How to Know When Your Water Kefir has Fermented (2024)

FAQs

How to Know When Your Water Kefir has Fermented? ›

How can i tell if my water kefir is ready? Color: The liquid will change color over the 48-hour culturing process. For example, if using white sugar, the plain sugar water will be yellow but finished water kefir will be a more opal color and less translucent.

How do you know when the kefir is ready? When you nudge the jar and bubbles fly up from the bottom, and if it has a sour bite (not just a flat extremely sweet water) it is most likely ready. To test just stick a straw or spoon in to try. 'Double dipping' is ok but not really recommended.

Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the level of sweetness you want. Shorter time will result in a sweeter kefir; longer will be less so. Do not exceed 72 hours.

To know if your water kefir grains are dead, use them to ferment a new batch and repeat this cycle at least 4 times. If the grains are dead, the water will remain sweet, and there wouldn't be a sign of fermentation. Another way to know is the appearance of mold on the surface.

Water kefir grains look like large salt crystals. They are usually clear or slightly gray in coloring and have a firm texture. Using different types of sugar or juice will impact their color (molasses turns them light brown for example) though switching back to white sugar will cause them to turn clear again.

For example, if using white sugar, the plain sugar water will be yellow but finished water kefir will be a more opal color and less translucent. If using a whole sugar containing molasses (e.g., rapadura, Sucanat, etc.), the liquid will change to a different shade of brown (typically a lighter shade of brown).

The kefir is ready as soon as you start to see this and will become more sour the longer you leave it from there. You should also notice that the kefir smells a little sour/vinegary and possibly cheesy/yeasty. The milk will have thickened and it will no longer look like milk.

When water kefir is finished, it tastes a bit sweet still. If you prefer it more sour you can overferment it. If you leave it for a very long time it may become even to sour to drink. The same is with kombucha.

Stir, swirl, or shake the kefir periodically, 3-4 times in a 24-hour culturing period to lessen the extent of the cream separation and prevent the grains from getting lodged in the thick cream at the top. Once the culturing period is up, stir or shake to incorporate separated cream, then strain out the grains as usual.

Prepare the second fermentation in capped bottles and leave them at room temperature for 24 hours or more. In this time, kefir will continue to ferment even though kefir grains are strained out. Add some sugar to get more bubbles. You can use a small amount of fruit juice, pieces of fruit, citrus peels, etc.

What does dead water kefir look like? ›

Signs of Dead Water Kefir Grains

One of the most visible signs is that the grains will no longer float to the top of the jar during fermentation, and they will instead sink to the bottom. Additionally, the color of the grains may change from translucent to brownish, and they may have a sour or musty smell.

Water kefir is a naturally fizzy fermented drink laden with probiotics. It is bubbly and refreshing like soft drink, but without the artificial ingredients and with far less sugar. The beneficial bacteria and yeast are an added bonus.

Add your kefir grains to the sugar water and put your lid on. Let the water kefir ferment at room temperature for 2-3 days. This ferment prefers to be in the dark so I place mine in a kitchen cupboard.

Too much sugar and the yeasts will either become slimy and overrun the bacteria or fall completely asleep and do nothing.

Rinse your grains. Doing so takes off the protective bacteria that makes them thrive. We would only recommend rinsing them as a last-ditch effort if they're covered in mold or about to die anyway.

If it tastes like sugar water without any hint of vinegar and its very sweet and flat, this indicates that a fermentation didn't take place, or was so minor that it's not noticeable. It's quite common for water kefir grains to say inactive until they get what they are looking for.

Can I drink my over fermented Milk Kefir? Sure, although drinking it neat can be a real challenge (We've only met a handful of people who can stomach over fermented Milk Kefir). Firstly, give it a really good stir. This will blend the curds and whey back into the sort of kefir you're used to seeing.

Once you remove the kefir grains, the kefir milk will keep fermenting if left at room temperature. The longer it ferments, the more probiotics. Reduces Lactose (milk sugars): Kefir milk is low in lactose already. But those with a sensitivity to lactose may benefit from the second fermentation.

It takes about 12-24 hrs for milk kefir to complete the fermentation process. You will notice that the fermentation is happening because the milk will become more thick and sour in taste. You can check for changes after 8-10 hours, the milk should become thicker and the smell should be developing already.