Re: kefir in fridge half day?

[Guest guest]

That is actually what I have been doing lately. Gets too warm in my

house and a 24 hr ferment was causing too much separation, but I work

and don't have time or need to do 2 ferments a day. So I strain at

night, top off with milk, and put in the fridge til morning. In the

morning before I leave for work I pull the jar out and leave it in its

normal spot on my counter. What I have found is that it does seem to

stress the grains a bit, so at least once a week I will leave it out

for a full cycle even though that one tends to separate. This seems

to help the grains stay more balanced otherwise the kefir stops

tasting like I like it, gets too mild tasting. I also know it

stresses the grains a bit because they grow slower - still growing -

but slower. For the separated batch I just drain off the whey and use

the resulting solids almost as a yogurt. I add a touch of vanilla and

then eat it with fresh fruit and it is delish.

The more expert among us may tell me I am hurting the grains too much

but it was the only way I could figure out how to make it work for me

since I only want one ferment a day and I work so am not home to be

checking on it until the evening.

Jaxi

On 6/4/12, bsbierle <sbierle@...> wrote:

> Hi all -

>

> After having to mix and match for the past few weeks, I am now supplied with

> a week's worth of raw milk. I want to keep to a quart of kefir in 24 hours.

> I just can have/store any more than that. I am down to 1 tblsp of grains

> for a quart and the milk is still done in about 18 hours at the most. It is

> about 76-80 degrees on average in the area where I place my kefir.

>

> I am wondering what the thought process would be on straining the kefir at

> night, putting the new batch in the fridge until I get up in the morning,

> and then leaving it during the day until I strain again in the evening. Do

> you think this would work and still keep the grains healthy? (I have been

> removing grains about every two days as they are growing like wildfire.)

>

> Thoughts? Suggestions?

>

>

[Guest guest]

If you have one, a 1/2 gallon mason jar would be perfect for you. That would

work out so that you use 1 Tbs of grains with 1/2 gallon of milk and culture for

two days. Then strain and consume 1qt per day. When you are out of strained

kefir it should be time to strain the next batch. What I do is ehen there gets

to be more than a heaping Tbs of grains, I only use the 1Tbs in the half gallon

and take the extra grains in a smaller, qt jar and put about 1/2jar of fresh

milk, cover with your cheese cloth and put in the fridge. Then you have extras

when you need to make more or give some away. But, don't leave those grains m.

When you see the pockets,ore than about 5or 6 days in the fridge with out

pulling them out to culture for about 12-24 hours. Just watch for the pockets

of whey, when you seethem its time to strain. Then put the same grains back in

the jar with new milk and refrigerate again for another 5-6 days.

Al

kefir in fridge half day?

Hi all -

After having to mix and match for the past few weeks, I am now supplied with a

week's worth of raw milk. I want to keep to a quart of kefir in 24 hours. I

just can have/store any more than that. I am down to 1 tblsp of grains for a

quart and the milk is still done in about 18 hours at the most. It is about

76-80 degrees on average in the area where I place my kefir.

I am wondering what the thought process would be on straining the kefir at

night, putting the new batch in the fridge until I get up in the morning, and

then leaving it during the day until I strain again in the evening. Do you

think this would work and still keep the grains healthy? (I have been removing

grains about every two days as they are growing like wildfire.)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I would reduce the amount of grains by another third, and see how that goes.

Once you have the grains producing just finished kefir in 24 hours, you’ll

know how much of the grains you need. Some grains are very active and it

doesn’t take much of them to do their thing. You might find that later on,

they will multiply and still finish at 24 hours up to a point before you have to

divide them again.

From: bsbierle

Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 3:31 PM

Subject: kefir in fridge half day?

Hi all -

After having to mix and match for the past few weeks, I am now supplied with a

week's worth of raw milk. I want to keep to a quart of kefir in 24 hours. I just

can have/store any more than that. I am down to 1 tblsp of grains for a quart

and the milk is still done in about 18 hours at the most. It is about 76-80

degrees on average in the area where I place my kefir.

I am wondering what the thought process would be on straining the kefir at

night, putting the new batch in the fridge until I get up in the morning, and

then leaving it during the day until I strain again in the evening. Do you think

this would work and still keep the grains healthy? (I have been removing grains

about every two days as they are growing like wildfire.)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Guest guest]

I have to keep mine in fridge half the time. I leave the fresh out for a few

hours and then put in fridge overnight. My grains do much better in the winter,

and as long as they have a few hours out, they will keep on a makin in the

fridge.

pam in TX

>

> Hi all -

>

> After having to mix and match for the past few weeks, I am now supplied with a

week's worth of raw milk. I want to keep to a quart of kefir in 24 hours. I

just can have/store any more than that. I am down to 1 tblsp of grains for a

quart and the milk is still done in about 18 hours at the most. It is about

76-80 degrees on average in the area where I place my kefir.

>

> I am wondering what the thought process would be on straining the kefir at

night, putting the new batch in the fridge until I get up in the morning, and

then leaving it during the day until I strain again in the evening. Do you

think this would work and still keep the grains healthy? (I have been removing

grains about every two days as they are growing like wildfire.)

>

> Thoughts? Suggestions?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

You could also increase the ratio of milk to grains. I get a 48 hour or close

to that this time of year with 1Tbs heaping per half gallon of milk.

Al

Re: kefir in fridge half day?

That is actually what I have been doing lately. Gets too warm in my

house and a 24 hr ferment was causing too much separation, but I work

and don't have time or need to do 2 ferments a day. So I strain at

night, top off with milk, and put in the fridge til morning. In the

morning before I leave for work I pull the jar out and leave it in its

normal spot on my counter. What I have found is that it does seem to

stress the grains a bit, so at least once a week I will leave it out

for a full cycle even though that one tends to separate. This seems

to help the grains stay more balanced otherwise the kefir stops

tasting like I like it, gets too mild tasting. I also know it

stresses the grains a bit because they grow slower - still growing -

but slower. For the separated batch I just drain off the whey and use

the resulting solids almost as a yogurt. I add a touch of vanilla and

then eat it with fresh fruit and it is delish.

The more expert among us may tell me I am hurting the grains too much

but it was the only way I could figure out how to make it work for me

since I only want one ferment a day and I work so am not home to be

checking on it until the evening.

Jaxi

On 6/4/12, bsbierle <sbierle@...> wrote:

> Hi all -

>

> After having to mix and match for the past few weeks, I am now supplied with

> a week's worth of raw milk. I want to keep to a quart of kefir in 24 hours.

> I just can have/store any more than that. I am down to 1 tblsp of grains

> for a quart and the milk is still done in about 18 hours at the most. It is

> about 76-80 degrees on average in the area where I place my kefir.

>

> I am wondering what the thought process would be on straining the kefir at

> night, putting the new batch in the fridge until I get up in the morning,

> and then leaving it during the day until I strain again in the evening. Do

> you think this would work and still keep the grains healthy? (I have been

> removing grains about every two days as they are growing like wildfire.)

>

> Thoughts? Suggestions?

>

>