How to make water kefir
Making water kefir at home is simple. If you missed my “Intro to Water Kefir” article describing what water kefir is and why you may want to add it into your daily routine, read here!
The beauty of making most things at home is the freedom to explore and tailor the product to your liking. Water kefir can be easily adapted to your sweetness and carbonation preferences plus the flavor combinations are endless.
You don’t need much to get your own brew going at home. You probably have everything you need except the kefir grains! The kefir grains (healthy bacteria and yeasts) are forgiving and resilient. Think of them as the succulents of the kitchen, hard to kill… but still possible! They do however require some upkeep as brewing can be as quick as 24 hours. But in terms of skill, it’s pretty low!
In this article, I’ll give you the basic instructions on how to start brewing and read “Choosing equipment for water kefir” to make sure you’re using the right materials.
What you’ll need
There are only 3 ingredients:
water, sugar and kefir grains.
Equipment
Glass jars/containers (no lid required)
Woven kitchen towel, coffee filter or paper towels
Measuring cups
Glass storage bottles (preferably with an airtight lid, no metal)
Nonmetal strainer
Funnel
What sugar should I use?
Since sugar is your main ingredient, the type of sugar you use will be the determining factor of the flavor and health of your kefir. Although the kefir grains are very resilient, they need a certain amount of minerals to stay healthy. Don’t stress about this too much since the grains are adaptable and will exhibit signs before you completely lose them. Like most things, it’s all about finding the right balance for a healthy life.
First, read the label of any sugar. Make sure there are no additives or anti-caking ingredients that may affect the health of your grains.
You can use pretty much any sugar except artificial sweeteners like Stevia or honey since honey contains its own bacteria that can compete with the grains. You can also combine sugars to deepen flavor and increase mineral content.
Even if you think it’s too much sugar, do not lessen the sugar ratio. Remember that the bacteria eat the sugars and metabolize them, making the water kefir less sweet and containing fewer grams of sugar than what you originally put in. For a more detailed description, head to Yemoos.
I’ll go into detail about the pros and cons of each sugar in the next post. But to get started, you can choose any of the following sugars:
White Sugar
Organic cane sugar
Brown sugar
Turbinado or Raw sugar
Rapadura
Sucanat
Muscavado
Jaggery
The following sugars are too rich to be used on their own but are great to add in small amounts to increase mineral content.
Molasses
Maple Sugar
Coconut palm sugar
How do I make it?
I will be giving directions based on how I make it. This does not mean you can’t tweak the recipe to better fit your size jar or needs.
Ingredients
¼ C sugar
¼ C kefir grains
4 C water
Instructions
Place sugar in the glass jar.
I use a little hot water to dissolve sugar then add the remaining amount of cold water.
Add grains to sugar water
Water should be room temperature or cooler before adding grains
Cover with a kitchen towel, coffee filter, paper towel etc.
Let sit at room temperature for 24-48 hours.
If your grains are new or it is cold out, it may take longer (3-4 days). When I first received my grains in the mail, it took a couple of 4-day ferments to get them going. You’ll do some experimenting and taste testing to find out what time preference you like. If it still tastes pretty sweet, let it sit for another day and taste again.
Strain the water kefir into your preferred container
Now, you have the choice of drinking it right away, or you can add some flavors and let carbonation build by giving it a second fermentation. Add your juice, fruits, herbs etc (or leave plain) and leave it on the counter, SEALED, for another day.
At this point, you can leave it on the counter for another day or two but it will still continue to build carbonation in the fridge too, just at a slower pace. Personally, I think it tastes much better when chilled and it will last longer too. (~ 3 days on the counter, 2 weeks in the fridge)
You may have noticed I have a large glass measuring cup. I sometimes use this to prepare my sugar water so I don’t have to worry about straining all the grains in order to dissolve my sugar in the same jar. An extra dish but I find it easier. Totally not necessary.
When adding flavors:
The easiest is to add premade juice. I like to use fresh-squeezed juice instead of store-bought “cocktail juices.”
I also like to use fresh or dried fruits but they have to be removed after a day or two so they don’t rot or start to over ferment, giving you some slightly buzzworthy (alcoholic) kefir. No joke I felt a little buzzed once after drinking some blueberry kefir I let sit out too long. I’m very sensitive to alcohol and just got flushed in the face, I wasn’t dancing on tables or anything.
My favorite combos so far have been:
Lemon ginger- this is definitely my favorite and I use it as a base by adding it to everything below
Strawberry pineapple
Blueberry
Apple
Lemon mint
Berry mix (Raspberry, blueberry, blackberry)
I’ve read about adding some things into your first ferment like a lemon peel, pinch of salt, raisins, baking soda or ginger. This is supposed to help increase minerals for the grains and/or add a little flavor. Personally, I usually keep it plain so the grains aren’t damaged.
I did however experiment with adding a pinch of salt and I found that the little bit of sea salt helped increase the health of my grains. They grew bigger and formed together better. But you have to be careful not to add too much salt or the bacteria will be harmed.
So there you go. Now you’re ready to start brewing kefir at home and exploring with methods and flavors. Stay tuned for some advanced tips and some science behind the process. Happy exploring!
