Today I’d like to share with you a water kefir recipe. It’s a delicious lacto-fermented drink that I discovered just two months ago and have been making ever since. If you follow this blog you may know that our family loves kombucha and we’ve been brewing it for several years. Well, it’s hard to believe but I think we now like water kefir even more! It’s even easier and faster to make, has a milder taste, can be flavored any way you like, wonderfully quenches thirst on hot summer days and it really tastes like delicious soda. But it’s way healthier of course because of all the probiotic goodness.

What do you need to make water kefir?

EQUIPMENT:

• half gallon mason jar
• piece of fabric or coffee filter and rubber band to cover the jar
• small plastic strainer
• glass flip top bottles (from a brewing supplies store or old fashioned lemonade)

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-6 table spoons of water kefir grains – I got mine from a friend and if you live nearby I can share mine with you. If you are far you can do a search online and there are some places where you can buy them. They are not real grains at all, they look more like jelly crystals or soft rock candy.
• 1/2 cup sugar (raw, cane or white)
• about quart and a half of filtered or spring water -if you don’t have filtered water you may boil regular tap water as it helps to reduce chlorine. Remember to cool it down before adding to water kefir grains. If you have reverse osmosis you may add a piece of clean egg shell to the jar to add back minerals to your water.
• optional: a few drops of molasses (for minerals), a quarter of lemon, dry fig, raisins, fruit juice concentrate, fruit syrup, mint sprigs, ginger

 

How to make water kefir? Just follow this easy water kefir recipe and feel free to experiment with different flavoring options.

• Put kefir grains into a half-gallon mason jar.
• Warm up a cup of water, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Combine sweet warm water with the rest of cold water and pour over the kefir grains. Don’t fill the jar completely, leave an inch or so of air.
• If you like you may add a wedge of lemon, raisins, a dried fig or a few drops of molasses to the jar. I switch from batch to batch, sometimes I don’t add anything at this stage.
• Cover with a cloth and leave on the counter for 1-2 days. Not longer than that because the drink may taste too yeasty afterwards. I always put some masking tape on the jar and make a note of the date. That way it’s one less thing to remember 🙂

 

 

 

• After two days strain the grains through a plastic strainer (I’ve read that metal ones may harm the grains). Put your strained grains back into the jar and add sweet water and cover it with a cloth for a second batch. Pour the strained liquid into bottles, cap them well and leave for another day or two on the counter.

 

After the first fermentation the drink will still taste a little sweet. You could drink it now, however when you bottle it first it will go through the second fermentation and produce natural carbonation. And that’s the best part of water kefir soda. Sometimes the bubbles can get really wild (especially when it’s hot outside) so be careful when you open your bottles as the drink may explode and your kitchen will be sprayed with kefir. It did happen to us twice. To avoid it you may release the pressure from time to time by gently opening the tops during fermentation. I also always open bottles in the sink with a glass ready nearby.

When you pour water kefir into bottles (after the first fermentation in a jar) you may also flavor it at the same time. There are many ways to flavor water kefir. I like adding some lemon juice and a sprig of fresh mint. A slice of ginger tastes well. A little bit of fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate works great (cherry, grape, raspberry). I also use fruit syrup or a few pieces of frozen fruit like blueberries or raspberries. These bottles below where flavored with blueberries, black currant syrup, mint and lemon juice.

After one or two days in the bottles the kefir is good to drink. If you don’t want to drink it immediately you should put it in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. It also tastes better when it’s cold. If you keep it on the counter the bottles may crack and explode. We drink at least one bottle a day in the summer so we haven’t had that experience yet, but I read online that it happens. If you tried kombucha before and were not a fan of it I encourage you to give water kefir a try. It’s milder and  a little sweeter and it’s very likely that you’ll like it a lot. 🙂 If you feel brave and want to try something completely different (but still lacto-fermented) check out my beet kvass recipe. Have fun experimenting!

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