Guest guest Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hello everybody! I am new to kefirs, and I think I messed up, maybe you all might know what happened...I did the first several batches of water kefir w/ lemon and raisins. Then one day I put orange instead of lemon. It had been taking 2-3 days to get ready, but this batch I put in the stove for pilot light to keep it warmer and see if it would be ready faster, also put the milk kefir in there too. Milk kefir was done in half the usual time, And I don't know why I just left the water kefir to go an extra day. So By the time I took it out, well, there's no trace of sweet left to it, it actually tastes like an orange seed flavored acohol. So..did I make liquor? Is it safe to drink? We all tried it and nobody got sick but it sure didn't taste great. The grains seemed to be just delighted w/ what happened, the raisins popped if you squeezed them, and...So is this because I let it go too long? Or not shaking it or stirring? Or is it because I used oranges instead of lemon? Thanks so much for any advice!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Many ferments, if left too long, turn to ethanol. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, depends on your attitude towards ethanol! Not all of them taste good though. Hence the reason wine drinkers got picky. Kefirs tend to taste better, IMO, when they are done at a lower temp. You shouldn't need a heater unless it is freezing where you are. But the higher the temp, the faster the ferment. I don't think oranges vs. lemons would make much difference (although oranges have more sugar, so there is that). On Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 11:53 AM, sarah2007hood <sarah2007hood@...> wrote: > Hello everybody! I am new to kefirs, and I think I messed up, maybe you all might know what happened...I did the first several batches of water kefir w/ lemon and raisins. Then one day I put orange instead of lemon. It had been taking 2-3 days to get ready, but this batch I put in the stove for pilot light to keep it warmer and see if it would be ready faster, also put the milk kefir in there too. Milk kefir was done in half the usual time, And I don't know why I just left the water kefir to go an extra day. So By the time I took it out, well, there's no trace of sweet left to it, it actually tastes like an orange seed flavored acohol. So..did I make liquor? Is it safe to drink? We all tried it and nobody got sick but it sure didn't taste great. The grains seemed to be just delighted w/ what happened, the raisins popped if you squeezed them, and...So is this because I let it go too long? Or not shaking it or stirring? Or is it because I used oranges instead of lemon? Thanks so much for any advice!! > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Ok then I think I'll pour it out since it tastes so bad. Thanks so much for advice! ________________________________ From: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 Did you know you can freeze water kefir? I have in the freezer a bit of extra just in case there is cross contamination or something like this happens. I did the same, it killed my kefir, and did not know until days later. How did I know? well, they quit growing and eventually they were all super small grains. No more huge grains. Threw them all out and started over. We also do Kombucha Tea. Once there was kombucha in with my kefir...cross contamination...ahhhh! I had to throw it all out and start over. If you happen to do both, you must keep them separated far, far away. How I revive my water kefir from the freezer: put it is super good sugar like rapadura sugar for about 3 days. Your first batch, put a bit of lemon in the batch to help and a bit of bragg apple cider vinegar. Good luck and keep going! It happens to all... > > Hello everybody! I am new to kefirs, and I think I messed up, maybe you all might know what happened...I did the first several batches of water kefir w/ lemon and raisins. Then one day I put orange instead of lemon. It had been taking 2-3 days to get ready, but this batch I put in the stove for pilot light to keep it warmer and see if it would be ready faster, also put the milk kefir in there too. Milk kefir was done in half the usual time, And I don't know why I just left the water kefir to go an extra day. So By the time I took it out, well, there's no trace of sweet left to it, it actually tastes like an orange seed flavored acohol. So..did I make liquor? Is it safe to drink? We all tried it and nobody got sick but it sure didn't taste great. The grains seemed to be just delighted w/ what happened, the raisins popped if you squeezed them, and...So is this because I let it go too long? Or not shaking it or stirring? Or is it because I used oranges instead of lemon? Thanks so much for any advice!! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.