# Kefir seperating



## Keeperofmany

Can someone tell me why when I make my kefir the milk seperates just being on the counter for 8 hours? Is there something wrong with my grains or my milk? Maybe I have too many kefir grains in the quart bottle.There are about 3/4s of a cup of grains in the jar. The grains seem ok,nothing out of the ordinary. I shake it up and still use it but when I first started making kefir it didnt do that. 

Wendy


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## Ashley

That is a lot of grains, try like halfing them, or putting them in more milk. Your little kefir town's population has grown, it needs more food!


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## homeacremom

What Ashley said...I like my kefir to culture more slowly as the flavor is milder and sweeter. 12-24 hours to a thin buttermilk stage and then into the fridge for another 24.


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## Sondra

So exactly how many grains are you putting in say a qt of milk or a half gal of milk? Mine separates also plus it never gets really thick like Christy says hers does.


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## Keeperofmany

You know Sondra, mine did when I first started making it. Christy sent me just a few grains, about a tablespoon I'd say and I started with that much in a 1/2 quart of milk. As the grew I just added more milk until I was filling the quart jar. I would let it sit on the counter for about 24 hours and then put the jar in the fridge for another couple of days and it got pretty thick. So maybe I have got too many grains in the bottle. I am going to try using less grains and see what happens or a bigger jar. I really don't want to kill my grains so I think maybe I'd better put a few in a jar of milk and keep in the fridge just incase I mess up somehow along the way. I really like this stuff.

Wendy


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## homeacremom

I use 1/4 cup of grains in 2 qts. of milk. 
Sondra, I recently discussed the variances in kefir grains with a friend. Since these are evolving wild colonies of bacteria and yeast even the original grains can vary greatly overtime, let alone from different house enviroments. Can't say how well it is going to work, but why don't you try adding some buttermilk and various cheese cultures. My friend is going to try "efficient microbes"__ http://www.eminfo.info/ http://www.scdworld.net/ __which is basically a mix of 20-30 good bacteria and yeasts. Like a big mix of every cheese culture plus a few. If your kefir grains are over balance to the yeast side it would make sense that the kefir is thinner. Add in the buttermilk culture and you get some thickening, mild flavored bacteria to balance it back out. In theory you should only have to add extra cultures 1-2 times for them to take up residence in the kefir colony.


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## doublebowgoats

I'm new to the forum but have been making kefir for several years. I agree that too many grains will separate the end product and the slower cooler fermentation makes it better too. Also do a CMT or even a milk culture if that doesn't help. From experience this summer, after all the trouble shooting ,it turned out to be mastitis Judith, I am going to try what your talking about. Thanks for that information!


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## Sondra

Don't try rennet it doesn't work. ruined all my grains and had to get more.


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## homeacremom

Right, use plain cultures like the buttermilk, yogurt, etc. that are just bacterium. Nothing like chevre that has rennet in it also.


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## Anita Martin

Oh, I thought it was supposed to separate? Well, I do notice that with more grains, and warmer weather when we turn down the air conditioner during the day while we're gone, the separation happens faster. I tried to make cheese with the kefir, but it didn't work. I don't know what I did wrong. Also, my kefir ends up very thick after a day or two in the fridge. I like it that way, but have read that 24 hour kefir is constipating (which is seems to be) but that a younger kefir, like 12 hours is just the opposite. Anyone notice that being true? (I started drinking the kefir for the regulation affect, but haven't seen one yet.)
Anita


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## homeacremom

I heard exactly opposite- aged kefir = less of a constipation risk. I thought perhaps this is because the lactose continues to be decrease by the kefir organisms. Less lactose for those that are sensitive to it equals less constipation.
I prefer aged kefir for the flavor difference. I also prefer the aged for the kefir cleanse/diet because presumably the the enzymes and probiotic effect is intensified.


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## Sondra

> kefir cleanse diet


OK so what is this and can you post a link to it


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## homeacremom

Sondra said:


> kefir cleanse diet
> 
> 
> 
> OK so what is this and can you post a link to it
Click to expand...

I have not found a website devoted to the idea of cleansing with kefir. It's mostly a grass roots idea with folks stumbling on to the idea for themselves. After a year or so of cleansing with kefir I met a friend living in Russia. When she heard what I was doing she told me that in her area the women do a 21 day fast after weaning their babies. Kefir and warm water mixed- a couple quarts and a pureed cabbage, onion broth sometimes with a bit of potato or carrot. I spent alot of time in the Balkan peninsula as a teenager. There they drink alot of buttermilk, yogurt, and kefir most often mixed with at least 1/3 part water so there is some kind of tradition to this although I can't find any documentation. It is so common that they sell pitchers with a little plunger in the lid to reagitate the mixture.
Here is a simple description of the general cleansing action of kefir...
http://food.lifeisround.com/kefir.html
I got started with the idea because my husband liked to get up and drink something, and work a couple hours before breakfast. He got on to drinking a quart of kefir. I had some severe health issues and was working my way through by myself once the doctor told me there was nothing wrong! :twisted So I started with 4 oz. before breakfast, then began to crave kefir and feel quite satisfied on nothing but kefir and water for several days at a time. At times I have used up to 2+ quarts per day (undiluted) and also alot of water. For myself I prefer to drink the kefir and water separately.  
I have also used a kefir and water colon enema after a long fast to restore some healthy bacterium. 
We drink kefir everyday- in fruit smoothies, with honey and cinnamon ( inspired by our honey/ cinnamon toast), plain, and in a sort of eggnog mixture, again honey, cinnamon, with vanilla, and some fresh eggs whipped in the blender. It is very yummy and a favorite quick breakfast around here.

In general I recommend that you start with adding kefir to your meals. Then use as many natural doctors proscribe probiotics- first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Information can be found on liquid diet fasts. I personally believe that fasting on kefir and water is superior to a juice fast. Juice fasts are very hard on blood sugar balance, especially for someone already experiencing difficulties. In my case juice fasts aggravate my candida overgrowth instead of being beneficial. 
Restricted diets and cleanse programs need to be used wisely. Alot of damage can be done if the body is not given time stabilize between short cleanses.
I hope this helps someone! Such ramblings... :lol


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## homeacremom

Here is a testimony written out by Bill Hull where I originally got my kefir grains. I just found this yesterday while searching again for details on kefir cleansing. I was not introduced to kefir through Bill, but found him while looking for my first grains.

"As you have requested, here is a more detailed account of our experience of using Kefir with raw milk. First, let me say that I spent the first forty years of my life uninterested in the nature of what I ate, living on what is known as the "Standard American Diet", or SAD. About 5 years ago, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. After one or two chemo treatments, she said she'd rather die than go on with the treatment. Faced with the real possibility of losing her, I plunged headlong into an emergency study of alternative cancer therapies. What I discovered changed my life forever. I found that the conditions which cause cancer are dietary in nature, and can be reversed by changing the diet. We successfully treated my wife's cancer, and have assisted at least five other people that we know of in doing the same, including one who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. None of the folks who have used this dietary therapy have had any further involvement with cancer.
Thus began my interest in all things dietary. Two years ago, we moved from California to East Tennessee, and bought a 67 acre farm so that we could produce our own food, including raising Jersey cows for fresh milk. It was during my internet research on the benefits of raw milk, that I discovered Kefir. I found a person in North Carolina through your web site, and traded her some grass fed butter for the Kefir grains. I began making Kefir with raw milk about six months ago, and have been consuming it daily since then, up to a quart or more a day. I have found that when it is made with raw milk, it is such a nutritionally complete package that the body's cravings for other foods greatly diminish.
About five months before starting on the Kefir, I developed a lump or mass on the left side of my face just under the skin, about the size of a large kernel of corn. It was very hard, but didn't seem to be getting bigger and wasn't painful, so I just kind of ignored it. Two months after starting regular Kefir use, The mass on my face began to swell up, distending my face visibly. I became alarmed, and decided to seek the advice of our doctor, after our visiting relatives returned to Nevada. The day before they left, the swollen area opened up and began to discharge a thick yellow-white liquid. It continued to swell and drain for about a week. The swelling finally stopped, and I discovered that the hard mass on my face was completely gone. I cannot prove so scientifically, but I believe that the Kefir detoxed my body, and built up my enzyme and immune systems to the point where my body was able to attack and remove the offending mass. Five months later, there is no sign that it ever existed. I have read of studies in Japan, where researchers discovered that Kefir has strong anti-tumor properties. I now believe that is true.
The relatives who were visiting us, took home some Kefir grains, and began to use them daily, after seeing what it did to the lump on my face. Our niece's husband, has been suffering from a severe skin rash on his thighs for about 7 years, which his doctor has been unable to treat successfully, using all the drugs known to modern medicine. It is caused by a fungal infestation. One month after they began to use Kefir regularly, He called our niece into their bedroom, so that she could see for herself that the rash was completely gone from his thighs. They called us to thank us for the gift of the Kefir, and to share the results.
I have gotten to the point where I am living primarily on Kefir. I do occasionally eat regular food, though I try to avoid enzyme depleted cooked food as much as possible, and largely avoid meat, since I have lost my appetite for it, and the raw Kefir supplies me with all the protien I need. I am monitoring my vital signs regularly, and have not found anything alarming. The only real change, has been a drop of about 10 percent in my blood pressure. That may well be from living on our farm, as much as from the Kefir! This year, the flu virus made it's rounds through our area, and I am the only person in our family who did not contract it. My wife drinks two cups of Kefir a day, and although she did get the flu, her symptoms were very mild and lasted about 24 hours.
I have not heard of anyone else who is primarily living on Kefir, as I am doing. I am doing it as a sort of experiment. If you know of anyone else who is doing so, please let me know, so we can compare notes. When made with fresh, cream rich raw milk, it seems to be a nearly perfect whole food. Lately, I have begun to include two or three raw eggs, which we get from our own chickens. I also add a couple of tablespoons of local raw honey. I call it Kefir Nog. Quite tasty. I would like to thank you for this web site. Without it, I might not have aquired the Kefir grains from someone who appreciates their value. I believe that like all living things, they respond to the mental atmosphere they live in, and are more potent when appreciated and cared for in a loving home environment.

Yours truly, Bill Hull 23/12/2005"


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## Sondra

Thanks Judith


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## doublebowgoats

Thanks for all that info, Judith!


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