Instructions for Water Kefir Grains

March 30, 2011

Hello,

I just purhased water kefir grains and they are in the mail to me. I want to be

preparied to start making the water kefir when htey get here. I have seen so

many lists of ingredients and am confused as to what it takes to make the kefir.

Can anyone help let me know how to start my first batch?

Thank you

amyjo

March 31, 2011

Hi Amy Jo,

You are correct in saying there are so many ways to make water kefir out there

and they are all, for the most part, correct. Sorry that this posting is a bit

long, but I hope it will give you enough info to encourage you to do some

experimentation to familiarize yourself with kefir so you can see it is easy

enough to be part of your daily life. I learned most of it from researching

kefir on the net and reading books along with trial and error experimentation.

I am by no means an expert on this subject, but wish to share with you a

condensed version of what I have learned so far.

All you have to remember is that in order to keep the grains healthy they need

three things: sugar, non-chlorinated water with decent mineral content and a

place to brew out of direct sunlight at a temp of around 68-70 degrees.

I use a double brewing method where you brew only sugar water with the grains

for the first 24 hours and then once you remove the grains brew again for 24

hours. I add various flavoring during the second 24 hour brewing so I can make

different flavors as to not get tired of the same old thing and so I do not

stain or taint the grains with those flavorings.

I use fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, mango, peaches, lemon,

lime, watermelon, etc . . . or combos of them. I cut most of them to bite size

or puree them except the lemons, limes and oranges which I slice thinly. They

add flavor, look nice in the drink and I like to eat them as an added treat. I

have added ginger (a favorite) and herbs as well, but just make sure they do not

have anti-bacterial qualities as some do or you will weaken the probiotic

benefit. Let me address a few things about what sugar and water to use.

Stevia will not feed your grains and they will starve. You have to use sugar in

some form (regular unprocessed, sucanat, turbinado, etc . . .) Do not worry too

much about a high sugar intake as most (not all) is consumed by the kefir grains

for nutrition. If you want to use Stevia you can add it in the second brewing

in addition to the sugar, but wait and taste it first as I am sure it will be

sweet enough for most people's palates with using just the sugar. I would also

avoid honey because it has mild anti-bacterial properties, but you can add a

little for flavoring once you remove the grains and right before you drink it as

not to weaken them (remember they are a colony of bacteria and yeasts) and so

you do not reduce the value of the probiotic benefits too much. I personally

avoid using honey with the kefir as I like to achieve optimum benefits from it

so I reserve the honey for other foods as I too love the flavor.

Fresh spring water is ideal and a lot of public springs give you free access.

All you have to do to find one is to do a search on the web for public springs

in your area. Bottled spring water is fine, but make sure it has not been

filtered. The downside of using bottled water besides for paying for it is that

you have to deal with going to the store and disposing of the empty bottles.

Also, you have no idea of the mineral content and if it is packaged in plastic

bottles bear in mind that eventually the plastic will leach some component into

the water. So unless, you have really " bad " water at home, I would pass on it.

I personally avoid it unless I am away from home and run out of what I bring

with me and it has to be in a glass bottle. Yes, I have become a true

" plastic-phobic. " You can use tap water, but it must be free of chlorine (which

most cities use in some form in their purification process) so boil it first to

remove the chlorine (it will change the chlorine into a gas form and it will

then leave the water), but let it cool before you use it so not to harm the

kefir critters. If you have RO filtered water it has lost most of the minerals

due the micro-filtration process so you will need to add the minerals back if

you want to use it.

I personally use plain old organic unprocessed sugar and my tap water which is

well water that has been softened. You will need to experiment a bit until you

come up with a recipe(s) that suit your tastes. As long as your kefir critters

are well fed you have room to change the recipes a bit. While I use both milk

and water kefir, the nice thing about water kefir is that you can contiue to

feed your grains and if you make too much or make a not so good tasting recipe

you can dump it and only loose the cost of a little bit of sugar. I found some

recipes using the browner sugars or molasses to be too sweet for me because I do

not use sugar added to my food and my palate has become sensitive to that

flavor. I only use 5 teaspoons of sugar (instead of the 1/4 cup recommended by

most recipes) which I mix into a quart ball/mason jar filled about 3/4 full with

water. I have managed to keep my grains strong and happy with this amount of

sugar. You will know they are happy as they will multiply continually and

increase in size a bit when they are doing well. I am not sure about erithritol

(which I use for baking) or xlitol (both fruit alcohol sugars that do not affect

your insulin levels in the blood) as I cannot find info on them as far as using

them to nurture kefir grains so until I do I avoid them. I do not even consider

Splenda or other artificial sweeteners as they are not sugar, have no

significant food value and I look at them as chemical substances to avoid.

Once I remove the grains I add fruit, ginger or fruit juice to flavor the kefir

and let it brew for another 24 hours. Kefir does not last long around our house

(each batch is gone before the day's end) and we like it chilled so we

refrigerate it once it is done brewing. It will continue to brew even in the

fridge as you still have free floating kefir critters in it even though you have

removed the grains (colonies of kefir critters) so refrigeration will slow the

continual fermentation process down a bit. If you do not consume it fast

enough, it will eventually get a bit of alcohol in it and the taste will change

as well.

Make sure while you brew with a lid you leave about an inch or two of air space

to allow room for the gases to expand. Gases are a bi-product of the process.

This will retain the pop-like fizz in your kefir. If you like a little less

fizz you can use a loose lid to allow for it to burp the gasses out or for no

fizz you can use a coffee filter secured with a rubber band allowing all of the

gases to escape. I like just a little fizz so during the first brewing I use a

loose lid to keep out uninvited " guests " while keeping some of the gases in and

then on the second brewing without the grains, I put the lid on a bit tighter to

promote a gentle pop-like fizz and still allow for the burp. With this method I

have never had a jar burst, but I have read it is possible so I leave the room

in the jar as a precaution.

So with abundant amount of info you know how you can adjust the water kefir to

suite your palate by the altering the recipe you use and the time you brew.

Have fun and experiment until you come up with your own favorite recipes.

Enjoy.

Carol Onefreespirit

>

> Hello,

> I just purhased water kefir grains and they are in the mail to me. I want to

be preparied to start making the water kefir when htey get here. I have seen so

many lists of ingredients and am confused as to what it takes to make the kefir.

Can anyone help let me know how to start my first batch?

> Thank you

> amyjo

>

March 31, 2011

Thank you.

Amyjo

Sent via BlackBerry by AT & T

March 31, 2011

Hi Carol Onefreespirit

Thanks for all the information. I am just getting started on the second ferment

part as I have not done that before. So your knowledge really helped me.

One question though, you said:

" I only use 5 teaspoons of sugar (instead of the 1/4 cup recommended by most

recipes) which I mix into a quart ball/mason jar filled about 3/4 full with

water " .

My question: What is the amount of Kefir grains you use? This is the part that

confuses me some. I like to increase the jar size to a gallon and wonder if one

just

multiplies the kefir grain amount by 4 (4 times for 4 quarts in a gallon).

Does this sound right? How much kefir grain would you use in a gallon jar and

would you

use 20 teaspoons of sugar too?

Alice

Hi Amy Jo,

You are correct in saying there are so many ways to make water kefir out there

and they are all, for the most part, correct. Sorry that this posting is a bit

long, but I hope it will give you enough info to encourage you to do some

experimentation to familiarize yourself with kefir so you can see it is easy

enough to be part of your daily life. I learned most of it from researching

kefir on the net and reading books along with trial and error experimentation. I

am by no means an expert on this subject, but wish to share with you a condensed

version of what I have learned so far.

All you have to remember is that in order to keep the grains healthy they need

three things: sugar, non-chlorinated water with decent mineral content and a

place to brew out of direct sunlight at a temp of around 68-70 degrees.

I use a double brewing method where you brew only sugar water with the grains

for the first 24 hours and then once you remove the grains brew again for 24

hours. I add various flavoring during the second 24 I personally use plain old

organic unprocessed sugar and my tap water which is well water that has been

softened. You will need to experiment a bit until you come up with a recipe(s)

that suit your tastes. As long as your kefir critters are well fed you have room

to change the recipes a bit. While I use both milk and water kefir, the nice

thing about water kefir is that you can contiue to feed your grains and if you

make too much or make a not so good tasting recipe you can dump it and only

loose the cost of a little bit of sugar. I found some recipes using the browner

sugars or molasses to be too sweet for me because I do not use sugar added to my

food and my palate has become sensitive to that flavor. I only use 5 teaspoons

of sugar (instead of the 1/4 cup recommended by most recipes) which I mix into a

quart ball/mason jar filled about 3/4 full with water. I have managed to keep my

grains strong and happy with this amount of sugar. You will know they are happy

as they will multiply continually and increase in size a bit when they are doing

well. I am not sure about erithritol (which I use for baking) or xlitol (both

fruit alcohol in your kefir. If you like Carol Onefreespirit

---

April 1, 2011

Hi Alice,

I use a couple of heaping tablespoons of grains per a quart jar (leaving about

an inch or two of airspace at the top to allow space for the gases that are a

bi-product of the process.)

I have found that the water kefir grain to water ratio exactness is not as

necessary to achieve consistent taste as with the milk kefir. Yes, you can over

do it, but you do not have to be all that precise. You may want yours sweeter

than I do or less sweet, but I would be careful about going to low on the sugar

as your grains still need nutrition to remain healthy. Just watch them as you

adjust your recipe and if they are still multiplying and growing I would say

they are doing well.

I have used as much as a cup full of grains and it turned out tasting pretty

much the same as when I use the two heaping tablespoons full (which is about a

quarter of a cup.) The water kefir grains multiply rapidly and I do not always

divide them promptly.

Since I brew each day to vary my recipe flavors for variety I have not made a

full gallon at one time. It would make sense that you would adjust the amount

of sugar and grains in proportion to how much you increase your total quantity

so I would try adjusting the amount of grains and sugar accordingly. The grains

are resilient enough to survive your trial and error process until you get it

tasting the way you want it to.

Again, since I have not brewed a full gallon at a time this is pure speculation

on my part. Anyone else brew a gallon at a time that can offer their experience

here?

Carol Onefreespirit

>

> Hi Carol Onefreespirit

>

> Thanks for all the information. I am just getting started on the second

ferment part as I have not done that before. So your knowledge really helped

me.

>

> One question though, you said:

>

> " I only use 5 teaspoons of sugar (instead of the 1/4 cup recommended by most

recipes) which I mix into a quart ball/mason jar filled about 3/4 full with

water " .

>

> My question: What is the amount of Kefir grains you use? This is the part

that confuses me some. I like to increase the jar size to a gallon and wonder

if one just

> multiplies the kefir grain amount by 4 (4 times for 4 quarts in a gallon).

Does this sound right? How much kefir grain would you use in a gallon jar and

would you

> use 20 teaspoons of sugar too?

>

> Alice

>

> Hi Amy Jo,

> You are correct in saying there are so many ways to make water kefir out

there and they are all, for the most part, correct. Sorry that this posting is a

bit long, but I hope it will give you enough info to encourage you to do some

experimentation to familiarize yourself with kefir so you can see it is easy

enough to be part of your daily life. I learned most of it from researching

kefir on the net and reading books along with trial and error experimentation. I

am by no means an expert on this subject, but wish to share with you a condensed

version of what I have learned so far.

>

> All you have to remember is that in order to keep the grains healthy they

need three things: sugar, non-chlorinated water with decent mineral content and

a place to brew out of direct sunlight at a temp of around 68-70 degrees.

>

> I use a double brewing method where you brew only sugar water with the

grains for the first 24 hours and then once you remove the grains brew again for

24 hours. I add various flavoring during the second 24 I personally use plain

old organic unprocessed sugar and my tap water which is well water that has been