Looking to get a daily dose of probiotics in each day without having to pop a pill or pay exorbitant amounts for water kefir based beverages? Then hook up to this water kefir recipe, and get your dose of probiotics each day in an easy and delicious format (kids love it too)!
Purpose
The purpose of this water kefir recipe is to create a delicious and inexpensive way to ingest adequate probiotics on a daily basis.
Equipment
- Glass jar
- A non-metal stirring utensil
- A breathable cover for the jar such as a paper coffee filter
- A rubber band to secure the cover to the jar
- A fine mesh plastic strainer for removing the water kefir grains from the finished water kefir
Ingredients
- 1 package of water kefir grains
- Clean, well filtered water or pure spring water (non-chlorinated or fluoridated)
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
Directions
Rehydration Stage (if using dried kefir grains to start)
- Add a 1/4 cup of organic cane sugar to the bottom of a glass jar (1L jars work well)
- Add boiled water to the jar (about a cup worth) and swirl water to dissolve the cane sugar into the water (do not use metal utensils to do this as it will negatively affect the final product)
- Fill up the rest of the jar with cold water to help bring the water to approximately room temperature (too hot will scold the grains)
- Add kefir grains to room temperature (approximately 71 to 75F) water and cover top of jar with a breathable material such as a coffee filter and secure with an rubber band.
- Let grains sit for 4-5 days in order to rehydrate them.
- After no more than 5 days, pour the water off the water kefir grains into another jar and filter out the grains using a non-metal strainer.
- The grains should now be plumped up and ready to culture your first batch of water kefir (the liquid from the rehydration stage is not advisable to consume as they were not culturing the water, rather, just rehydrating the grains for the first time).
Kefiring Stage
- With your new rehydrated water kefir grains, repeat steps 1-4 to prepare the solution, then wait 48 hours for proper culturing to take place.
- At this point, you may see some bubbles in the jar when moving them – this shows they are becoming active. You can now pour off the liquid into a glass and enjoy plain or with some fruit or juice. * * Alternatively, if you want more carbonation, try a second fermentation by putting the kefir water into tightly sealed glass containers with proper lids, and filling to about a half inch to an inch from the top. Leave for 48 hours then consume.
- To provide additional flavour and carbonation during a second fermentation, consider adding a fruit juice or fruit (avoid acidic fruits) to the containers first (about 25% of the total solution), which will add more sugar to the fermentation process which can create more carbonation and more flavour. Then add kefir water to top up solution, and leave for another 24-48 hours to ferment. *I use pomegranate juice, but you could also do any fruit or juice that has a good sugar content, without too much acidity. Get creative!
Consumption
- If new to water kefir, try a few ounces a day to see how your body responds with the flood of probiotics. Eventually, you should able to handle at least a glass a day, if desired.