Fermented Beverages : Water Kefir

This post contains affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

When Michael and I were dating, he had an incredible friend at work who suffered from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - it was the actual diagnosis, not a joke. He was a germ-a-phob and a major health-nut, but he was a deep thinker. I credit him with a lot of important, good changes in Michael. In this friend’s quest for finding the perfectly balanced diet, he showed up to work one day with a bottle of kombucha in his hand.  

“This stuff is very good for your gut,” he said, “would you like to try some?”  

Michael agreed, grabbed a cup, and watched as his friend poured the clear, bubbling beverage.  As he took a drink, it caught him by surprise - in a way it tasted like lemonade, but had the sensation of soda.  He was so intrigued that for the next couple of weeks, he’d drive to the local health food shop to pick up a bottle of GT’s Original Kombucha. Michael would never drink the last swig from the bottle, though, because it contained the “mother,” a tiny bit of the symbiotic bacteria that ferments the drink (you may also see this in apple cider vinegar). Michael doesn’t handle funky textures very well, so I would drink the rest. 

So, for a while, kombucha was a fancy, expensive drink that we splurged on occasionally. After we were married, and during my second pregnancy, we discovered that the ginger flavored kombucha helped immensely with morning sickness. We were familiar with the concept of fermented beverages, but brewing it at home sounded like an expensive, time-consuming hobby.

About the same time, I was learning a lot about our health. Our first child, Peter, had several severe food allergies. Once I got a handle on how to make food that was safe for him (this is about the time I began grinding our own grain), I began looking into the reason behind allergies and what I could do about it. A lot of research shows a connection between allergies and gut health (one interesting study here).

I’m amazed at all the complicated ways our bodies function: the bacteria in our gut have several important jobs (It’s really interesting! Read about it here). So, our bodies need good bacteria to function - especially in our intestines where the nutrition from our food is absorbed. Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria, can be found in yogurt, fermented foods, and supplements. Buying high quality supplements is an easy way to ensure you are getting enough of probiotcis in your diet, but it was cost prohibitive for our family. I could afford it occasionally (and that was better than nothing!), but I wanted something more consistent. 

I found that fermenting foods was actually very inexpensive - definitely the cheapest way to add probiotics to our diet! I attempted sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), but I was so nervous and uncertain: was this moldy instead of fermented? I was also having flash-backs to when I was forced to eat canned sauerkraut as a child, so I expected it to taste terrible and couldn’t imagine getting my kids to eat it! I threw out the sauerkraut without even tasting it. I still haven’t revisited sauerkraut but I’ve heard that even kids think the homemade stuff is yummy; I plan to try it again someday.

Then, I began to look at fermented drinks instead… I knew I liked kombucha, but the brewing process sounded so overwhelming. I researched other types of drinks and discovered that there are lots of traditional fermented beverages from every culture in the world! I landed on water kefir (there is also milk kefir, but my son was allergic to milk so that wouldn’t work for us) because it sounded simple and quick: it ferments in sugar water for two days.

Kefir is made from kefir grains (not related to cereal grains) - they look like large salt crystals or bits of cooked cauliflower. Each grain is basically a little colony of the good bacteria that eat sugar water. You can read about the specific strains of beneficial bacteria in kefir here  and here. 

My only hesitation in starting to home-brew kefir was that I needed to use non-fluoridated water. The fluoride that is added to city water can kill the good bacteria in kefir grains. That meant buying multiple gallons of water every week but I preferred to not have another cost added to our grocery budget. I had already been talking with Michael about purchasing a water filter because I wanted better water for drinking and cooking. I specifically wanted a Berkey because it removes fluoride, viruses, and other pathogens, but leaves the healthy minerals in the water. Using it for home-brewing was another reason to get one! We finally committed to it a few weeks after the Middles were born. We originally purchased two swing-top bottles from Ikea for bottling, but have since replaced them with these higher quality bottles which hold the fizziness better. Then we bought our kefir grains from Cultures for Health. They include precise directions for rehydrating your grains and caring for them.

Supplies and Ingredients
¼ cup kefir grains
Filtered water
¼ cup cane sugar
Quart size mason jar
Square of muslin or a coffee filter
Rubber band that fits around the top of the jar
Mesh strainer
Funnel
Swing-top bottles
Optional: fruit or juice to add flavor when bottling 

Basics of Fermenting Kefir

Dissolve the cane sugar into about four cups of water - enough to fill a quart size mason jar with room for the grains. I heat the water slightly on the stove. Hot water can kill the grains, so if you forgot the stove was on and accidentally boiled it (this never happens to me… haha), be sure to let it cool to around 85 degrees before adding it to the grains. Place the grains in the mason jar and pour in the sugar water. Wipe the top of the jar so it isn't sticky or wet and cover it with the muslin or coffee filter and rubber band. 

Let the covered jar sit on your counter/pantry for a couple days. If you have other fermenting foods around (like kombucha, sourdough, sauerkraut) they need to be in separate places. Through the fermenting magic, their microorganisms can contaminate each other and end up yucky (not the technical term!). It hasn’t happened to me yet, so I can’t speak from experience, but I don’t want to try it.

After a couple days, remove the muslin/coffee filter and pour the liquid through a mesh strainer into the swing-top bottles. Leave some space to add fruit or juice for flavoring. Although I sometimes add diced cherries from our tree, I don’t usually do anything fancy with this step. I keep bottles of lemon and lime juice concentrate in my fridge and add a few splashes of each (probably about a tablespoon of lime juice and a quarter cup of lemon juice). Close the tops and let them ferment for a couple more days. Make more sugar water solution and add it to the grains in the mason jar; cover and let ferment.

A Few Notes

To keep track of when your kefir is ready, try using a dry erase marker on the side of the jar to write the date - this helps me be a lot more consistent about feeding my grains.

But, confession: I’m still not very consistent about feeding my kefir grains. I regularly let them ferment for three days, and four or five isn’t unheard of… So, when I start feeling like they need some extra loving, I stir in about a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses for a boost of minerals. It makes the water darker and adds more flavor to the beverage. If you are consistent in feeding the grains, they’ll start to multiply! A quart of kefir doesn’t go far with my family of eight, so I faithfully fed my grains until I had enough to move them to a larger container. Now, we brew a half gallon at a time.

If you decide to make a half gallon of kefir, I have the most amazing pitcher to recommend! I don’t use a mason jar/rubberband/coffeefilter anymore because this cute little pitcher has a fine mesh sieve that keeps out bugs during fermenting but holds in the grains when I pour off the liquid.

I am grateful to have a sweet drink for my family that I feel good about giving them. Comment below if you might consider making kefir for your family!