The taste of unflavored kefir has been described as “yeasty” and the terms “prickling”
and “sparkling” has been used to describe the mouth feel of kefir caused by
the liberation of trapped CO2. Complaints from long-time consumers of kefir about
the taste of traditional kefir occur only when the yeast taste is very pronounced or
absent.104 However, the taste has not been scored high in sensory evaluations by
North American consumers.10,105 Kefir that scores higher than unflavored kefir in
consumer acceptability tests can be produced by adding flavor—either as flavor itself
or as fruit preserve. Starter cultures that contain bacteria that produce flavors can
also be added to improve product acceptability.122,123 Although flavored kefir may
appeal to the North American consumer, the addition of fruit or other sources of
sugars may cause unwanted fermentation by yeasts after packaging.4