Anyone make kefir?

[bumphousebump]

Got some on the go for the first time…been 36 hours and it’s tangy….but not thickening. Wondering if kitchen too cold at night….

It took mine a few cycles to settle down and produce the thicker stuff I was hoping for.

Make a couple more batches and see how it is then. I find the temp of the room affects the speed of fermentation but not the texture.

DH makes it. He leaves it fermenting for a while until it’s liquid on the bottom and looks like cottage cheese above that. He has been known to leave it for a few weeks when he was busy and lived to tell the tale!

Bin that batch and add fresh milk. Give it 24 hours and see what it’s like. You really need to feed the new grains to wake them up and get them working.

There's no harm in leaving it for longer. During colder months, mine frequently sits for 4-5 days in the kitchen as it's colder at night. If I want to speed it up, I pop the jar by the woodburner for an evening to warm up a little.

In the summer, a batch is 'done' more quickly.

There are no hard and fast rules as it is a dynamic process in response to a living organism. You learn to tweak it as you go.

The only thing you mustn't waver on is impeccable hygiene.

Thanks everyone, I’ve been draining it and using the cheesy liquid and refreshing the milk every 48 hours to ‘wake the grains up’. It’s started to go cottage cheesy last night so i think it’s getting there.