Water kefir is a beneficial probiotic beverage that tastes delicious! It’s a fantastic intro to cultured beverages and a great way to get kids (and adults!) off soda. Making water kefir is simple. Check out our video to see a demonstration.
Once you have water kefir grains, either from a friend or some you’ve purchased (and rehydrated if necessary) it’s simple to make water kefir over and over. I make a quart or two at a time and always have a constant supply.
In a little bit of water, in a pot on the stove, dissolve 1/4 cup of sugar (I use Sucanat) per quart (32oz) of kefir you want to make. Add the sugar-water to an empty, clean glass quart jar. Fill up the jar with cool, filtered water, leaving about 2″ of headspace at the top of the jar. (Note: You will just want to use a little bit of water to dissolve the sugar, not the full amount. That way, when you add the rest of the water, the whole solution is room temp, not too hot, and won’t kill the cultures)
Stir, check the temp with a clean finger (should be room temp-ish) and then add your kefir grains. Cover with a coffee filter (and rubber band) or towel and put in a location that will be undisturbed and away from direct sunlight for 24-48 hours. (I tend towards 48 hours so that most of the sugar is used up. It’s always been plenty sweet this way.)
After that time, your kefir is ready, but you may wish to flavor it. I use a secondary fermentation method. It’s easy- don’t be intimidated by the terminology. Simply strain out the grains (saving them for another batch which you can start right away or cover your grains with fresh, clean, filtered water and a lid and refrigerate for later use) and pour your finished kefir into a flip-top/Grolsch bottle (or the mason jar if you don’t have anything else) and add some juice. Please use only 100% juice, organic if possible to eliminate pesticide residue, and you’ll add about 1/2 cup or so. We like blueberry-pomegranate or mixed berries, but feel free to experiment!
Let the kefir sit, with a tight-fitting lid, for 24 hours at room temperature. Then it’s ready! Refrigerate if you’d like it cold (we do) and enjoy!
Note: Do use caution when opening the Grolsch/flip top bottles as the kefir is usually VERY carbonated and can sort of explode out, causing a mess and wasting your drink. Just open slowly (and don’t overfill to begin with) and have a towel ready in case.
I’ve always been instructed to add lemon and a dried fruit to the initial culturing. You don’t do that here. Any comments? I’d love to be able to do it successfully without the lemon and dried fruit, but want it to be just as good and healthy. I usually (almost always) use water that i’ve drained from soaking wheat berries. it is full of nutrition and the grains multiply like CRAZY!
Hi Tammy! Thanks for your comment. I haven’t heard about the lemon, but I’ve heard dried fruit, an eggshell, etc. My understanding is that this is for mineral content (and the fruit for extra sugar). I have added dried fruit in the past during a secondary fermentation (in addition to juice) and it didn’t seem to make any difference. SO, since I use sucanat, perhaps the mineral content is high enough that nothing else is required? The way I explain here is exactly how I make it…just sugar, water and grains and then adding juice later for flavor if desired. In fact the batch that I made during the video just received the juice about 5 minutes ago lol The plain kefir was bubbly, tasted great and the grains seemed happy. As far as using soaking water, that should be fine, though I do wonder about possible anti-nutrients in the water? If you are soaking to neutralize the phytic acid, does it go into the soaking water? I’m not sure on that one. I’d say experiment with trying it without the lemon/fruit…it works for me… hope that helps! Thanks again for stopping by! 🙂
Oops, and this is Amy, not Matt. 🙂
I’ve always been instructed to add lemon and a dried fruit to the initial culturing. You don’t do that here. Any comments? I’d love to be able to do it successfully without the lemon and dried fruit, but want it to be just as good and healthy. I usually (almost always) use water that i’ve drained from soaking wheat berries. it is full of nutrition and the grains multiply like CRAZY!
Hi Tammy! Thanks for your comment. I haven’t heard about the lemon, but I’ve heard dried fruit, an eggshell, etc. My understanding is that this is for mineral content (and the fruit for extra sugar). I have added dried fruit in the past during a secondary fermentation (in addition to juice) and it didn’t seem to make any difference. SO, since I use sucanat, perhaps the mineral content is high enough that nothing else is required? The way I explain here is exactly how I make it…just sugar, water and grains and then adding juice later for flavor if desired. In fact the batch that I made during the video just received the juice about 5 minutes ago lol The plain kefir was bubbly, tasted great and the grains seemed happy. As far as using soaking water, that should be fine, though I do wonder about possible anti-nutrients in the water? If you are soaking to neutralize the phytic acid, does it go into the soaking water? I’m not sure on that one. I’d say experiment with trying it without the lemon/fruit…it works for me… hope that helps! Thanks again for stopping by! 🙂
Oops, and this is Amy, not Matt. 🙂
Where can I buy good quality Kefir off the internet?
Try Cultures For Health (www.culturesforhealth.com) 🙂
Where can I buy good quality Kefir off the internet?
Try Cultures For Health (www.culturesforhealth.com) 🙂