water kefir (my weekend project)

I've been really busy drinking up all the Kefir that my little miniture Lava lamps, as I call them, have been producing.  Considering how much I have as my bounty I've actually been saving my not buying any other probiotic type drinks.  Trust me, those commerical Kombucha and other drinks that sit on the shelves next to it at  your WholeFoods Market just won't taste the same after you've made  your own.  I also love my home brewed Kombucha and Rejuvelac (sipping on a glass right now.)  They don't have such high yields, which is good becauce I need a third refrigerator to store everything, and they really do offer a different taste.  I also think it is good to switch up drinks, just like switching up your greens.  They benefits of which, you get your fuller range of the good little bacteria and you don't feel you're drinking the same thing.  I would really suggest trying these types of beverages as an alternative to powders and or other means of getting your good digetive track blooming. 

Health Benefits of Water Kefir
The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive track. Probiotics refers to the healthy bacteria that usually feeds on the “bad” unhealthy bacteria in our stomach and intestines. Bacterial overgrowth can lead to many illnesses some of which include fungi, yeast infections, indigestion, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, skin disorders, etc. By drinking water kefir you will bring balance to your internal microflora. Many people take a probiotic supplement daily for this particular reason but I prefer to drink the water kefir. It’s much tastier and more affordable in the long run.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a leading expert in the raw food community, writes in his book “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine“:
“Kefir grains produce right-rotating L(+) lactic acid, which is an important constituent of the human body. It is particularly important in the prevention of cancer and has been used experimentally with success in the treatment of cancer. In addition, right-rotating lactic acid may help maintaining healthy functioning of the heart. According to some researchers, the cells of the heart muscle obtain their energy primarily from right-rotating lactic acid.”
Another health advantage of water kefir is that people who do not wish to consume dairy or have a vegan type diet may find that water kefir provides the living probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha.Vegans also may like to know that through the fermentation process kefir becomes an excellent source of vitamin B12, and is high in vitamins B1 and B6.
Diabetics, in particular, could greatly benefit from drinking kefir. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks. In that sense, anyone from children to adults can enjoy water kefir guilt-free.
How to Make Water Kefir
Making water kefir is super easy and fun.

Tools Required:

• Plastic strainer
• Plastic measuring spoons
• Wooden spoon
• Measuring cup, quart size best
• 8-cup (1/2 gallon) Ball Mason jar or 4-cup (32oz quart size)

Notes: it’s very important that you NEVER use any metal utensils or tools when handling living cultures such as kefir grains. They don’t like metal and may be adversely affected if exposed to it.
Ingredients needed:

• Filtered or spring water
• Water kefir grains
• Organic cane sugar or
• Sucanat, raw sugar or coconut palm sugar
• Unsweetened, unsulfured dried fruit (apricots, figs or raisins)
• Organic lemon (optional)
• Ginger, fresh (optional)

Notes: never use tap water because it contains chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride. (If this is the only water available to you, boil it with the cover off to help evaporate the chlorine and fluoride and let it cool.) They will kill the grains. Make sure the dried fruit doesn’t have any sulfur dioxide added to it. Many conventional brands add this chemical to keep the dried fruit looking bright and fresh.
Basic water kefir formula:

Recipe is for quart size jar if using 1/2 gallong just double

• Quart of water
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 3 Tbsp. of kefir grains
• Few pieces of dried fruit
• Optional lemon, 1" slice
• Optional ginger, 1" coin size, peeled

I usually boil up one cup of water and pour it into a quart size mason jar.  Add the sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until dissolved.  Then add the remain 3 cups of water (which should be room temperature so as not to kill the grains.)  I then place the dried fruit into the jar (hint: larger fruit like the fig or apricot is easier to fish out after brewing) and the optional lemon and ginger.  The lemon and ginger make it more sparkley so if you want something to be more mild leave this out.  The lemon and ginger add that fizz that you get from those commerical type of kombucha.  Cover it, I use a coffe filter and rubber band, and set it out of direct sunlight.  I like to cover mine with a towel so it gets a little extra darkness and warmth (good for those little grains to go napping!)  Then wait 24-48 hours (or if you get busy - up to 5 days is okay as well).

Drain the liquid through the sieve, which should not be metal) and pull out the dried fruit, ginger and lemon is used.  Pour the new brew of water kefit into a bottle and refrigerate.  If you leave it outside the refrigerator it will keep fermenting and you might find it over flowing and leaking. 

Start the process all over again.  I don't traditionally wash my kefir grains in between batches, but if you want to, don't use tap water.  Use your spring water.  I have also use a little of the old brew to help with the starting of the new batch.  This is similar to what I do with my rejuvelac and kombucha.


Remember that each type of dried fruit you add will change the taste and color slightly but these are good variations to keep in mind.  My favorite is the apricot and figs.  I've used black mulberries and that was tasty too.  I wasn't too excited about the goji berries...they made it taste a little sour to me but you should experiment and see for yourself.  Enjoy.

                           
Health Benefits of Water Kefir
The health benefits of consuming water kefir are endless. They are a natural supplier of probiotics to our digestive track. Probiotics refers to the healthy bacteria that usually feeds on the “bad” unhealthy bacteria in our stomach and intestines. Bacterial overgrowth can lead to many illnesses some of which include fungi, yeast infections, indigestion, obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, skin disorders, etc. By drinking water kefir you will bring balance to your internal microflora. Many people take a probiotic supplement daily for this particular reason but I prefer to drink the water kefir. It’s much tastier and more affordable in the long run.
Dr. Gabriel Cousens, a leading expert in the raw food community, writes in his book “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine“:
“Kefir grains produce right-rotating L(+) lactic acid, which is an important constituent of the human body. It is particularly important in the prevention of cancer and has been used experimentally with success in the treatment of cancer. In addition, right-rotating lactic acid may help maintaining healthy functioning of the heart. According to some researchers, the cells of the heart muscle obtain their energy primarily from right-rotating lactic acid.”
Another health advantage of water kefir is that people who do not wish to consume dairy or have a vegan type diet may find that water kefir provides the living probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha.Vegans also may like to know that through the fermentation process kefir becomes an excellent source of vitamin B12, and is high in vitamins B1 and B6.
Diabetics, in particular, could greatly benefit from drinking kefir. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks. In that sense, anyone from children to adults can enjoy water kefir guilt-free.

Additional background information on Kefir (Tibicos):

Tibicos, also known as tibi, water kefir grains, sugar kefir grains, Japanese water crystals and California Bees, and in older literature also known as Bébées, African bees, Ale nuts, Australian bees, Balm of Gilead, Beer seeds, Beer plant, Bees, Ginger Beer plant, Ginger bees, Japanese Beer seeds and Vinegar bees^[1] are a culture of bacteria and yeast held in a polysaccharide matrix created by the bacteria. As with kefir grains, the microbes present in tibicos act in symbiosis to maintain a stable culture. Tibicos can do this in many different sugary liquids, feeding off the sugar to produce lactic acid, alcohol (ethanol), and carbon dioxide gas which carbonates the drink.
Tibicos are found around the world, with no two cultures being exactly the same. Typical tibicos have a mix of Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc bacteria with yeasts from Saccharomyces, Candida, Kloeckera and possibly others. Lactobacillus brevis has been identified as the species responsible for the production of the polysaccharide (dextran) that forms the grains.^[2][3] Pidoux (1989)^[3] also identifies the sugary kefir grain with the ginger beer plant. There are certainly opportunistic bacteria taking advantage of this stable symbiotic relation which might be the reason for the many different names/distinction in the scientific literature. Different ingredients/hygienic conditions might also change the fungal and bacteriological composition leading to the different names. This has to be established by further research, however.
People who do not wish to consume dairy products may find that water kefir provides probiotics without the need for dairy or tea cultured products, like kombucha. Since the finished product, if bottled, will produce a carbonated beverage, it provides an alternative to sweet soda drinks for children and adults.
 

So I hope you drink to your health with some delicious water kefir.