I bought a bottle of plain Lifeway kefir and noticed the cap came off easily, safety seal still attached to the main cap entirely unbroken - is this normal or should I avoid drinking it? I read someone say the weak seal is intentional as the kefir's live and releasing gases, but can anyone confirm?

Every source says something different, some range from 10 - 50mcg. Im confused.

I feel like maybe I am fermenting it wrong.

I would ferment by putting a loose plastic lid slightly turning it in a glass jar..felt nothing.. just two days ago I started a new method by using a coffee filter and elastic band..

Was I fermenting it wrong? I don’t understand why it doesn’t work for me.

About 7 years ago everytime I drank milk kefir, I slept like a baby, I had better bowel movements, my skin cleared… but now nothing. I am also more sicker.

I am using real milk kefir grains with raw grass fed milk. Same way as I did before.

TL;DR - Looking for large, mature milk kefir grains to buy. Grains I’ve purchased recently from different sources are very small and aren’t producing kefir.

I started drinking store bought milk kefir about 9 years ago after reading about the health benefits from it. Then I purchased some live grains to make my own kefir - I think the company I purchased them from was Cultures for Health but I could be mistaken, it was a long time ago. It worked great and it was really easy - about a tablespoon or a little more of grains into a 4 cup large mouth mason jar, pour 2 cups of whole milk in, use coffee filter to cover and rubber band to keep coffee filter on jar.

I would leave the jar on the counter for 24 hours or even 48 hours and it would be fine. Strain the grains, put into clean jar with more milk and put kefir into an 8 cup mason jar in the fridge to use in smoothies. I always use plastic or silicone utensils to strain the grains from the kefir. I read way back when I first started that metal utensils weren’t good to use with kefir.

I live in SW Florida but keep the A/C or heat running so temperature/humidity is consistent in the house between 74°-78°.

My grains were healthy and multiplied often, sometimes I would have 2 jars going at the same time. The kefir always had a thicker than buttermilk consistency and slightly sour/fermented smell. When my 8 cup jar in the fridge  was full I would put the grains to ‘sleep’ in a 1 cup jar, fill it with fresh milk and screw a plastic lid on it until I needed more kefir. When I had too many grains I would throw some away (didn’t have anyone to give them to) and keep approximately 2 large tablespoons to continue with. Also put grains to sleep when we went on vacations.

All of this was so easy from the very beginning. I never had any issues making kefir.

Then Hurricane Ian decided to go directly over my house and kefir smoothies were the last thing on my mind. Had to toss my grains and didn’t even think about starting up again for 8-9 months. I have since ordered kefir grains 3 times and none were like the original grains I ordered way back.

I ordered from Cultures for Health first and they came freeze dried, wasn’t expecting that. I emailed the company and they said that’s how they have always sold them. Not sure if the company changed hands since my first order 9 years ago but I know they weren’t freeze dried back then. I tried reviving them for 2-3 weeks but they never grew or fermented the milk and I got tired of wasting the milk so I gave up on those. Since then I’ve ordered from 2 different sources - one time from an Amazon seller and recently from an Etsy seller. The Amazon grains were very small and came with a ‘powdered starter culture’ that was supposed to help revive the grains faster. Never worked. I thought ordering from an Etsy seller it would be from a person who had been making kefir for a long time and decided to sell their excess grains. I was hoping for the size grains that I always had before the hurricane but they arrived yesterday and are also very small, trying them now but don’t have much hope that they will work.

I can’t express to you how easy it was to produce kefir before. I never had any of the issues I have read on this sub. Now it’s just so frustrating and I’m hoping that someone can tell me about a source for reliable grains.

Pic in comments because it won’t show in original post.

Pics are not of my grains but just examples to show size difference.

The more sour it is? Less fermented and less sour?

An old friend is going through CKD5 (chronic kidney disease stage 5). His health has been progressively improving with the intake of kefir on a daily basis. Weight loss has stopped and he went from daily dialysis to every other day. My concern is the amount of natural potassium and sodium in kefir. Any healthcare professional knows anything about our this. Thanks

I have been drinking store bought kefir everyday for a couple of weeks now but decided to try making it at home for the added benefits. I am always a little paranoid about food so I want to make sure I do this right. I got milk kefir grains from someone local and I put a heaping tablespoon in a jar with about 3 cups of milk and my house is around 68°F. The ratios of grains to milk I’ve seen suggested really vary so I’m not sure that’s right. I’m planning on waiting until I see separation first starting, put the kefir in the fridge, and start a new batch. I am going to start with a little bit every day just to make sure my body can get used to it. There’s a lot of different advice around so I just want to make sure I’m not doing anything wrong. Is there anyway I can mess this up and get sick from it? I don’t think I can go off of taste alone since I’m a spoiled food hypochondriac lol.

So I know you’re supposed to refrigerate Lifeway Kefir(plain, unsweetened), but because kefir continues to grow bacteria if left in 70-80 degree temps, wouldn’t it be more beneficial if you didn’t refrigerate it and finished it in 2-4 days? Or would it require the grains to grow the bacteria?

I accidentally used water kefir grains in coconut milk. I followed a recipe adding 2 tsp coconut sugar to a liter of coconut milk but used water kefir grains. I left it out for ~18 hours hours. When I got to it there was a layer of something like white curdles that I skimmed off (not sure if the coconut milk just separated). Then I learned I was supposed to use a different kind of grain. I'm new to this.

Is the current product safe to drink? How do I know if it fermented or not? If it didn't ferment, then it's not safe because it was just sitting out for 18-20 hours right and bad bacteria would grow?

I am rather new to this. Got my grains when it was still cool outside/in my house but seem to be having more success as it’s warming up (in Midwest USA). I wasn’t that happy with my kefirs consistency- it was so watery. So now I am straining it and setting the whey part aside and then the rest is a very nice creamy consistency. I do sip on the whey so I am using that too. Thoughts? Does this seem right? Or should I have nice creamy kefir even when the whey is a part of the finished result? I am using organic whole milk pasteurized vitamin D.

I improperly covered my kefir and when I got to my grains I saw there were a bunch of fruit flies. I investigated the grains and they are fine. Rinsed them with milk and they are still white. Would it be safe to continue to use the grains though?

How can I preserve my kefir starter? Currently I just keep them in milk in the fridge but I assume I need to keep putting them in new milk every week or so? I’m new to this thanks

I've been drinking homemade water kefir for about 40 days now and I feel some headache and body aches.

Some days feel like I have a hangover. Fatigue, headache, brain fog and a heavy mind

Most days it feels like I've been exercising really hard the day before, even though I haven't and my exercise routine is really gentle at the moment.

I will probably stop drinking it today to see what happens, but have any here experienced the same ?

Edit: I drink about 1-2 cups a day.

I ordered kefir grains and received them a week ago (Florida Sun large water grains).

They sat in the cupboard in my kitchen for a week until today when I got a chance to unpack them. Now I see from the directions you're supposed to use them right away as they are a live product.

Can I go ahead and use them now anyway? Is the idea they might just not make great kefir, or is there actually a health hazard to leaving them sit in the cupboard for a week (in a plastic cup no water/milk)?

Thanks!

I purchased a 1L bottle of Kefir today, was my first time drinking it and for the rest of the day I've felt great, I've had zero brain fog and overall just felt full of energy, is this possible from Kefir? I didn't know anything about it, but I did Google it in the car after reading the bottle and it said it had a bunch of different live cultures.

I’m getting dirrhea and a lot of gas trying kefir for the first time HELP MR

Is there any kefir grain source thats known to have more bifidobacteria than others? Where do I get quality milk and water kefir grains? Thanks 🙏

if i had 2 jars of F1 water kefir, the first with 50g kefir grains, 50g sugar, and 1 litre water. second jar with 50g grains, 50g sugar, and 0.5 litre water. whats the effect on the ferment between both? which one is better for the grains? or it makes no difference?

Started off with 1 tsp of kefir grains and I was making 1/2 a liter of kefir every other day. Within 8 months that 1/2 tsp grew to 250gram after donating to multiple friends. Still sitting at 250grams of kefir grains and I am using 1 and half liter of milk. Kefir is turning super sour within 18-24 hours. My question is this, is it okay to drink this kind of super sour kefir or should I just freeze 200grams and use the remaining 50 grams to continue. Thanks

Hello everyone, new here. I am looking for some advice, i am new in fermenting stuff and would apreciate some help.

So i bought some milk kéfir nodules and they arrived on 15/04 and as soon as I got home I put them in a glass jar with pasteurized milk, 0.5L, as indicated in the instructions. At 48h I renewed the milk for another half liter of pasteurized milk. At 24h (18/04) the jar was moved to the fridge as I was going to be away for the weekend. On Sunday (21/04) I returned and while removing the milk and noticed It smelled like sour milk, with no appearance of fermentation (gas, higher viscosity...) so after removing the milk and washing the grains well with bottled water, I cleaned the jar well and put them back with half a liter, this time of semi-skimmed UHT milk. Since then I have been putting them in a smaller amount of whole uht milk (0.25L approx) for 24h. On no occasion have I seen any signs of fermentation other than a White layer adhering to the granules and always the milk smelling or tasting like sour milk, never the taste or texture of milk kefir.

Are the grains dead? Can they be recovered somehow?

If I don’t drink my kefir at home, I always bring 1-2 cups to work (room temp, 2nd ferment). Sometimes, I blend in cherries or blueberries, or vanilla and a touch of organic sugar, etc.). Well, I added vanilla and pure stevia drops. It was 4 hours before I touched it… it over flowed on the counter, so I intuitively opened the lid over the sink… it nearly exploded! It came up like Mt. Vesuvius! And kept erupting up! What a mess! Never saw anything like it. Turns out that pure stevia is an excellent prebiotic. It really is!!!

Hi guys! Seeking advice here since this subreddit has been instrumental in my water kefir journey.

This is my fourth batch of water kefir and it’s been fine and dandy until this 2F. I bottled this on 48 hours ago and it’s still pretty sweet this morning so I don’t think it’s very active and fermenting. I tried to burp it the past 2 days but there’s barely any fizz at all, except for a small one last night, and then nothing again this morning.

I’m suspecting it might be due to the temperature, since 2 days ago (the day I bottled it) it hit around 84-88 degrees where I live (in Asia). If that’s the case, are the kefir/bacteria/yeast dead or just inactive? Is there any hope left for this batch? For context it’s been rainier and cooler since that afternoon and hasn’t gone over 76 degrees.

Or is it actually something else that this noob might’ve gotten wrong? Any help or advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

I'll start. I fermented some chia seeds in a batch a few days ago, then ate the seeds and picked out as many grains as possible. Then refermented those same grains with some Monster Energy Zero sugar and heavy whipping cream.

It came out tasting like lime flavored kefir frosting. Experiments continuing...

Yep. that is all. I am not lactose intolerant.

I ate lunch and had no bloating. After an hour I drank kefir, and now I have a lot of gas. Idk why.

Hi all- newbie here. I have had my kefir grains sitting in milk in my fridge for about a year. Can I start making kefir again by transferring them directly into raw milk or will this put them into shock? Would it be better if I boiled the milk ahead of time? (I know this would know longer make it raw) Any tips appreciated!

I'm pretty sure I have a gut issue. I’m reacting to a lot of different foods. Has anyone used Kefir to help with their food sensitivities/intolerances? Thank you so much!