Re: [!! SPAM] I sometimes leave my jars in the Florida sun to jumpstart them. Bad idea.

[Guest guest]

Kefir is an indoor culture that shouldn’t be exposed to direct sunlight or to

extreme heat. The usual way to culture kefir is to put the kefir grains into a

clean glass vessel and add milk, cover loosely, then set aside away from direct

sun in a place where it will not be disturbed for 24 hours. Strain and use

immediately, ferment another day under airlock at room temp, or refrigerate

another 24 hours.

I’m curious, why did you put your kefir outdoors in the sun?

From: ljlemer

Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2012 10:50 AM

Subject: [!! SPAM] I sometimes leave my jars in the Florida

sun to jumpstart them. Bad idea.

I got some grains from an online source, a stingy amount, and expensive, but

they looked healthy. I spilled out the first 24 hour milk bath and the strained

grains looked fuller. The next day I drank the next strained batch and it tasted

good. Batch 3 went into my back yard, in a jar, of course, partly exposed to the

on and off sun of TS Debby weather. Not a big rain day and no rain reached the

coffee filter paper covering the jar so it could breathe. Temps maxed out at

about 95 in the sun and 85 in the shade. I moved it often. After 24 hours the

liquid had separated. The curd was thick and the beads hard to isolate. The whey

was smelly, sour, yeasty and unpleasant. Although it looked like the grains

proliferated, I only recovered about 75% of the original mass of grains. What's

left will now need time to recover. They sit in the fridge in some milk. I need

to get some safe water to shower the grains better as milk leaves too much sick

residue on the surviving grains. What clean water can I get at Wal-Mart?

Was it the heat, the UV rays, what? Just out too long?

Are all posts moderated with a day or three delay involved or just the first one

or until trust is won? Just want to know what to expect, not trying to influence

established policy.

I've been reading old posts and learning fast. By the way, a second jar out back

the same day with a mix of buttermilk and yogurt cultures also came out

similarly off. It was sealed tight. I didn't know what to expect from the

experiment. Both cultures used were premium grade.

This is Larry Lemer, age 61, from West Palm Beach, signing out.