I made my first batch of water kefir last week! I’ve been making milk kefir on and off over the last few months but don’t particularly like eating dairy so it was great to finally throw myself into making water kefir.
Above: My kefir grains sitting in water, sleeping. Left: My batch of water kefir doing its thing …
Water kefir is incredibly easy to make, but you will need to get your hands on some kefir grains first. If you have a friend or know someone that makes their own kefir then getting some off them is the best way. Kefir grows every time it’s “fed” so after about a month usually the amount of grains you have will have doubled.
If you don’t know of anybody who has any kefir grains then you can buy them online. If you’re in Australia check out Dom’s kefir site. If you’re overseas do a Google search. Milk kefir especially is really popular in Europe and North America. You can easily buy milk kefir in most health stores and Deli’s in North America so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if there are loads of kefir groups sharing grains. Kefir addicts tend to want to give their excess grains away rather than throw them out because we know how special they are!
How to make water kefir
This is a really easy recipe I borrowed from Ananda from Vitale Natural.
Ingredients
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup traditional water kefir grains OR 1 to 2 Tbs spare milk kefir-grains
- 1 large Turkish fig OR 2 small Greek dry figs OR 2 Tbs dry sultanas, raisins or any mixture
- A thick slice of lemon (Use non waxed Certified organically grown lemon. Peel and discard zest of non-organic lemon, or lemon that has been fumigated or sprayed with pesticide)
- 1/3 cup cane sugar- brown sugar, raw sugar or refined white sugar, or non-refined dry sugar-cane juice such as Rapadura, Demarara or Jaggery etc. or a combination (Important, if using brown, raw or white sugar, include 1 Tsp black strap molasses).
- 6 cups fresh water preferably spring water, rain water or good well water.
Loving Preparation
Add water to an 8-cup or 2 liter glass jar. Do not fill any jar more than 3/4 full. This is very important because the CO2 gas produced during fermentation will produce pressure, which has the potential to force the lid off the jar with force or worst scenario cause the jar to explode.
Dissolve sugar in 1/2 cup of hot water and then add the rest of the ingredients including kefir grains.
Seal jar airtight and let contents stand for 2 days at room temperature. Stir after 24 hours and as often as you like.
Strain the bubbly water kefir and rinse grains with fresh water.
The strained beverage is ready to serve, but it is more appealing to transfer the water kefir in airtight sealed bottles and refrigerate for 1 to 3 days served chilled.
I’m a big lover of goji berries so I’ve been experimenting with adding goji’s along with raisons into my water kefir mix. I’ve also started adding bee pollen which will be interesting to see if it changes the flavor.
Why kefir is so AWESOME for your health (and your skin)
We all know that yogurt is really good for the health of our guts right? Well kefir is way better. There’s a really beautiful summary of kefir vs yogurt on the Body Ecology website here.
Kefir has an incredible amount of beneficial probiotics. It knocks the socks right off yogurt, and even those little inner health plus tablets you get from the health store. My fridge and cupboards are actually stocked with kefir and probiotics drinks made by myself and store bought. I strongly feel that consuming water kefir or coconut water kefir is a wonderful addition to your diet. It’s truly a beautiful gift you can give to your digestive system!
Here is a list of super interesting reasons why it’s so good to add kefir into your diet-
- Contributes to a healthy immune system
- Promotes a relaxing affect on the nervous system
- Helps relieve insomnia
- Helps support your normal intestinal tract function, promote bowel movements and a healthy digestive system
- Restores balance to the digestive tract, so VERY useful during and after a course of antibiotics and after food poisoning
- Has been used to treat metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, allergic disease, tuberculosis, cancer and other gastrointestinal disorders
- They have been shown to control facial acne in 80% of adolescents (I’m not sure if I believe this one but I’m willing to try it out!)
- Rich in vitamin B-12, vitamin K and biotin
And that’s where I got a bit bored writing the list because there are way too many benefits. To be honest all you need to know is that they’re super good for your digestive system and an awesome addition to your diet. But if you want more information, you can get an extensive list of befits of kefir on Dom’s site here – Health Benefits Of Kefir.
13 responses ↓
Thanks so much for this Fran. Particularly interested for the insomnia & calming effects.
how long does it take to prepare till you drink it?
Had not heard of it before
Hmm I better just check that you haven’t already addressed that in your article
x M
It takes about 2 days to ferment. The milk kefir is a lot faster, it’s ready in less than 24 hours. I got my grains off Judit from skating ..I’m sure she’ll pass on some of her babies too
Hi Fran.
What does your goji berry ferment taste like?
Have you noticed any benefits since drinking it?
Michelle.
Hi Fran
I’ve been curious about kefir for ages, thanks for this article. I’m wondering though, what is your opinion on using kefir when you have some issues with candida?
I’ve been trying to get my head around fermented foods and probiotics in the process of treating candida but there’s a lot conflicting information out there. Some say to avoid ferments all together, but it sounds like kefir would assist in repopulating the gut with beneficial bacteria. I wonder about the sugar content though – I know it is ‘food’ for the friendly organisms but the sugar will feed the candida too, unless it is converted into something else during the process?
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Wow, thank you for the article! That’s what I was looking for!
I’ll try to give that a go for sure.
I have another question that isn’t related to this. I wondering whether it’s fine or not to eat cacao butter. And also, I’ve been trying to make that chocolate cake recipe you posted some time ago, and I replaced the safflower oil with sunflower and the sweetener for stevia(powder). I’ve baked it like four times changing the amounts but it taste awful. Do you think it’s the oil? I can’t fet safflower :S
Michelle- This is the first time I’ve used goji berries so I’ll find out tomorrow when I crack it open!
Katie- I actually learned about kefir reading The Body Ecology Diet by Brenda Davies. I feel that kefir is great and will help to fight a candida overgrowth – but water and coconut water kefir not the milk kefir.
Gastón- I occasionally use cacao butter in cooking. It’s awesome.
The cake may taste awful because stevia has a strong aftertaste, and I find it difficult to bake with stevia … I’ve had much more luck using stevia in raw foods. Can you really TASTE the sunflower oil? It may have a stronger taste than the safflower oil.
OMG.
I’ve been wondering about this Kefir thing every time you mentioned it. I went to Wikipedia, and found out it actually is the stuff my grandma and aunt have been making for like a long time.
When I was little, I thought they are some sort of mushrooms with mold. I heard them saying things like “I need to feed them” and “It’s growing.” I got so scared and didn’t go anywhere near the little monster mushrooms.
So do you eat the white stuff or drink water??
How do you get the coconut water to make that type of kefir. The coconut water from young coconuts is rather expensive but i was wondering if it worked for the packaged coconut waters like the brand Zico has. Thanks Fran!
Hey, Fran, I use yogurt for vaginal health and for my hair (I don’t eat it). Do you think Kefir would do the same?
vivienne- The white stuff is the kefir bacteria, you don’t eat it. You use it over and over again to make the kefir
Chris- Yes, it is very expensive! Which is one of the reasons why it’s taken me this long to make the kefir. This picture is the water of 3 young coconuts.
Dottywine- Absolutely! kefir contains WAY more probiotics and prebiotics than yogurt so you can definitely use it instead of yogurt. You can make milk kefir which would be great for the yoni. But it’s quite a bit runnier than yogurt which may be a problem!
If you live in Australia, I can post you some Milk or Water Kefir grains.
Please contact me. gamgo @optusnet. com .au (close gaps)
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