Water Kefir - My Basic Recipe

First Ferment

4 cups of structured, Prill water or living water (or filtered water)
1/4 cup of organic evaporated cane sugar
10 organic raisins or so

1.5 tbsp. hydrated water Kefir Grains

In a mason or fido jar, combine sugar and water and stir with a non metal spoon to dissolve sugar partially . It doesn’t have to be dissolved all the way, the kefir grains will do the rest.

Add the kefir grains and raisins.

Tighten lid on the jar and let the water kefir grains do their thing for 24 to 48 hours.


Note: Don't let the grains ferment for longer than 48 hrs (first ferment.) It won't kill them if you do, but experience has shown that they will stop growing and multiplying.

*{I started out using jars with an airlock lid as my means of making the initial ferment for water kefir, but for the last year or so, I much preferred fermenting in a large fido jar. Fidos off-gas by themselves, so no need for burping or fear of explosions, and we get very fizzy second ferments just that bit faster!}*

There is a great debate going on about aerobic and anaerobic fermentation and which one is better and there are many myths surrounding all the different methods of fermentation. I suggest you try it yourself and find out what works for you.

When all the raisins are at the top and are staying at the top or coming right back up when you move the jar, your kefir is ready. Currently that is 24 hours for me, but my kitchen is usually pretty warm during the summer, even in an air conditioned house. It can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.

Remove the raisins and strain out the water kefir grains.

Rinse the kefir grains for our next batch. (Personally, I always rinse them. It keeps the "yeastiness" down a bit. However, other people recommend not rinsing them. Find out for yourself which way you prefer!)

From here, you can either drink the kefir as is, or you go on to a second ferment, which will allow you to add flavorings.

At this point, your flavor options are pretty much endless. You can add (fresh or dried) fruits, juices, syrups, flavor extracts, herbal teas and anything else you can think of!

One of our basic flavorings but also a favorite, is to make grape soda.

I add about half a cup of organic grape juice to the strained water kefir and decant into flip-top bottles. Then I let them sit out on the counter for another day at room temperature, before refrigerating. The result is a delightful and very fizzy grape soda!

All manner of juices work, even though we’ve found that anything citrusy can make little stringy inclusions (they taste fine, but some people aren't font of the "look") and that anything that also contains apples always tastes more like cidery fermented than anything else.

But do your own experimenting and see what you can come up with!

Or you could go on to make:

Probiotic Cola Soda

Probiotic Root Beer

Probiotic Ginger Ale