Once the milk kefir grains have grown more in size, they will have a stronger effect on the milk during the 1st 24 hours.
One of my fears was the notorious smell of rotting milk. So far there hasn't been any offensive odors produced.
I even took a close smell of the milk that had fermented for 48 hours before dumping it down the drain. The only smell it gave off was that of Elmer's glue with an ever so subtle sour aroma.
Once the milk had been dumped into the sink, I noticed the beginnings of milk build up around the top of the 4 oz marker. I also noticed that as I was dumping the milk, a thin film had started to develop on the bottom of the jar below the milk.
To rinse the jar out I simply used a small drop of joy, a scrub brush and some hot water. As long as the jar is rinsed completely and then dried completely, neither the joy or tap water will have any negative effects on the fermentation process. I will be cleaning the 2nd fermentation jar (The one without the kefir grains) on a daily basis prior to introducing the next batch.
Once the 2nd jar had been cleaned and dried, I was ready to again transfer the milk containing the kefir grains. Before the grains are strained, the milk and grains are gently swirled until the milk has been properly mixed throughout.
Here is an image of the grains that made it onto the strainer during the pour. There again appears to be a lot more of them today that yesterday. They seem to be doing well so far.
A large portion of them still remain in the jar during the pour. Several also cling to the side of the jar during the process.
To get any of the extra kefir grains that make their way to the side of the jar, I simply use a plastic knife to push them back down to the bottom. I have not cleaned this jar yet as I want to allow the kefir to grow more before I do so. The small amount of milk stains at the 4 oz level on this jar aren't bothering me yet. Cleaning the jar out to replace the grains in at this time would be more of a visual cleaning that one with a purpose.
Here is an image of the kefir grains on Day 3. You can still see a small amount of milk remaining in the jar each time. A few of the grains have begun to clump together into thicker groupings.
Back on the shelf until tomorrow. I hope to start seeing some curd and whey separation by the end of the week. Only time will tell... 