Slimy water kefir

[Rafael]

Does anyone have experience with slimy kefir?

After leaving my water kefir to ferment for a couple of weeks (not intentionally, I forgot about it) it turned very slimy. The fermented liquid was so viscous that some kefir grains where actually suspended throughout it (instead of sinking to the bottom or floating at the top). I tossed that batch and made a few new ones, and although each subsequent batch turned out a bit less slimy, I haven't gotten a completely "clean" one yet.

Has anyone else experienced something like that? Why did the kefir turn slimy? Is it because of an overgrowth of yeast? Should I get rid of the kefir grains? Any ideas?

[AlexP]

It definitely sounds like yeast overgrowth. It can take some time to naturally correct. Maybe even a couple weeks. If not, the next thing you can try is to give them a rinse and rest in the fridge for a few days to help reset everything.

Alex

[Rafael]

Hi Alex, thanks for your response.

I've tried reviving the kefir grains like you suggested but it didn't work. I think they died completely and so I composted them.

The strange thing is that I had only used them a handful of times after I bought them. I think it must have been a compromised batch. Because now I bought fresh kefir grains from another source and they are working great and multipyling like crazy. The other ones never actually gew and multiplied. So I think they were bad to begin with.

Now I know better - not all kefir grains that are sold are automatically good quality. I'm happy to finally have some that work as they should and are readily multiplying.