I wrote a while ago about making water kefir using milk kefir grains. When made that way it’s not suitable for strict vegans, and it risks the health of the grains, but in a pinch it will do the trick. I recently broke down and bought some real water grains, because of a certain someone. A man. And I’m not talking about my (basically perfect) husband.
I’ve been holding out on you, dear reader. I never told you about Dom. If you are any kind of kefir veteran, you already know Dom. If you’re new to fermenting, or kefir, maybe you aren’t familiar, but I think you are about to be as in love as I am. I myself have never met Dom, but love is not too strong a word. Why? Because he has apparently devoted a significant portion of his life to some pretty rigorous experimentation surrounding my very favorite culture, kefir. Furthermore, he shares the results of all of his efforts with the rest of us for free on his site.
It might not be love at first site for you. Maybe you like your urls to be shorter than 23 words. Okay. Maybe you prefer the simple color schemes that websites have developed in the last decade to two decades to the wild and crazy color choices of the 90s internet. I hear you. But I love Dom just how he is (and I think if you have a problem with that stuff I just mentioned, you’ll get over it once you see what the man has to offer).
I have used Dom’s site (Dom’s kefir in-site, to be exact) as a resource for milk kefir for quite some time. And it was Dom who finally convinced me to take the plunge and get some water kefir (or as he calls them, sugar kefir) grains. It was seduction, pure and simple. I was pouring over some of his milk kefir info for the 29th time when I decided to take a peek, just a tiny scroll, into water territory. Just to see. And what a slippery slope it was. It’s too sweet, I thought. I’m satisfied with what I have. I have other cultures in my life. They deserve my time and loyalty. A glance become a look and then I was staring, and their translucent sugar-munching bodies suddenly held an appeal they’d never had before. It was like I was seeing them for the first time. Dom’s fantastic explanations of increasing growth rate, best flavoring practices and secondary fermentation strategy put my mind in a dither and before I knew what I was happening, I’d printed out my order form and mailed it off to the always wonderful GEM.
Now here I am a couple months later not enjoying exactly daily batches of the sweet stuff, but it definitely enters into our weekly repertoire. The sugars you put in are converted not just to CO2 and alcohol, but also to fructose*, which is why water kefir retains such a sweet taste even after fermentation is complete. From a health standpoint, this is still a decent dose of sugar. But if you are, for instance, a person trying to kick a soda habit, water kefir might just be your perfect transition.
You can get more than enough amazing info from Dom’s site, and I highly suggest you do, but in the meantime, I’ll share my very simple process with you. Just know that everything I do right is thanks to Dom and any errors are my own.
A note on grains: neither water kefir nor milk kefir grains are actually grains. They are most likely called grains due to their granular appearance, but in reality they are cultures made up of bacteria and yeast (or SCOBYs, if you will) that contain no grain at all.
Water Kefir
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT THE EXCELLENT ADVICE THAT CAME FROM YEMOOS.
Makes 1 quart
Unlike milk kefir grains, water kefir grains sink to the bottom. So although this is a process of anaerobic (airless) fermentation, you don’t really need a sealing container. I like to use a container that seals because it makes the final product fizzier, like a pro-biotic pop, even if I don’t do secondary fermentation. When you put your kefir in a sealed container, you definitely want to leave a few inches of space at the top, and you want to check in and burp it at least every 12 hours. In a long-neck bottle, don’t fill the neck (and burp). Your grains are creating CO2 and that can cause explosions. This is also why you don’t want to let your container ferment for much longer than two days, and why, even once it’s in the fridge, you need to open it up every so often to let that CO2 escape. Although this has never happened to me, it is a real risk to be aware of.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of filtered water
- 4 tablespoons cane sugar of your choice (processed sugars are okay, but honey is a no-no due to its antibacterial properties)
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar, sucanat, molasses or other unprocessed sugar
- ~1/2 cup kefir grains
- 1 slice of scrubbed or peel lemon, preferably organic
- 1 date
How-To
- Add sugars to water and stir until dissolved
- Add kefir grains (and then optional flavorings above) to your container and cover it
- Let it sit at room temperature for up to 48 hours. Sucrose is generally consumed by 24 hours.
- Strain out your fruit and compost it.
- Strain out your kefir grains with a non-metallic mesh strainer, rinse with filtered water and put them into fresh sugar solution to repeat process. You may also choose to store them in the fridge in filtered water or in a fresh sugar solution (using the proportions in this recipe) for up to a week before making your next batch.
- If you like your drinks extra fizzy, put your finished, strained water kefir into a container that seals, such as a swingtop bottle and let it sit at room temp for 1-2 days more. You can also add all varieties of flavorings once your kefir grains are removed. Apple and grape juice, coconut water and vanilla beans are all great choices that yield excellent results. BE VERY CAREFUL AT THIS STEP. EXPLOSIONS FROM WATER KEFIR SEEM TO BE THE MOST COMMON EXPLOSIONS. IF YOU ARE BOTTLING IN GLASS, BE ESPECIALLY CAREFUL!!!
- Stick it in the fridge or cold storage to let it chill before serving. Store in fridge for as long as it continues to taste good to you. For most people it becomes too acidic after 2-3 weeks.
Special thanks to Mari Jaye Blanchard for the lovely photos in this post.
*Learned that fact on culturesforhealth.com, where there are excellent videos for beginners.
Want more water kefir?
Coconut Water Kefir (no added sugar)
Madame Fromage says
Unbelievable! The grains look like granita. And the water kefir looks strangely refreshing…
Amanda says
It is refreshing! If nothing else, I do throw a lemon wedge in for primary fermentation and even that taste like something that should be served at the spa!
Malgorzata says
Is it possible to use agave or maple sirup instead of sugar?
Amanda says
Yes, however, I would try this with a spare set of grains. Make sure they are still reproducing normally before you use your primary set of grains, and be aware that there is a risk you will kill them. Both agave and maple syrup have antibacterial properties and they can impact the long term health of your grains. I would not recommend it for that reason, but it will work. Other sugars, like raw sugar and succanat work great. Darker colored sugars may dye your grains, but that does not impact their effectiveness.
If you are concerned with the sugar content, remember that the sugar is reduced by 80% during fermentation (according to Dom), and the sugar that remains has been converted from sucrose to fructose, so this is definitely not like drinking soda from a health standpoint.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Dritan says
would stevia be an option?
Amanda says
Hi Dritan,
No, stevia does not work, unfortunately. Reb A is the compound in the stevia plant that makes it sweet, but it is not a sugar. I am definitely not a chemist, so I can’t tell you what exactly it is, but your grains feed off of (and convert) sugar (could be sugar from fruit or sugar from the cane) but stevia doesn’t have sugars for your grains to eat. Sorry about that! Remember that in the fermentation process, 80% of the sugar is removed and remaining sucrose has been converted to fructose, so it’s more similar to drinking a bit of fruit juice than drinking a soda.
Susan says
So if I really, really don’t want to be consuming extra sugar, water kefir is not for me. Is that right?
Amanda says
I would say there are definitely better places to get your good bacteria if you are concerned with sugar intake. As I mentioned, the sugar is converted to several things, one of which is fructose. If you’re okay with sugar from fruit juice, this would be the same kind of sugar. Having said that, there are so many wonderful ferments that have little or no sugar, and I would encourage you to try those if you’re avoiding sugar. Good Luck!
Christine van Pareren says
I understand that Waterkefir the sugar as it were eats up ‘, so the drink is less and less sweet as you lets ferment it longer. Also diabetics drinks waterkefirdrinks.
Amanda says
Hi Christine,
The sugar added to water kefir is consumed by the culture, however a rather large percentage of that sucrose is converted into fructose, which makes this not super suitable for most diabetics.
I hope that helps!
Susan says
Thanks Amanda. I make my own vinegar and nut-milk yogurt. I guess I’ll have to pass on the water kefir.
Amanda says
Yum! Sounds great! Have you tried lactofermented pickling? No added sugar there, and much of what naturally occurs in the plants is digested by the LAB in the fermentation process. Could be a great option for you!
Jonathan says
Does Milk Kefir leave fructose behind like water kefir? For example if i add fresh or dried fruit to a second fermentation of Milk Kefir, will fructose still be left in the Milk Kefir?
Thank you for such a great article.