Water Kefir Questions

[Pat Robinson]

Have questions about making water kefir? Feel free to post here for assistance.

Water Kefir
Ingredients / Utensils
8-cup glass jar. I use a Mason jar.
Plastic sieve or colander.

¼ cup+ water kefir grains
2-3 unsulphured dates (or other dried fruit: prunes, apricots, raisins)
1/2 organic lemon (or peeled if not organic)
1/3-1/2 cup sugar- brown, raw, white or Rapadura etc.
1 tsp of unsulfured black strap molasses (for minerals).
fill jar 2/3 with fresh water, preferably spring water or well water. ***MUST be non-chlorinated water!! No tap water.

Store covered in the cupboard at room temperature for 24-72 hours.
Strain the grains from the liquid kefir, and repeat above.
Store the liquid kefir in the refrigerator until use. Use within a week or so. Start with small quantities of 1 tablespoon, gradually increasing (or decreasing) depending upon tolerance

The water kefir grains will reproduce rapidly! Share the extra with friends and neighbors for improved health.

Water Kefir photos and instructions: http://www.weim.net/homeovet/Docs/water%20kefir.pdf

Instructions: http://nourishedkitchen.com/water-kefir/

Making Water Kefir (on YouTube): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntei6_CEZNo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-t9C7PoBRc (not necessary to rinse grains)

Ordering more culture starters: http://www.culturesforhealth.com/splash.php

The King of Kefir: http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/Makekefir.html#Kefir-d-acqua


Please share extra cultures here: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/group/sharingstartercultures


Thanks!


Pat

[Jamie]

Laurie Neverman said:

How much kefir is safe to drink? What about flavoring the kefir in a secondary brew, or adding fruit juice to make "kefir soda"?

I tend to do a second ferment for flavor and it comes out great. I have done Elderberry juice, and then straight herbs. After straining the grains, I add what flavoring I want be it juice or herbs, cover and let it sit another day or two. It is really yummy.

[Sam Eddy]

my water kefir just died

[Pat Robinson]

Sam, it is about impossible to kill kefir grains unless it is heated or given chlorinated water. What happened?

Just rinse and refresh with 2-3 batches and it'll probably revive just fine!

Pat

[Sam Eddy]

The water I used was out of my britta filter,, must have still been chlorinated even tho it sat for days..
the kefir did fine for days with a quart of water and a tblsp of honey. it sat on my countertop and I drank out of it and it was alive. not is is dead, the grains have dissolved, I feel awful for killing them.

[Penny Wade]

Sam Eddy said:

The water I used was out of my britta filter,, must have still been chlorinated even tho it sat for days..
the kefir did fine for days with a quart of water and a tblsp of honey. it sat on my countertop and I drank out of it and it was alive. not is is dead, the grains have dissolved, I feel awful for killing them.

Sam, I've read that you shouldn't use honey because it is antibacterial and alters the balance of the grains.

[Kelly G]

i'm having trouble with my water kefir. maybe someone can trouble shoot with me. i'm following the same process i've always followed, but i've just moved to okinawa, japan and there have been some adjustments.

i had to keep the kefir in a plastic bottle for 2 weeks while we moved which i normally keep in glass.

i had to feed the kefir apple juice for 1 week after we got here because we didn't have a car or kitchen.

i've purchased something that is similar to sucanant, but i can't read it to know what it actually is.

then i purchased maple syrup to try and increase vitamins.

i use tap water, but leave it out for 24 hours (as i did back in the states with no problem) to let the chlorine off.

i've added a splash of fresh lemon juice a few times to try and help it as well.

it looks like my kefir grains are breaking apart and shrinking. they are darker than they've ever been. they are fermenting, but the taste is not like what it used to be and i can't get them to multiply. i'd love to start giving some away again... and i don't like the idea of shipping during the summer over here.

any suggestions or ideas of what might be going on? 

thank you. -kel

[Pat Robinson]

They should be fine. The storage in plastic was fine. The sugars are fine. The tap water sitting out is fine. The apple juice is fine.

The only thing is if they were in juice for a whole week, without refreshing the juice they may have pickled. High sugar content at room temperature would make them ferment very fast and the excess sugar turns to alcohol. The grains can "pickle" in alcohol.

Generally, making three batches back to back in sugar water at room temperature, brewing for 72 hours each, works to revive them. However, there is a mystery to grain size. Several of my friends locally all use the same grains (we have shared the grains among us) and some have HUGE grains (like grape-sized!) and some of us have pea-sized grains and some have "sand" type grains. We all use the same brewing process, sugars, water, lemon, etc. It is a mystery!

All of our grains reproduce and ferment fine, they just are the size that they are, lol. Another friend took her grains with her to Florida and her grains became LARGE. Total mystery. She didn't DO anything differently, even used the same bottled water.

:-)


Pat

[Kelly G]

ooh! how interesting! i wonder if i did end up pickling them? 

thanks for sharing about the sizes of grains among your friends. that is really interesting.

thank you for putting my mind at ease! i was feeling really sad that i had damaged my babies. i'll to the 72 hour x 3 batches and see if they look happier.

i really appreciate what you do here pat.

[Pat Robinson]

Dom the kefir king says to add an 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. I've tried a pinch of sea salt occasionally. And a teaspoon of molasses provides minerals. Figs or dates or another unsulfured dried fruit adds minerals and vitamins also. But, kefir grains are hardy!

I love kefir trouble-shooting! :-D

Pat

[Aischa Ibnouzahir]

Is water kefir normally more yeasty than kombucha? This is my second time trying out water kefir, and the yeasty-ness is bothering me--taste wise. These are new grains, re-hydrated, on their third cycle. Will it evolve or is this water water Kefir is?

Thanks.

[Pat Robinson]

Hmmm... if I let the water kefir sit longer 72+ hours), it seems a bit more yeasty. I've only used fresh grains, not dehydrated grains. Have you added anything for flavor? Maybe some lemon, molasses or dates?

Pat

[isis]

I put my grains into "hibernation" because I did not have a slice of lemon.
Now I brought them back out and put them into fresh sugar water. Is the water that it was hibernating in  useful at all?