Yemoos Nourishing Cultures Forum

Well yes you probably can create your own kefir from it, but you won't get any grains or anything. I'm not sure what kind of commercial kefir it is, but any bacteria strains (and any yeast strains) will reproduce in fresh milk. So you can make your own type of kefir. If there's anything added beside...

Yes, kefir grains do contain many bacteraia and yeast strains. From my understanding, commercial kefir is made out of a lab where they select the strains of bacteria they want. Some of those strains may be found in kefir made from the grains. They don't like to put beneficial yeast strains in commer...

My best guess is that it has something to do with the fluctuations between the fridge and room temperature. Kefir grains can have trouble adapting between those extremes if its done too often. They can become imbalanced or yeasty. Smaller grains and grains that don't grow usually indicate yeast issu...

What water, sugar / recipes you are using? How long are you brewing?

Alex

It's not as nutritional because it doesn't have enzymes and bacteria, but I've heard that many people can successfully kefir with ultra-pasteurized milk. It would probably take a while to have any significant impact on the grains. You can also try the non-organic pasteurized milk that's common. It m...

I think it will be fine. The shape doesn't really matter and they should eventually rebuild back to their former glory after a few batches. I would go off the smell and taste and not worry about the size or shape.

Alex

Carbonation has a lot to do with the first ferment. If you don't get enough active yeast during that ferment, then you will probably have weak carbonation no matter what you do with the 2nd ferment, even when adding fresh sugar or fruits. What recipe are you using for the initial ferment? Make sure ...

That's a good question. I would say yes you certainly can have different tasting water kefir. It is hard to say if the grains have different strains or if some strains are more active than others in a particular set of grains. Or maybe the yeast is stronger than the bacteria or vise versa making it ...

Thanks for the interesting info. I've always been curious about it, so I've got some reading to do.

Alex

Water kefir grains are resilient and will naturally re-balance with continued batches or feeding. Typically that is all you need. The grains can pick up color from the sugar or ingredients used, so that may be what that is. If the grains get to a point where they smell or taste really bad, you can h...