can raw kefir go bad?

[svrn]

My kefir has taken on a very strange taste that I havent experienced before. Its somewhat cheesy but also something I cant quite put my finger on. Should I be worried at all?

[TylerDurden]

Put such topics in future in the primal diet forum. Done so now.

[Dorothy]

My kefir has taken on a very strange taste that I havent experienced before. Its somewhat cheesy but also something I cant quite put my finger on. Should I be worried at all?

I don't take chances with ferments. If it's suddenly different - not worth the chance to me.

[svrn]

iv been drinking it and I dont seem to be having any problems. WHat could go wrong?

[Dorothy]

When ferments suddenly taste very different it could mean that some other not so good bacteria got the best of it. If you are feeling fine it's either that it meant nothing that difference or your body is ok with whatever bacteria took over.

I don't like taking the chance of eating a bad bacteria that my body then will have to fight and might not be able to.

When it comes to ferments in old times we learned these things generation to generation and had lots of experience throughout life on what was good and not good. Since I don't have the benefit of all that heritage and I'm learning on my own - I just don't take unnecessary chances.

[svrn]

but what could happen from "bad" bacteria? Iv never heard such a thing as ferment going bad by bad bacteria taing over.

[Dorothy]

Well - it's usually rare but it can happen. It's happened to a couple of my kombucha's and once to some fermented buttermilk starter I had and I'm sure some others over the years. Each ferment is a little bit of a war. You use things like starters to give the thing you are fermenting a kick start of good bacteria so that it can win out over bad bacterias. If the bad bacterias take over instead you can get diarrhea, digestive issues or get pretty sick - or you can just fight it off if you are strong. It's like with high meat you have to make sure it stays aerobic, with kombucha it has to be sufficiently acidic etc. I'm not very familiar with kefir - but I'm sure there must be some conditions it likes and doesn't no?

[svrn]

im not sure, all I know is it doesnt smell too great (maybe a bit cheesy is a way to describe it) but iv drank a bunch of it already with no problem. I know that you have to watch out for botulism with high meat but other than that I havent heard of anything about bad bacteria in kefir.

[Dorothy]

Well - in other raw milk things can grow that I wouldn't drink - but do what your gut tells you is right troll.

What I think I would do is take out the kefir grains, wash them and put them in some fresh milk.

If you start to feel unwell though ... well... you know.

[svrn]

I didnt use kefir grains, iv just been pouring off the remaining kefir into my new milk.

[Dorothy]

I didnt use kefir grains, iv just been pouring off the remaining kefir into my new milk.

I don't know kefir well enough - but could it just be getting stronger and stronger?

[HIT_it_RAW]

If you plan on keeping drinking kefir just get yourself some real grains. Trust me you will enjoy that kefir a lot more. The real kefir culture in the grains is so strong that scientist that deliberatly inoculated raw milk with E Coli., strep. c, and other bad bacteria found that makin kefir using grains and the contaminated milk was no problem. The kefir culture completely removed all bad bacteria, they could not be traced back after 24hr fermentation.

Just using the sour milk as a starter is a very unstable proces. It is impossible to tell what bacterial culture might arise when working this way. Be safe get some grains.