Try It Tuesday : Water Kefir (kefir soda)
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Last week I mentioned that I was trying out the water kefir grains that Cultures for Health sent me. It’s been over a week since I rehydrated my grains and we just love it!
What is water kefir?
It’s kind of like a soft gelatinous mass containing bacteria and yeasts. Water kefir is much like milk kefir except it’s accustomed to culturing in water instead of milk. They look a bit different too. Instead if looking like little cauliflowers, they look more like clear little smooshy crystals. But the nutritional value is much the same. Not only is it a probiotic (yup – just like yogurt!), it’s full of some great vitamins and nutrients.
How to make water kefir:
(I just use a quart sized mason jar and a plastic lid resting on top)
- Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar (use organic as the chemicals in conventional can hurt the grains) in half a quart of hot water.
- Once dissolved add just less than another half quart of water. And leave an inch of space at the top of the container.
- Take about 3 Tbsp of kefir grains and place them in a quart of the sugar water solution.
- Place it out on the counter or in a cupboard covered with a cloth tied on with a rubberband.
- Let culture, or sit out, for 24-48 hours.
- Strain kefir grains out and place them in a new sugar water solution and pour the kefir water into a clean jar.
- Now you can either flavor the kefir water by putting some fresh fruit in it and letting it culture for another 24 hours, or you can drink as is. (some folks even add in a washed egg shell for added calium but I have yet to try that)
Trying it out
After I rehydrated them for a few days they grew quite a bit! I then made my first batch.(see the grains at the bottom?)
A few batches later I decided to try flavoring it. One w/ blueberries and one with strawberries.
The verdict
I’m now hooked on this stuff! Seriously. It makes a slightly carbonated, slightly sweet beverage and I think it tastes sooo good! My husband thinks it tastes to ferment-y, but honestly I don’t notice it that much. My son even loves our new ’soda’ and asks for it all the time. And this is one type of soda I’ll let him have!!
I’ve tried flavoring it multiple ways now and my favorites are blueberry (makes such a pretty color!) and lemon (tastes like lemonade!). The grains have also been producing like crazy and I now have enough to make almost a gallon a day if I wish.
It’s super easy to make and takes almost no time at all. Plus, it’s really refreshing on a nice hot day to have a fizzy drink. And if you’re stuck on real soda and need a substitute to break your habit, this is the stuff to try! Becasue soda is so very very bad for you. Like really bad. Think high fructose corn syrup and fake sugars. Kefir soda is a nice healthy alternative!
And one of you fabulous people will get a chance to try it out yourself as Cultures for Health has so graciously giving away some water kefir grains to one of you! (Giveaway now closed!)
This post is also linked to:
Real Food Wednesday
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I'm an RSS subscriber!
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I subscribe via Google Reader, and I would love to try kefir water as an alternative to soda!
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I subscribe with Bloglines.
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I subscribe with Google Reader.
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I have never heard of such a thing. Would love to try it. Signed up at the site.
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You're in my google reader.
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I tweeted! http://twitter.com/AmysFinerThings/status/2638392475
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I subscribe via Google Reader. This sounds awesome.
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I subscribe!!
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Tweeted!
http://twitter.com/livinglocalnh
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I subscribe with google reader!
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Tweeted! MrsVaelek
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(Google Reader Subscriber) I have a friend who does kiefer's in milk but I've never heard of doing it with water- What a great store I am off to spend some time checking it out- Thanks for the extra entry
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Hi, was wondering….do the keifer grains eat the sugar so there isn't any left in the finished product?? I know it works that way with Kombucha tea so was just curious.:-) Thanks a bunch!
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Yup – after 48 hours only 20% of the sugar should be left.
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subscribed
I've heard SO much good stuff about Kefir water…. I'd love to try this!
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I signed up for the Cultures for Health contest.
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I am a subscriber through Google.
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Hi! I wanted to share how to make kefir soda with my family and put a link on my blog… let me know if that's not ok!
Thanks!
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stumbled it
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I’ve never even had kefir before, but this sounds really interesting. Can you tell me what you do with all the grains that are ‘multiplying’? Do they go bad if you don’t use them ASAP? Have you discovered more flavors that you enjoy? Many thanks!
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donielle Reply:
January 15th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
@stampmonkey, The grains are actually living colonies of natural bacteria, so they don’t really go bad. If you stop feeding them sugar, they’ll die though. If you don’t want to use them for a bit or have to many for one jar, just pop them in the fridge with some sugar water and feed them a bit of extra sugar once a week or so.
And right now I’m enjoying mixing it 3:1 with our homemade grape juice. It makes a nice sparkly drink!
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I am dairy intolerant (even the raw stuff, bummer) and always looking for non-dairy sources of probiotics – thankfully, there are lots of them! But I am particularly interested in water kefir – thanks for the easy how to. Cultures for Health is so cool, I must order. Thanks, look forward to following your blog in the future! Kim – http://www.affairsofliving.com
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I can’t have diary and am looking for new probiotic sources. I am going to try it as soon as I can get my hands on some water kefir grains!
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