Water Kefir

[Guest guest]

Thank you for sharing this info about water kefir and kombucha. I have wanted to do kefir but we can't do dairy or coconut in our house and felt kind of lost. And I know my kids won't do sauerkraut.  A vendor at our local farmers market sells a variety fermented foods and my kids have tried and rejected ALL of them.

I am going to do some homework and give the water kefir or kombucha a try. Which do you like better and would be better for a novice like me to start with: water kefir or kombucha?Thanks!

 

Hi Tracie -

I'm a huge advocate of fermented foods and have been feebly trying to maintain a supply of homemade fermented foods/drinks for our family, though I don't do a great job of keeping up.

We most frequently make homemade fermented sauerkraut -but only one of my two boys likes that. I did make water kefir for a while, but my grains eventually became inactive (which is not uncommon particularly for water grains) - and I haven't replaced them. The boys both liked the water kefir (after the first fermentation, I'd add fruits or ginger and let it ferment a bit longer - it ends up tasting similar to a fruit soda but less sweet & much healthier than any soda!)

We also made kombucha for a while - but I ended up stopping during the holidays because I just couldn't keep up with maintaining it - but am going to get that going again. Same as with the water kefir - after the first fermentation, add some fruit or ginger and let ferment briefly again, and the boys enjoyed it.

The book/cookbook - Nourishing Traditions - by Sally Fallon, has a lot of info on fermented foods & preparation. Also - the Body Ecology Diet ( " BED " ) - by Donna Gates - http://www.bodyecology.com/ and - Wild Fermentation, by Sandor Katz.

These all have great suggestions for fermented food alternatives to yogurt - which is very helpful to those of us who cannot tolerate dairy/casein!

I believe that getting the probiotics in a live/active state via a fermented food - in which they are accompanied by all the good stuff they like to grow in (all the nutrients & prebiotic items in the food source) along with all the good 'byproducts' made during fermentation is the single best way to get daily probiotics.

That said, it is a lot of work (or a big expense if you want to purchase these kinds of foods/drinks) - so a supplement form is next best & helpful when keeping up with generating (or purchasing) fermented foods is not possible.

As with any probiotic - whether by fermented foods or via supplement - some people have to take these in VERY VERY SMALL amounts and build up SLOWLY. When yeast die off occurs (or other 'die off' such as from a virus or C. difficile, etc.) - it can make a person miserable (headache, nausea, fatigue, irritability,etc.!) and these fermented foods/probiotics are going in trying to balance out the gut flora, which often means killing off the 'bad guys.'

I think everyone needs some form of probiotics, preferably from fermented foods, every day. Weston A. Price's research showed that pretty much every native population has some form of fermented food as an inherent part of their diets.

Sorry - I can ramble on about probiotics/fermented foods (as you can tell!) - they're just so important & so beneficial!!

best,

[Guest guest]

Hi!

I'd have to say that kombucha is overall a lot easier than water kefir.

Both require some 'maintenance' - but the water grains are very finicky and I

had to work hard to keep them happy & sometimes I didn't do such a great job &

then had to work hard to try to 'bring them back' - and at one point, I just had

to give up, the grains were just total goners.

I got my first kombucha scoby from a friend. When I am ready to start up again,

I'll be able to get one from another friend. If you don't know anyone who is

brewing kombucha - you can order a scoby online - I've seen they run about $20 -

and I don't have any idea which vendor(s) are most reliable. As to

brewing/fermenting - my friend who gave me the scoby gave me a recipe & I also

did a bit of reading from various sources (online & books like Nourishing

Traditions) to get a better feel for how it goes & what to expect.

If you happen to live in the LA area - there's a store - " Culture Club 101 " - in

Pasadena that sells many traditional, fermented foods along the lines of Weston

A Price/Nourishing Traditions. I think she sells scobies and brewing vessels,

etc. She also sells fermented " sodas " at a local farmers' market.

http://cultureclub101.com/

I got my first water kefir grains from this person: http://www.kefirlady.com/

They seemed a bit expensive and I'll probably try to find a few people to go in

on it with me to divide up the cost of shipping. I haven't found anyone near me

doing water kefir & I think the grains are hard enough to maintain, let alone to

propagate well....

Good luck!

hth!

>

> > Hi Tracie -

> >

> > I'm a huge advocate of fermented foods and have been feebly trying to

> > maintain a supply of homemade fermented foods/drinks for our family, though

> > I don't do a great job of keeping up.

> >

> > We most frequently make homemade fermented sauerkraut -but only one of my

> > two boys likes that. I did make water kefir for a while, but my grains

> > eventually became inactive (which is not uncommon particularly for water

> > grains) - and I haven't replaced them. The boys both liked the water kefir

> > (after the first fermentation, I'd add fruits or ginger and let it ferment a

> > bit longer - it ends up tasting similar to a fruit soda but less sweet &

> > much healthier than any soda!)

> >

> > We also made kombucha for a while - but I ended up stopping during the

> > holidays because I just couldn't keep up with maintaining it - but am going

> > to get that going again. Same as with the water kefir - after the first

> > fermentation, add some fruit or ginger and let ferment briefly again, and

> > the boys enjoyed it.

> >

> > The book/cookbook - Nourishing Traditions - by Sally Fallon, has a lot of

> > info on fermented foods & preparation. Also - the Body Ecology Diet ( " BED " )

> > - by Donna Gates - http://www.bodyecology.com/ and - Wild Fermentation, by

> > Sandor Katz.

> >

> > These all have great suggestions for fermented food alternatives to yogurt

> > - which is very helpful to those of us who cannot tolerate dairy/casein!

> >

> > I believe that getting the probiotics in a live/active state via a

> > fermented food - in which they are accompanied by all the good stuff they

> > like to grow in (all the nutrients & prebiotic items in the food source)

> > along with all the good 'byproducts' made during fermentation is the single

> > best way to get daily probiotics.

> >

> > That said, it is a lot of work (or a big expense if you want to purchase

> > these kinds of foods/drinks) - so a supplement form is next best & helpful

> > when keeping up with generating (or purchasing) fermented foods is not

> > possible.

> >

> > As with any probiotic - whether by fermented foods or via supplement - some

> > people have to take these in VERY VERY SMALL amounts and build up SLOWLY.

> > When yeast die off occurs (or other 'die off' such as from a virus or C.

> > difficile, etc.) - it can make a person miserable (headache, nausea,

> > fatigue, irritability,etc.!) and these fermented foods/probiotics are going

> > in trying to balance out the gut flora, which often means killing off the

> > 'bad guys.'

> >

> > I think everyone needs some form of probiotics, preferably from fermented

> > foods, every day. Weston A. Price's research showed that pretty much every

> > native population has some form of fermented food as an inherent part of

> > their diets.

> >

> > Sorry - I can ramble on about probiotics/fermented foods (as you can tell!)

> > - they're just so important & so beneficial!!

> >

> > best,

> >

> >

>