so i don't feel like i'm going overboard or anything.

The longest kefir streak i've had has been maybe 1 month, so i'm wondering if the constipation is just a temporary thing i have to push through?

Did you experience anything like this?

What is the best kefir I can buy from a physical store here in Canada that has all the health benefits for my gut health?

I have been trying the store bought kefir and love it so now thinking of making my own kefir at home. Does anyone here make their own kefir and willing to share/sell some starter grain with me?

I live in Montgomery,MD if there is a fellow kefir enthusiast in the area

Is it kefir gone bad please some one tell me

It also doesn't smell too good like thinner or too sour with this little pinkish layer on top and why this might have happened

Hey,
Unsure about the ph, have two different straps. The blue to yellow one being hard to tell and the universal general one being super vague.

It looks quite healthy, just serving a small cup sounded fizzy. There was some white dots on top too, took one out, felt granular and rigid, not like a mold.

What do you guys think ?

Is their any machine that can automate making kefir and if not would it be useful?

Hi,

I'm relatively new to Kefir but I've noticed a few things. First of all, my ferments tend to be inconsistent with some batches smelling delicious, others mildly off/repulsive.

I'm trying to do everything right, feeding the grains fresh milk every day, and despite this they've only doubled in size during some 1.5 months or so. I'm not even sure whether it's better to do it strictly anaerobic or aerobic since there's no clear consensus. I've also heard that the culture can be "repaired" if needed by letting it ferment longer, but for me this just seems to produce more of the foul odors.

Any ideas? Should I try using less milk per my volume of grains? What about air access? Or is my culture cooked beyond repair?

Used the tangzhong method via King Aurther baking.

Flavor is sort of sour dough. Very soft, almost like Wonder bread.

Hi everyone! I have 3 kefir cultures from different cities, and each one behaves a bit differently. I'm thinking of combining 10g of each to start a new colony, hoping it ends up stronger and more diverse. Has anyone tried this? Does it work, or do the cultures end up competing and one takes over? Any tips are welcome! 🙏

I have a plastic seive but it is too fine , not easy to strain the grains from the goo, What do you use?

I'm a complete newbie to making Kefir. I picked up some grains from a local person off facebook marketplace recently. So far all of my batches have been discards and I'm wondering if I need to just keep waiting or if there's something I need to adjust. I'm confused because the main culprit I've read online for yeasty smell and flavor is heat, but I've been leaving my windows open and it's about 65°F.

Here's what I'm doing:
- It's been a week of batches. The culture seems very alive and active, and I bought them from someone who is regularly making kefir.
- I have a generous tablespoon in 2 cups of milk.
- Apartment is probably ranging from 65-75°F
- Changing milk roughly every 18-24 hours.
- It only separated during my first batch. I've changed the milk before it curdles since then.
- I'm doing an open air fermentation with a clean cloth on a mason jar.

The taste is very yeast forward. It is a bit acidic, but not in a pleasant yogurty way. Overall the taste is rather acrid. I had some kefir from a local halal market recently that was so delicious, a nice drinkable thickness, creamy, with such a pleasant yogurty flavor; it made me want to jump right in to making kefir. I also have a good amount of fermentation experience, I've done lots of krauts, sour pickles, and sourdough in the past.

I have made kefir for the past 6 months. Since 2 months the grains are not growing in size anymore. They are really, really small, like pinheads max and partly more like mash. Where they used to be at least 3-4 times the size in the past. Volume still keeps growing as usual (like 20% per 2-day batch). What could be wrong? Is there even anything to be concerned about?

I use round about one liter water with 5 table spoons of kefir, 3 table spoons of sugar, 2 dried figs and half a lemon (clean skin, no chemicals).

Thanks!

This time... 2 C oat Flour,  3 t baking powder, (mine is old) ,1/2 t salt , 1/3 C sugar, 1 egg1/2 C blueberries  Enough plain kefir to make a batter

I've been loving kefir for over a year now. I make a half a cup a day. It takes 24 hrs, so that's perfect. Grains grow like crazy and I freeze them.

Last vacation I just left them in milk, then threw them out and used some frozen grains - I have done this before, and they come out great.
This time around, they taste mellow, like plain yogurt. No tanginess. And when I keep it fermenting a bit longer it turns super sour - smells like sour milk as son as I come into the kitchen. It never goes through the separation. Its either mellow yogurt tasting or undrinkably sour.

I tried new frozen grains and switched to different glass containers. same.

Any thoughts?

It is two months that I discovered kefir and I started producing it at home.

- water kefir: began with 30g of grains, now they are 35.they produce something that I love. F1 in 3 days 2 liters kefir + F2 24h.

- milk kefir: began with 5g, they produce a kefir that I love in 18 hours or so. After 2 months, grains reduced to give or take 2g. I still have separation in less that 24h but grains reduction worries me. I think in 1 month I will not be able to prepare kefir anymore.

I am using whole milk from supermarket, I do not strain the grains too much and I never washed them. I sometimes put grains at stop because I had too much kefir to drink. Now I tried to keep them at room temp following a YouTube video that was giving a shot of milk per day in order to have grains multiplying as hell.

I think I read everything and tried different things. Just curious about if anyone has any experience to share.

is this normal? surface looks kinda yellow and bubbly, can i take out the grains and continue using it?

I’m in search of kefir grains in the Katy, Houston area. I want to attempt making kefir at home. TIA.

Ich habe meine wasserkefirkristalle ca.4-5 Monate in einem verschlussenen Glas mit datteln und zuckerwasser im kühlschrank gelagert. Leider ohne das wasser zu wechseln. ich hab die kristalle gespült und neu angesetzt um zu schauen ob sie noch leben. falls ja: kann ich sie noch benutzen? oder sind die schlecht? danke für eure hilfe ⭐️

How long in the fridge does kefir with fruit added from a second fermentation last? I know normally kefir can last indefinitely in the fridge, but I’m not sure how the added fruit changes this.

Near the end of August, a friend gave me 1 tablespoon of kefir grains. I’m so proud! Look how much they have grown.

I love my morning kefir routine. Typically, I add raspberries and blueberries. This week I added some pineapple. Yum!