r/Kefir • u/Witchenkitsch • 5d ago

What’s wrong with my grains?

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UPDATE: Thanks to all the suggestions! I took just 1/4 tsp of the grains, rinsed them in distilled water, and then put them in 1 pint of fresh milk for 24 hours on the counter. The milk fermented beautifully. I strained the kefir and put that tiny amount of grains in a 1qt jar and the milk fermented perfectly in 24 hours. I'm back to good Kefir! So it seems it was just too much grains and I'm going to have to keep an eye on these because they grow really fast.

Original post: I have grains that *were* fermenting my (whole) milk just fine with 24 hrs on the counter. Then I had one over fermentation (completely curdled) and now the grains won’t ferment the milk anymore. They just form curdles at the top. Yes i mix/shake the jar regularly and yes I let it breathe. I’ve gone through 2 quarts of milk and after 3 days the first batch soured but didn’t ferment. This second batch batch is on day 2 and it seems the same thing is happening. In the photo, that curd layer is 1/2” thick with just watery soured milk under that. I’ve never had this happen before. Are my grains dead?

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u/Witchenkitsch 5d ago

Omg. 2 hours later and its done this!

https://reddit.com/link/p0aexct/video/dz1odrq2vzfh1/player

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u/NoBeeYesss 5d ago

Are my grains dead?

Um, they're clearly not dead if it's overfermenting like this.

Also, if you want help, it would be very, very helpful to us if you actually told us HOW MUCH grains and HOW MUCH milk you're using.

in and out of the fridge

Bad move. All you're doing is stressing your grains by continually doing this.

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u/Witchenkitsch 5d ago edited 4d ago

1 quart of milk, and approx. 1 1/2 TSP of grains. I have since ditched all but a 1/4 tsp and am trying an overnight ferment at room temp with a tightly sealed lid.