#48 Water Kefir

You may have heard of kefir, since you can find it at most grocery stores now in the dairy section. It's kind of like a liquid yogurt drink. Like yogurt, it contains lots of live active cultures benefitting your digestive system with all those wonderful probiotics. Water Kefir has the same wonderful probiotics, but is dairy-free. Here is some info from the Cultures For Health website.

 Originating in Mexico, water kefir grains (also known as Sugar Kefir Grains) allow for the fermentation of sugar water or juice to create a carbonated lacto-fermented beverage. Incredibly easy to brew, the starter culture can create a new batch of kefir every 24-48 hours. This makes a fantastic non-dairy alternative to milk kefir and can be flavored after brewing to make a variety of delicious sodas. If you are looking to replace soda pop, your family will love it!

I decided to give it a try when it was said that it was the most kid-friendly cultured product. My kids already love all the yummy homemade yogurt I make, but I was all for homemade "good-for-you" soda pop. Perfect for the summer!

 

Water Kefir

You will need:

One glass jar- quart or half-gallon
One plastic or wood stirring utensil (it is recommended not to use metal)
Plastic Strainer
One towel or coffee filter
Water kefir grains
1/4 cup organic sugar per quart of water

            ~Evaporated cane crystals or unprocessed sugars like Rapadura or Sucanat are best.

            ~Honey is not recommended because it has antibacterial properties

Water (non-chlorinated)

            ~Well water or spring water is best due to higher mineral content.

            ~It is not recommended to use filtered water via carbon activated filter or reverse osmosis due to depleted mineral content.

~ If using tap water, remover chlorine prior to making water kefir be boiling the water and allowing to cool.

 

 

I got my grains at http://www.culturesforhealth.com/ the same place I got my yogurt culture. If you decide to really get into this, it might be helpful to also purchase a starter kit that includes everything you need. That is HERE. If you want to be able to make soda a couple Grolsch-style flip cap bottles might be good too. They are HERE.

After getting your grains in the mail, the first thing you will need to do it rehydrate the grains. There are instructions in the package, so follow those.

Making water kefir is very simple. All you need to do it dissolve 1/4 cup of organic sugar in a cup of hot water in a quart mason jar. Add cool water leaving 1-2 inches of headspace in your jar. Cap it and let it come to room temperature.

 

Strain your grains from the water they were rehydrating in or from the previous batch.

 



I'm using a metal strainer that I already had. I have since learned that if you must use metal it can be stainless steel only. Since I'm not sure what type of metal my strainer is, I will be purchasing a plastic/nylon strainer from the website.

 

Add your grains to the newly prepared sugar water. Cover with a towel and rubber band.

Allow to culture for 24-48 hours at a temp between 70 and 78 degrees.

 

24 hours results in a more sweet beverage and 48 hours less sweet. If you are sensitive to sugar let it culture 48 hours, but do not let them culture for longer than 72 hours. Strain your water kefir into a jar or bottle and start over again by adding your grains to a new batch of sugar water.

Since I started making water kefir I have only made lemonade. So to make it all you need to do is add 1/4 cup pure lemon juice to your strained batch of water kefir. It is so good. And so good for you!

 

The kids LOVE it! It's hard to believe it is full of probiotics because it really just tastes like lemonade. I also plan to try to make a fruit soda pop of some kind too. I just need to get to the store and find a good organic fruit juice. Like blueberry or raspberry soda pop! Yum! I will update this post when I get a chance to do that.