Home-made Kefir? Too much, too soon?

[diggler]

Hi guys,

I've recently began making my own kefir and an wondering if it tastes right?

I tend to start the batch at 10pm and leave it at room temp. Then at 10pm the following night (so after 24hrs) I strain it and put it in the fridge, then start a new batch again.

I then drink the kefir from the previous night (that has been in the fridge overnight with no grains) in the morning.

As my batches have been getting stronger I'm unsure what it should taste like as I;ve never had it before.

I would describe the taste as a little like gone-off milk - pretty sour, with a fizz of the gases on my tongue.

Is this normal? I don't wanna give myself food poisoning from gone-off milk.

Many Thanks.

[AgnesT]

I find that the taste and texture changes sometimes from batch to batch, but sour and sometimes fizzy is exactly how I'd describe it! It makes the storebought stuff taste like candy, doesn't it??

[harmony]

Sounds right to me.
I don't make my own, but have had some that a couple friends have made and your description fits.

You could buy some at a good health food store and get a comparison.
I have bought it on a couple of occasions, and would describe it as similar in taste to the homemade but not an exact by any means. I just put that down to aging and packaging factors.
At least you would be reassured of being in the right ball park.

[Invincible]

Hi Kefir people

I got lazy and killed my kefir grains a while back ... but now I am thinking about starting again and am wondering ..

1. When is the best time to take Kefir - before/after meals?

2. I know bananas/berries etc are often added to Kefir to make a shake .. doesn't the adding of fruit make it ferment in the gut? Am I missing something?

3. Is it good as a/morning bedtime drink?

4. Will Kefir be a good replacement for Calcium?

Thanks!

[diggler]

My kefir is getting pretty cool now - is strong now and getting a bit thick and zingy after 24 hours and the 8 in the fridge.

However, I've noticed since I started it that I've been getting 'bad guts' - feels like there is always rumbling and I need to go more often - stools are well formed though.

Could I be having too much kefir from the start (should I have eased into it). I imagine its pretty stong stuff (microbe-wise). I've been drinking 300mls of it every morning?

I also, began taking Psyllium around the same time - maybe its this instead - I've stopped it anyway now - we'll see.

What does anyone else think? Shelley?

Thanks guys.

[shelley]

Yep, best to start out with no more than half a cup at a time. It's amazing what a shift in microbe colonies will do to the guts!

[diggler]

Thanks, shelley do you mean 'amazing' in a good way or a bad way?

I've been having 300ml (24 hour fermented) kefir every morning for the last 8-10 days now.

Should I reduce it back down now, or carry on with the 300ml?

I also eat around 250 ml bio-yoghurt a day, and take a probiotics capsule aswell.

Oh, and a Yakult probiotic drink (L. Casei).

Am I totally overdoing it? Seems a lot now I've written i t down, lol.

What about the kefir amount also?

Can you advise me on the optimal amounts for best gut health - of kefir, yoghurt, probiotic supps?

Many Thanks. (again )

[shelley]

amazing in a good way.

Ah, both kefir and yogurt? That explains a lot! Stop all yogurt for a week or so. Don't do both yogurt and kefir on the same day. In shorthand speak, Kefir has "left-sided" microbes and yogurt has "right-sided" microbes. The left-side microbes are the ones that stick around and really combat yeast. The right-sided ones serve slightly different purposes and can actually work against the left-sided ones a bit.