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Water Kefir

4/2/2018

2 Comments

 
A friend was kind enough to give me some water kefir grains the other day, so I set up a batch fermenting. Water kefir is fast to make, lightly sweet, tasty and refreshing (reminiscent of lemonade, but not acidic), and of course full of all that probiotic goodness. There are various ways to do this (look on the internet for lots of suggestions) - I followed my friend's advice and am very happy with the results. 
Method:
Dissolve 3/4 cup sugar in 2 litres filtered water. Place in large glass jar with kefir water grains. Cover with cheesecloth or similar, rubberbanded in place. Set on the bench and ferment for 3 days. 

Strain kefir through a sieve, catching the grains to start the next batch. Bottle the liquid into glass bottles, cap, and ferment for a further 3 days at room temp. Transfer to fridge and enjoy. 

Over time, the grains will multiply - when you have too many, then discard some, or put into a container with some liquid to cover, and distribute to friends so they can start their own kefir ferments!

Note: like all ferments, this can get quite fizzy, and the old overflow/explosive bottle is possible. So don't keep it in your linen closet! A chilli bin is a great, contained place to put bottles for the second ferment, whether for kefier, kombucha, or similar. 
Picture
2 Comments
Joy
8/10/2018 04:22:40 pm

I was given some water kefir grains but not told what to do with them. They have been sitting in filtered water for over two weeks now. Can they be rescued? Can I start again with the same grains

Reply
Thrifty Kiwi
9/10/2018 09:35:06 pm

Hi Joy - yes, they should be ok, but don't leave them any longer. Strain them and add to a new batch of water with sugar. Depending on the amount you want to do, and how long you will brew them for, the amounts can be adjusted. For quite some time now I've been doing 1 litre of water with only 1/4 cup of sugar. But if you're likely to leave it longer than the 3-4 days between changes, use slightly more sugar, as if left too long the grains use up the sugar and then begin to starve. Once you start using your grains, if you don't see any evidence of them "growing" (getting bigger or multiplying) in the sugar solution, then they may not be any good and you may need to start over.

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