Water Kefir Grains

[Laura Syria]

Hi Everyone.  I'm just wondering how I can tell if my water kefir grains have died.  They aren't reproducing as rapidly (if at all) as I had expected.  Thanks:)

 

Laura

[Pat Robinson]

Are they bubbling? Smell sour/tart/slightly vinegary?  With the cooler weather, consider leaving them to brew longer, like 72 hours.

 

Pat

[Laura Syria]

Do you mean, when a finished batch of kefir is finished brewing does it smell sour/tart/vinegary?  And is it bubbly?  If so, yes a finished batch of kefir is all of those things.  My grains, however, have not reproduced much at all.

[Danita Zook]

I had the same ??? Mine have never grown but it is VERY bubbly.It almost tastes wisky like when its done?

[Pat Robinson]

What type of water and sugar are you using? Do you add any unsulphured molasses? How long do you let it brew? How cool/warm is your house?

 

Pat, loves a kefir puzzle. :-)

[Danita Zook]

I was using purified water and putting a mineral supplement in.I now switched to fresh spring water.Was using sucanat ,now raw sugar.I let it brew 48 hrs at 68-70 degrees.Never added molassas.I do add egg shells though.Our well water is high in bacteria and VERY high in nitrates so we dont use it.

[Pat Robinson]

"Too many" minerals can affect reproduction, just as "too few" can. I add almost a tablespoon of sulphured molasses to our well water and they reproduce a lot. I've used sucant and raw sugar too. Temps. might be a bit cool, maybe let it ferment longer 72 hours?  Do you strain and make a new batch right away, or refrigerate the grains between batches?

 

I refrigerate, but people seem to have most reproduction when brewing back to back.

 

Might try smaller volume of water and sugar and see if that makes a difference.

 

Pat

[Laura Syria]

Hi Pat

 

I never add molasses.  I use raw sucanat for sugar, along with lemon, and two figs.  I let it brew for three days because we like the taste best on that day:)  It may be a bit cool in here.  We have a woodstove so regulating temperature can be a bit tricky.  I usually store the grains in the fridge between batches.  Does it sound to you like the grains are alive?

 

Thanks,

Laura

[Pat Robinson]

Yes, if they bubble and make it sour/sweet tart/vinegary, they are alive.  It is about impossible to kill them, except heat and chlorine.

 

Pat

[Alissa]

That's reassuring! I've been wondering the same thing about mine.  I had let them sit with the same water/sugar and didn't change it out for a long time and I was worried I'd done them in!

[ian]

Pat, you sent me my water kefir grains, do i need to rehydrate them in milk once in awhile, many sites say to do that to keep them strong,?

[Pat Robinson]

No. just store the water kefir grains in sugar water in the refrigerator. They'll live about indefinitely. Milk kefir grains need milk. Water kefir grains are dairy-free.

Pat