Monday, January 23, 2012

How to brew the perfect water kefir



You want to start by having some good grains. You can get a starter pack from a friend or order online. 
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
1 QT Mason jars (or other jars) with lids (or paper towels and rubber bands)
Spring water
Organic brown sugar
¼ C water kefir grains per 1 QT jar
¼ Lemon and 4 raisons per 1 QT of kefir
A dark place to keep your jars for 24-72 hours
A mesh strainer


There are many different ways to make water kefir, what I will show you today is the best basic way I have found. I have learned a few tricks that I think are really cool. Lets start with some clean equipment...

 In your 1 QT jar place 2 or 3 tablespoons of organic brown sugar. Fill the jar to about 2 inches from the top with spring water. Gently stir. Add ¼ c water kefir grains. Take your ¼ lemon and remove the rind and gently put that and the 4 raisons in the jar. Place your lid on and put the jar (or jars) in a dark cabinet for 24-72 hours.





How do you know when its done? Well, the raisons will float to the top! How cool is that?! Now, once the raisons have all floated to the top, I usually let mine sit for another 24 hours. The lemon that you put in will help the water keep its PH also. That’s another trick I learned.




Now what I have just told is is for a BASIC PLAIN batch of water kefir. And there is SO MUCH you can actually do with this stuff. You can flavor it any way you would like. You can also flavor at a first fermentation (when you are preparing it) or you can do a second one (after you finalize the first product, add flavors then) My personal favorite is to add 4 slices of ginger to the first fermentation. I add them along with the lemon and raisons.
OK, so your water kefir is done. Now what?
Get your mesh strainer and whatever container you are putting your final product in. Strain the grains out of the water. You should notice more grains now than when you started. These babies grow. A good batch can grow up to 50% in a few days in the right conditions. So you take those grains and start a new batch, using only ¼ c per 1 QT of water.






Some variations:
Instead of a lemon, use a lime
Add slices of bananas, apples, or pears to flavor
Add lime and mint leaves for mojito water kefir
Juice a peach and mix it with ½ water kefir
Juice a cup of grape juice, add to a cup of water kefir
Look online for some many more ideas!

And finally, WHY should you add water kefir to your diet?

Here's just a few of the MANY benefits of drinking Water Kefir...
Contains a wide variety of good bacteria and beneficial yeasts as well as many vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes.
Has antibiotic and anti fungal properties.
Contributes to a healthy immune system and has been used to help patients suffering from many conditions, including AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, herpes, Candida, autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Can stop unhealthy food cravings, especially cravings for sugar and sweet foods.
Aids in the digestion of all foods.
Has a tonifying affect on the intestines, reduces bloating, and flattens the abdominals!
It appears to cleanse the liver. In Chinese medicine the liver rules the skin, eyes, and joints. Thus, Water kefir can ease aches, joint pains, and vision woes.
Many see changes in their complexion and overall condition of their skin.
Brown liver spots may fade as can skin tags, moles, warts, etc.
With high levels of valuable minerals, including potassium, natural sodium, and chloride, the hair, skin and nails become stronger and have a prettier shine.
It appears to have a beneficial, cleansing effect on the endocrine system (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, ovaries). Women find that their periods are healthier; some who had experienced early menopause have found this important monthly cleansing returning again.
It increases energy and gives you an overall feeling of good health.
Its tranquilizing effect on the nervous system has benefited many who suffer from sleep disorders, depression, ADHD and autism.
Drinking water kefir regularly can help, promote bowel movement, relieve all intestinal disorders, reduce flatulence and help create an all together healthier digestive system.
It's cleansing effect on the whole body helps to establish a balanced inner ecosystem for optimum health and longevity.
Eases psoriasis. It can also ameliorate eczema and acne.


10 comments:

  1. Great post! I have been wanted to try water kiefer again. I hope to order some grains this week. We have milk kiefer going daily, but I would like to get some that have only been used in water. I like your method, I'll try it!

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    1. TY! I have never made the milk kind, water kefir is made from cultured coconut, but it doesnt taste like coconut to me. Let me know when you get started, I have some great recipes I can share with you!

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  2. I do water kefir! This is a great post- thank you. I never knew the raisin trick. Juicefeasting.com suggesting holding off on it, however, while fasting b/c it's made with sugar. But my argument would be that the grains eat it all up! And it's so healthy! I think I'm going to get mine going again :) I also have milk kefir (will probably have to reorder grains when I'm done with the fast though). I love to make kefir cream with agave and pour it over fruit, add a little raw granola- oh wow, so yummi!

    Thanks Anynie! going to look at raw pancakes now... :)

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    1. Im not sure how much sugar actually reamins in the brew. I can tell you that mine are not sweet (the plain kind is not sweet) AND when I drink it, I feel really relaxed, which is not something that usually happens if you give me sugar! However, do your own research and see what works best for you, I know people who liquid fast on both juices and smoothies will drink it, but I couldnt say for sure about just juice feasting. Those pancakes are GOOOOOOOD by the way!

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  3. What does it taste like?
    We drink kefir but it is dairy based. We drink kombucha and your water kefir looks like that but do you know if it taste the same?
    Thanks!

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    1. In my opinion, water kefir and kombucha taste similar, but different. :) They both have that fermented taste, I have never had a non flavored kombucha though. I love both of them! If I were you and wanted to try water kefir, I would start by making a flovored batch first and see how that goes. (1 qt water, 2-3T organic brown sugar, 1/4 lemon, 4 raisins, 4 slices of ginger and either 1/2 apple or pear sliced) and brew for 24-48 hours, then after you decide if you like it, brew it for the 48-72. The taste gets stronger the longer you brew, but I have always been told not to brew longer than 72 hours. I hope that helps some... OH, also, if you are not crazy about the taste, you can mix 1/2 WK with 1/2 juice and drink it that way. I give it to one kid that way, the other one (who also LOVES kombucha) drinks it straight with me.

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  4. Here it is at the bottom of the page: http://www.raw-food-for-health.com/milk-kefir.html :) Thank you!!

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  5. Hey Aynie- do you mind if I use one of your pictures here on my website since I'm linking to it already? I had to totally redo the page b/c after watching the video on the China Study I am going 100% Vegan!! I got rid of all my references to milk kefir and throwing out my grains! I want to use the jar of kefir pic, maybe I? please?! ;)

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    1. Sure! Do you have a link for the video? I have the book, but would love to see a video on it also!

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  6. I actually saw it on RFR, but here it is on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfsT-qYeqGM I want to read the book too!

    Thanks so much for the use of your picture! :)

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