INSTRUCTIONS
- When you order a portion of water kefir grains from Hjemmeriet it is bottled with a little portion of water kefir. The portion you receive can ferment up to half a litre of liquid. The number of grains will slowly grow for every batch you make and can then gradually ferment more liquid.
- We recommend you only use fruit jars or glass containers to ferments in.
- Never consume Kefir that smells, tastes or appears off or contaminated in any way.
Tools and ingredients
You need:
Kefir grains and water kefir.
Fruit jar or a glass container with lid, ½ - 2 litre
Plastic strainer.
Stirrer made from glass, plastic or wood.
7 - 10% organic sugar, that is 70 - 100 g of sugar, per of litre water
- the more sugar you add the better the result
- honey can work too but due to its antiseptic properties it weakens the culture over time.Fresh or dried fruits with high sugar content
Water (pure - no chlorine)
How to make water kefir
Dissolve the sugar in a bit of boiling water - then top up with cold water to reach a temperature around 20°C. Use 70 - 10 g of organic sugar per 1 litres of water. Then mix with the kefir grains and a bit of water kefir from the last batch.
We recommend adding some fresh or dried organic fruit to the water kefir as well.
Use raisins, apricots, figs etc. Also include a small piece of organic lemon or lemon zest - alternatively organic lime fruit.See AlsoHow to Make KefirFit the lid loosely or tight. When you fit it tight, pressure develops within the container and can often make the water kefir slightly fizzy.
Ferment the kefir by leaving it at room temperature for at least 24 hours for it to develop a sweet-n-sour taste. If you prefer reduced sugar content, ferment the kefir for 48 hours and the bacteria will digest a larger portion of the sugars. If you ferment the kefir for as long as 7-14 days it becomes highly acidic.
As the kefir ferments you will see little bubbles rise to the surface.
This is GOOD – it is a sign of active fermentation.When your kefir has fermented for long enough - pour it through a plastic strainer to collect the water kefir and separate out the grains. You can enjoy the water kefir right away or chilled after a couple of hours in the refrigerator.
You can also flavor the freshly made kefir by adding fresh or dried fruit or juice and ferment it a second time without the grains. Dried fruit will absorb in kefir for up to a week but fresh fruit only needs a day. The second fermentation can be done in or outside the refrigerator. If you do second fermentation in a tightly closed container you will obtain a fizzy water kefir. Beware of the pressure in the container when opening.
Use the grains you separated out to prepare a new batch of kefir by repeating the whole process again.
Note: If you are simultaneously making either yogurt, soured milk, kefir, kombucha, or sourdough in your kitchen - keep the cultures apart at a fair distance to avoid they cross contaminate each other through the air as this can potentially change or weaken each culture. Keep high standards of cleanliness when it comes to tools and jars, especially if used for different types of cultures.
You can even make kefir based on fruit juice rather than sugar water. Just be careful as some juices like lemon juice are so acidic they might damage the kefir grains.
We reccommend you wait until your grain portion has grown - then divide them into smaller portions and try fermenting some of the portions in different ways.To ensure the grains are active, all you have to do is taste the water before and after fermentation. Even though it will still be sweet, it should be less sweet after fermentation.
Development of fizziness may vary from batch to batch and it is not a bad sign if it does not develop. Different things play in on the formations of bubbles: The sugar type (the more unrefined, the fizzier it gets). Also, to promote fizzyness add a bit of juice to freshly made kefir after the first fermentation when the grains have been separated out. Fit the lid on tight and place the jar in another container for a few days and fizziness develops.
Just be careful when you open the kefir as pressure develops too!Under certain circ*mstances can a slimy gooey form on the surface or as slimy lumps in the water kefir - this is the formation of a mother of vinegar. It is completely harmless but it causes acidity to rise in the kefir so if you do not fancy this, simply remove and toss it away.
NOTE: Water kefir ferments by the means of microorganisms that produces different substances while they digest sugar and some of them produce alcohol. Therefore, if you can not tolerate alcohol, you will not be able to tolerate water kefir even if the content is very limited.
