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29

Jun

2010

Raw Food Recipes: How To Make Water Kefir

Saved in:-   Raw Food Diet Video,Raw Food Recipes



Coconut kefir is one of my favourite drinks. I always notice a feeling of well-being after drinking a glass and then a couple of days of drinking it I notice a difference in my hair and skin.

In this video I’ll show you how to start with a very small amount of water kefir grains and grow them into a larger amount do you’ll never need to buy them again.

I’ll also then show you how to make kefir from coconut water.

One thing I need to mention is that the fermentation should be done at room temperature, then when you have a finished drink you should store it in the refrigerator.

http://youtu.be/d-WGJG4A1mg

Water kefir grains cannot be grown from scratch they have to come from a donor. The good news is that you only need a very small amount to start growing them from that first batch.

Here are the instructions for growing kefir, we use maple syrup because it has a high amount of sugar for the grains to feed on.

Growing kefir grains

2 – 3 tablespoons water kefir grains
1 quart pure water
1/4 cup maple syrup

- Place all ingredients in a glass jar and seal.

- Allow to stand at room temperature for up to 48 hours.

- Strain the liquid and reserve the grains.

- The resulting water can be drunk as is or added to smoothies for an extra boost of probiotics.

- You should notice a small increase in the volume of the kefir grains that came out.

- Repeat this process until you have enough grains to keep this process going and also make coconut kefir.

Young coconut water doesn’t have enough sugar to actually make the kefir grains grow very fast, but it does have enough sugar to make the coconut water ferment into kefir.

When you team up the previous process of growing the grains with the next instructions on how to make the actual kefir, you should be able to provide your daily kefir requirements on a ongoing basis.

For coconut kefir

1/4 cup kefir grains
1 quart young coconut water

- Combine the water kefir grains and the coconut water in a jar.

- Allow to stand for up to 48 hours at room temperature. You can check every 12 hours to make sure the fermentation isn’t going to far. You’ll know if it’s strong enough by taste testing (the longer you leave the more pungent and sour it gets). After you’ve made a few batches you’ll get a feel of how you prefer it. The rule of thumb is that the more grains you have in the water, the less time it will need to develop. Warmer room temperature will also result in quicker fermentation.

- Strain the coconut water kefir from the kefir grains, reserve the grains for another batch or to grow more. Set the coconut water kefir aside for a second stage fermentation.

Second Stage Fermentation

Coconut kefir
1/2 to 1 cup juice of your choice

- Combine the coconut kefir and juice in a jar.

- Leave to stand at room temperature for 48 hours. This will cause a second stage fermentation where the kefir will break down the sugars in the juice and go fizzy.

- If your kefir is already quite fizzy or you just like the taste of the kefir with the juice without actually fermenting for that second stage, then you can simply add the juice and put in straight in the refrigerator which will slow the fermentation down.

For more information take a look at the my other Raw Food Recipes.

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  • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

    I've never used freeze dried grains before, but I'd lean towards saying they're not as good as fresh.

    The fact that it's not fizzy might be another issue though, it might just be you didn't leave it to ferment for long enough for the amount of grains you have, or that you didn't add enough fruit juice in the second stage to have enough sugar to make it fizzy.

    play around with the length of time you leave it culturing and adding a little more fuit juice in the second stage.

    It's all just an experiment – enjoy that process :)

  • Cathy Natoli

    Hi Russell, do you also use kombucha? If so can you share your recipe? Do you think one is better than the other? cheers cathy

  • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

    I actually like them both but I don't make my own kombucha as yet.

  • marlenedepierre

    Thank you for this informative video. Could you let me know where I could obtain the grain?

  • http://twitter.com/tokyovegan William Santoro

    Hi, Russell.
    Is kefir water related to rejuvelac?
    I've just made rejuvelac from quinoa in order to use in cashew cheese.
    Do you know whether I can keep the quinoa alive by using maple syrup in the water, or do I need to discard them after one use?
    Thanks,
    William

  • Louisekeating

    Hi Russell,

    Thanks for this great blog (-:

    I'm wondering how long you can keep your young coconut kefir after it's fermented and you've taken the water grains out? I have mine in the fridge. I am just starting with kefir and only able to deal with a tablespoon a day so far. Will I still be able to use the kefir in 5 or 6 days time or will I need to throw it out and start a new batch. Does it go off?

    Thanks,

    Louise (-:

  • http://www.therawchef.com Russell James Raw Food

    I've kept it for up to 4 weeks before in the fridge and it's been great still.

  • Louisekeating

    That's great. I was afraid I'd have to throw it out. It's hard not to drink the whole thing though, it's so good!!

    I just discovered your lasagne too and I can't wait to try it out.

    Thanks Russell,

    Louise (-:

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