Hi Dominic,
to answer your many questions :-)
1. Our kefir ferments for 48 hours.
2. Temperature is whatever is in the house, not much above 20-22°C in recent
times.
3. The grains take about 1/4th the volume of the milk.
4. The container is a tranparent glass jar.
5. The lid is tight on the container.
6. The tan-coloured top layer doesn't always form, and certainly not when due to
excessive CO2 the grains rise to the top. Could be also temperature-dependent.
7. We've only used UHT cow's milk so far.
8. Yes yes it's the real grains
Any fresh ideas?
Elfi.
>> I've noticed many times, and probably so have you, that whereas
>>milk has got a
>> slightly creamy color, the fermented Kefir is almost pure white.
>
>This could also be due to the many tinny curds in kefir that seperate
>from the whey. These curds are whiter in colour than the original
>milk because the yellow colouring is left in the whey which has
>seperated from the curds (coagulation).
>
>>Often also, I
>>find a thin surface layer of lightly brownish stuff on top of the
>>Kefir, so it
>>looks as if the color substance has drawn together and settled on
>>the top.
>>Anybody know what this is and whether it's worthwhile trying to
>>spoon it off?
>
>Could you please let us know more details like:
>
>(1)How long do you ferment your kefir for?
>(2)What temperature (approx. )?
>(3)How much milk to kefir grains do you use?
>(4)What type of container do you ferment in (?)
>(5)Do you use a tight lid or a loose fitting one?
>(6)Has this film always formed on top of your kefir?
>(7) Have you ever made kefir with other types of milk (non UHT) and
>if so has this film also formed with this milk or only when you
>use UHT ?
>(8)Last but most important question is.... are you using real kefir
>grains or "kefir-like" commercial starter cultures to make your kefir
>with?
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