Water Kefir

Water Kefir. I bought a tsp. It took over 10 days to arrive. I was certain it would shrivel and die like my dairy free dairy kefir.
NOPE! Only took 3 bad batches before I could drink it and the doubling began!

Kefir "Jar Chart"

I started with a teaspoon. Check this "Jar Chart" (see what I did there?) . You can clearly see it basically doubles in just 1 day! Consistently. I think by then I have grown at least 3 litres of kefir in about 2 months. Insane. INSANE I tell you!

I love mixing it with grape or cranberry juice. A very nice "Wine" flavour to it. I don't mind it straight on day 1 of fermenting. I don't like day 2 at all. I prefer it on molasses, it loves the stuff too! Mine doesn't seem bothered with tap water either!

Though BE CAREFUL, to slowly build up to the amount you drink, there can be some unwanted sideeffects of drinking too much at one time. So I find that about 1 cup is my max, so i do tend to stick to the lower end of this and mix it with juice (NOT orange juice, ick!).

My Favs:
Creamy Soda with an addition of vanilla.
"Wine" with the addition of craneberry or grape juice.
Ginger Beer - ginger and lemon slices.

I've been toying with some "cheese" recipes. I'll let you know how it goes. I made a cashew cheese with it and it was totally weird and I did not appreciate it at all, haha. One day I hope I perfect a recipe worth sharing (in fact, cultured cheeses is the main reason why i bought this, and I'm just starting a sourdough with kefir water as a starter this week!)

I find it tastes a bit like alcohol ( it does contian 1%), but mostly sweet. It definitely tingles on the tongue from the carbonation!

I actually managed to thicken up some soy milk like yogurt (think it took about 3 days?), but the bite was so strong it tingled on my tongue and I got scared and threw it out, haha.

I do sell them on the side as for pocket money for more sugar to feed them to truely make them be a free source of good bacteria!

Here are excerts from my fact sheet:

Water Kefir is a healthy probiotic beverage that contains enzymes and organic acids, B vitamins, vitamin K and folic acid that can be flavoured to your liking!

It's better than yogurt as it contains up to 453 different strains of friendly bacteria and yeasts!

1 part kefir grains, 1 part sugar and 16 parts water and leave covered (not sealed) on the counter to ferment for 1-2 days

RULES:

Use organic unrefined sugar or syrups. (needs to have caloric value)

Use filtered water.*
Add some bicarb, Himalayan sea salt, black strap molasses, or boiled egg shell for minerals.

Only use plastic, glass, wood or stainless steel. Metal can kill the grains. (stainless steel is be ok)

Do not let them get over 40C.

Don't fill your kefir up to the top, the grains expand each time and it could over flow.

Start by eating a small amount (1 TB) to accustom your body with the new beneficial strains of bacteria and gradually increase the dose.

Do not drink if it smells foul, has a film, or is slimy.
It can take a few batches to start up if something has harmed them (chlorine, starvation, etc).

Use Black strap molasses for growth.

Use a clean breathable cover to keep flies out while fermenting, do not SEAL with an airtight lid, ever. Do so at your own discretion.
* NOTE
I have had success using tap water, though the chloramines and chlorine can damage the grains.

RECIPES

Flavouring

Only add flavours once Kefir water is fermented and strained, and strain fruits and additional flavours once second fermentation is done to prevent slimy texture. Flavours interacting with the grains will damage them and they will deteriorate.

FIZZY:

To make Kefir fizzy, just cover it with an air tight lid. Be sure to let it breathe once a day while fermenting, then refrigerate. A seal that creates pressure could cause the glass jar to shatter. Using a sealed *plastic* bottle can prevent this. You can also add a pinch of bicarb for extra fizz.

Ginger Beer

Once fermented, strain add a few slices of lemon and ginger.

Leave for 1 more day in a sealed container (be careful as glass will shatter with the pressure)

Refrigerate.

Creamy Soda

Once fermented strain and 2-3 tsp vanilla extract per Litre.

Lemonade

1/4c lemon juice to each Litre of water Kefir.

"Wine"

Mix 1 part with 4 parts cranberry or grape juice

Coconut Kefir

Put the kefir grains in coconut water to ferment for 2 days. No sugar needed.

Cheese

2 cups kefir

1/2c coconut oil

2-3 TB nutritional yeast

250g cashews/nuts

blend. Fill container half way and leave out overnight

Refrigerate once risen by half size.

Yogurt

Blend 1 part cashews/nuts with 1 part kefir. Add in fruits as desired.
OR:
1 1/3c vegan milk
and 1 TB agar flakes. (or 1 tsp powder)
Soak for 5 minutes then boil and simmer for 7 minutes. Refrigerate and blend with=
Excess grains added to soy milk with kefir grains for a few days and strained. (grains will deteriorate)

Rehydrating Dehydrated Kefir1 tsp = 1.5-2 TB to make .5-1 litre every 1-2 days
Dissolve 1/8cup of sugar in 1 cup hot (filtered) water
Add 1 cup cold water (wait till cool)
Add Kefir grains to cool sugar solution.
Stir with wood, plastic or stainless steel spoon.
Cover with a clean cloth/coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
Leave on counter for no more than 5 days. They will lighten and go plump.
Strain with a plastic/cloth strainer. DISCARD liquid.
You're kefir grains are now rehydrated and ready to make water kefir.