Water kefir - fruit flavoured

About a month ago I encountered a few problems with my water kefir grains. They'd been chugging along nicely, doing their thing, when all of a sudden the liquid became thick and the grains slimy. Oh no.......I've killed them!

Jan, the lovely lady who gave me the grains had also experienced similar problems. After a bit of net surfing I came to the conclusion that the little blighters had a mineral deficiency. Previously I used organic raw sugar, 1/4 of a organic lemon and a tablespoon of organic sultanas with the grains and water for the ferment. It was time to go back to basics, no more lemon, reintroduce half rapadura sugar (it's full of minerals) as well as adding 1/8 of a teaspoon of bi-carb to the water (more minerals if you are not using spring water). Thankfully the grains sprang back to life and began bubbling again.

Now if I want lemon flavour in the kefir I simply add the juice of half a lemon after I bottle the fermented liquid. Another method that I have been trying is a secondary ferment with crushed fruit or fruit juice. I make the kefir in the usual way, strain off the grains then add approximately 3/4 cup of pureed sieved fruit to 1L of kefir. Seal the bottle airtight and allow to ferment for another 12 - 24 hours on the kitchen bench. The longer you leave it the more effervescent it becomes and slightly more alcoholic too......hiccup! I've not let it ferment any longer than 20 hours as I'm a little worried that the bottle might blow as it gets very fizzy.

Mango flavoured water kefir - thank goodness for frozen mango from last season

After about 20 hours fermentation

If you try this don't be expecting it to taste like soft drink, it has a mild slightly fermented fruity flavour, I find it very refreshing. I'm eager to try some grape juice but I'll have to wait till they come in season, any fruit with a high sugar content would be suitable. I've also seen kefir made with freshly crushed apple juice instead of water. From my understanding you only consume small amounts of the apple kefir and you need to halt the fermentation before it tastes like apple cider vinegar.

Berry flavoured water kefir

After 20 hours fermentation

A word of caution, if you intend fermenting grains in juice or other liquid always use excess grains in case the fermentation kills off you kefir.

A few weeks ago I did a swap with the lovely Narelle at Just Like My Nan Made. Narelle was eager to obtain some kefir grains and as I always have excess I was more than happy to help out. In return Narelle sent me two chokos...yay and a bar of her handmade soap. Thanks again Narelle, I hope those babies are working for you.

Little chokos and handmade soap

Cheers Lisa

Water kefir part 2

Following on from my last post, my adventure into water kefir has been going well. It's really easy to make and doesn't take much time or effort. Just mix the ingredients, put it in a jar for 2 days, strain the liquid, remove the fruit, bottle it and it's done. It has a slightly fermented flavour, with a strong hint of ginger and lemon. So far mine hasn't been fizzy after bottling, maybe my second batch will be.

Second batch made up the night before, see the bubbles on the surface

Morning of day 2, lots of bubbles

I'll admit I was a little concerned that the jar might explode with all that carbon dioxide action happening inside. Whilst at work I had the jar sitting in a plastic box covered with a tea towel, just in case it decided to blow. Thankfully all was in tack when I got home. Actually I opened the jar that evening and gave it a stir which released some of the built up gas.

After bottling - 2nd batch on the left, I used rapadura sugar in the first batch hence the dark colour

For the third batch I've decided to use organic sultanas instead of a fig and I left out the ginger. The kefir grains have multiplied loads so I have extra to experiment with, maybe I'll use some fruit juice or fruit puree for a different flavour. I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out.

Have a great weekend

Cheers Lisa

Water kefir

Have you tried it or made some yourself?

Yesterday a lovely lady who lives around the corner from me, ask Tony if I would like some of her excess kefir grains. Obviously Tony had no idea what she was talking about. I got the inquiry via a phone call and jumped at the chance, even though I didn't know if it was water or milk kefir. Once home I found my jar of grains waiting in the fridge. There was also five pages of information and instruction on how to make water kefir......yay, cause that's what I was hoping it was.

It's a bit hard to see but the grains are sitting at the bottom of the jar

I did a little net surfing and as usual there are about 50 million (ok, slight exaggeration) different versions of making water kefir. Very confusing I must say. I've heard so many good things about kefir being full of probiotics and other healthy things, so I'm eager to try it. You can even make it into a type of ginger beer or flavour it with fruit juice etc.......hmmm.

My first batch of basic water kefir - it should be ready to bottle in 24 to 48 hours.

If you'd like more information about kefir, Julie from Towards Sustainability recently did a post on water kefir and there is Dom's kefir. His site has loads of information on there, so thought it was good to share.

When I checked the culture this morning there are little bubbles around the lemon, so it looks like it's working. I'll keep you posted.

Have a lovely day

Cheers Lisa