EQUIPMENTS NEEDED
- Clean Glass Jar (Jar mouth to be wide enough to put your fingers/scrubber to wash thoroughly)
- A plastic/nylon strainer (Double mesh nylon strainer is best to separate the grains and ready kefir water.)
- Kitchen Towel / Close knit cloth (To avoid house flies and dust)
- Rubber Band (To tighten the cloth covering the jar mouth)
- Plastic/wooden Spoon ( to separate the grains and ready kefir water while seiving)
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
- You need 1 Tablespoon full of Organic Water Kefir Grains
- 1/2 liter filtered water or spring water
- 2 or 3 Tablespoon of Organic cane sugar (Alternatively you can use Organic Jaggery Powder, Sucanat, raw sugar or coconut palm sugar)
- 1/4 Table Spoon Black Strap Molasses (Optional, when you are using RO water)
PREPARATION METHOD:
- Pour filtered water to a clean glass jar. We suggest you not fill your jar all the way to the brim of the jar.
- Add Raw Sugar (any mentioned above sweetners) to the Jar. Stir well until it is dissolved.
- Add kefir grains and give a gentle stir using plastic spoon.
- Cover the mouth of the jar securely with a clean kitchen cloth and secure with the rubber band.
- Let the jar sit in a warm and well ventilated place in your kitchen until the kefir is cultured.
- Start checking your kefir at about 24 hours. It can take more than 24 hours or more to get your kefir. The kefir will be mild and slightly sweet at 24 hours, and more zesty and acidic at 48 hours. This is really a matter of personal preference and either way is tasty and has health benefits.
- Now, you can separate the ready kefir water and kefir grains using the strainer and plastic spoon.
- You can repeat the process for next batch by place kefir grains directly into a fresh, clean jar and pour sugar water on top. Leave on the counter to immediately start another batch.
HOW TO MAKE FRUIT FLAVORED OR COCONUT WATER KEFIR ( YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BEVERAGE WHEN YOU FURTHER FERMENT WITH FRUIT JUICES)
This is where the fun part of making water kefir comes because you can customize the flavor to your liking. You can follow these steps:
- After the initial batch of plain water kefir has fermented, drain the kefir water and set the grains aside for a new batch.
- Take the fermented ready kefir water and pour into a glass bottles with lids ON, depending how many flavors you’d like to make.
- To each bottle/jar add 1/4 cup of coconut water or any fresh fruit juice of your choice. If you are making Strawberry kefir soda, make sure to puree the strawberries first. It will give your kefir much richer taste.
- Let the kefir fruit juice ferment for another 24 hours. This time you can put a tight lid especially if you prefer more fizz to your beverage.
- In 24 hours you will notice color change in your kefir as the flavor of the fruit/juice is metabolized by the kefir grains. Taste your kefir to see if it’s ready. If it’s not sweet enough, just add a tablespoon of sugar. Store in fridge for few days.
- Now you have kefir fruit juice or coconut water kefir ready with Fizz!