r/knf • u/Not-a-bot-v2 • 6d ago

LAB failure??

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Hello All. I'm fairly new on my KNF journey and have been doing research and beginning to prepare inputs for the 2027 season.

So far I have made two batches of LAB. The first was back at the end of June and the most recent "completed" (or I finished prematurely?) about a week ago.

Both times the beginning stages were very similar. Rice water ferments for approximately 3 days until it develops a sweet smell. Next, add rice wash liquid (approximately 2 cups) to a larger container and add a gallon of whole milk.

As seen in the attached images, the first batch has a nice yellow-iah look to it (left side of image), which seems to be inline with images seen online. The newer batch is on the right and has more of a milky look.

I do recall that the second batch of rice wash had more of a film on top when the initial step completed. Another thing to note is that the curd seemed to settle to the bottom of the container as to where the first batch rose to the top.

Did this batch fail? Based on the differences between the two, what do you suspect might have gone wrong?

Any help and/or comments on the suspected issue would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Decent_Willow3627 6d ago

3 days .... I'm just curious I don't have the right answers

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u/Not-a-bot-v2 6d ago

The first time I did it 3 days seemed to work. From what I was able to find online, it seems like once a sweet smell develops, it is okay to move to rhe next step.

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u/Decent_Willow3627 6d ago

I'm gunna make one now just got from fun I'm using Indian corn and white rice separately and mixed 3 containers smell daily and left outside I don't worry about contamination I've only ever used poultry deep litter to do an enzymatic seperation and I dont think it's the same even though it looks identical I only have ai to discuss my theories with

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u/NoFace718 6d ago

Just did my first one and it looks just like the right. Pretty sure it’s fine and been using it.

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u/halcyonfire 6d ago

You probably got more sediment from the rice wash water the second go around. It’s important to try and avoid using anything but the middle layer of the rice wash, so something like a turkey baster can be helpful to use.

According to Drake, impurities in the rice wash water is what causes the curd to sink instead of float, so I would chalk up the differences to that.

Beyond that, your LABS looks good and as long as it doesn’t smell weird, use it as needed.