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Welcome to my land of ferments… where things get really interesting! Today, I’m going to teach you how to make water kefir at home….
Why Make Water Kefir At Home?
This beverage bursts with probiotic bacteria beneficial for our gut health. Also, there are all sort of vitamins in this, especially B-vitamins, vitamin K, as well as enzymes and folic acid. It’s a perfect substitution for milk and yoghurt, so I’ve already recommended it to my friends who don’t consume dairy products and want the health benefits, and they looooove it.
Good digestion is the key to health and longevity. But we don’t treat our bodies well and what happens is they get out of balance. So, we start to get headaches, skin rashes, and all those annoying digestion problems, which can lead to more serious disorders later on in life. I’m telling you, go back to good old Mother Nature, she has the most epic foods you could ever imagine. And yes, kefir is one of these. It will beat those unfriendly bacteria and get your body back to optimal health.
The thing you will need to make water kefir at home are kefir grains. And actually, you’ll need to buy them only once because you will then grow your own grains, and they will grow more and more and more…. Isn’t that awesome?
The colour of these grains is sort of whitish, actually, they are almost translucent and gelatinous in structure. If you try to squeeze them between your fingers, they will break easily. You can eat them as well. Take one grain and try it, yeah really try it. It actually doesn’t have much taste but is super healthy and full of probiotics.
“Where to get these kefir grains?” I hear you ask.
I got mine from my girlfriend Sarah Gilbson. Thank you darling!
But you don’t have a Sarah Gibson in your life you can find kefir grains online, yep it’s that easy. Do your research and find a website that can send you some of these or maybe some of your friends already have them.
Basically, once you start growing kefir, it will reproduce and grow indefinitely, so you will be able to share these grains with your friends. If you tried making kombucha at home, you know that it doesn’t require a lot of attention. You just keep it on a shelf and ignore it for a week or so.
But making kefir is like having a baby. You will f***ing have to look after this stuff. It will demand your attention!!
Let’s look at How To Make Water Kefir In Your Home
So, this is what I do to make this gorgeous beverage at home. First, I grab a mason jar and fill it with filtered water. Then I add some raw sugar. Scented sugar is not so good, but you can use rapadura or coconut sugar, or even maple syrup or honey. But stevia, on the other hand, doesn’t work here.
Basically, I just stir this until the sugar dissolves to make a sweet watery drink. Then I taste it, and if it’s still not as sweet as I want it to be, I just add more sugar. What I do next is add the kefir grains to the jar, set it aside on a shelf, cover the jar with a piece of cloth and leave it for a day. Room temperature is just fine, for hotter weather (like here in Bali) just check it more often.
The thing is… you should not forget it!!
You must check it the next morning because it may go too far and get that vinegary taste. But if it is still sweet, you can let it ferment for a couple of more hours and then check it again. I like to bottle it once it gets that taste between sweet and vinegary. When I bottle it, I like to add some lemon juice to it as well.
And then I start all over again – water, sugar, kefir grains – and I get more bottles of this epic beverage. You can simply use these kefir grains over and over again… Just watch them multiply!!
One of my favourite drink combos is a mix of this one-day-old ferment with some orange, pineapple, and ginger juice. It’s just awesome and refreshing, and if you leave it like this for one more day, you will taste some alcohol starting to brew there as well. This is something about kefir that I like. You get this ‘healthy booze’ using just sugar and water. Enjoy!
Try it out! Make some water kefir at home and let me know how it went. Tune into your body as to how you are feeling after drinking a glass or two of this every day for a week.
Don’t forget to tag me some pictures as well.
Love,
Chef Cynthia xx
Oh! If you like this, you might be interested in my blog post & video on how to make Kombucha at home. Check it out here!
