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As I am siting here writing this post I am drinking a glass of water kefir. I have been making water kefir off and on for about 2 years now. Well you may be asking yourself…What is Water Kefir? It is a probiotic beverage made by fermenting water kefir grains. Okay well what are water kefir grains? These are grains that are made up of 10 to 15 different types of good bacteria and yeast that we need to help with our gut flora. As the great philosopher Hippocrates had said “All disease begins in the gut.”
Where can I purchase water kefir?
I ordered mine from Amazon by a company called Florida Sun Kefir.
How do you make water kefir?
I use 1/4 c grain, 4 cups of water, 1 t palm sugar, and 1/4 c organic cane sugar. I put the water in a glass jar, add the grains, and then I will add some water and the sugars to a sauce pan to dissolve the sugars and then add to jar. I apply a piece of cheesecloth over the jar and let sit on my countertop for 2-3 days to ferment. Then I strain off the kefir grains and put the water into mason jars and store in fridge. Before storing in fridge you can add some fruit to the jars to add some flavor. We usually skip this step because we like plain. I then repeat the process again for another batch. The longer you let you grains ferment the more alcohol tasting it will become. We like ours with just a hint of sweetness thus the short fermentation time.
Some other useful information in regards to water kefir:
I use filtered water when making water kefir. Other sources say you should not do this because of the low mineral content. I have not had any issues with making water kefir with this type of water but I also use a little bit of palm sugar in each batch. The reason I use palm sugar is due to it’s high mineral content. This helps the kefir grains grow. You only want to use a small amount of palm sugar because too much can cause damage to your grains.
Some things that you can use water kefir to make: smoothies, jello, popsicles, and fermenting vegetables.
What to do with extra grains: give to a friend, feed to your animals (I feed mine to our old dog who is 18 years old and to our chickens), or add to smoothies.
Here is a link to Florida Sun Kefir describing the health benefits of kefir and other recipes. http://floridasunkefir.com/ebook.pdf
Below is a general list of bacteria and yeast that can be found in water kefir. This list is for informational purposes only.
Bacteria
- Species Lactobacillus
- L. brevis
- L. casei
- L. hilgardii
- L. hordei
- L. nagelii
- Species Leuconostoc
- L. citreum
- L. mesenteroides
- Species Acetobacter
- A. fabarum
- A. orientalis
- Species Streptococcus
- S. lactis
Yeasts
- Hanseniaospora valbyensis
- Lachancea fermentati
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Zygotorulaspora florentina
I hope you enjoyed this posting as we continue on our Inner Health Journey!