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29

Jun

2010

Raw Food Recipes: How To Make Water Kefir

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


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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.

 

 

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.

 

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  • Fran

    You forgot to stress that you can only use stainless steel or a nylon mesh strainer to strain the Kefir grains as other metals can kill it.

  • http://www.pranawellness.com Deborah

    I read you are NOT supposed to use or let the grains come into contact with any metal….like the spoon you are using in the video :o(

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

    The spoon I used in the video, as most kitchen utensils are, is stainless steel.

    The only metals that are not supposed to touch kefir grains are reactive metals such as iron, brass, copper, aluminium or zinc.

    Hope that helps :)

  • Cleo

    Is there anything else you can do with the left over kefir grains that were strained?

  • Sara

    After you've used the grains to make coconut water kefir, can you reuse them? If so, how many times?

  • Nanycampbell

    Very cool, however I would like to know, I have goats milk kefir grains, can I make them into water grains??
    I'm so new to this process, so forgive my ignorance…. if that's what it is……..Marilyn

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

    Hi Nancy,

    Milk kefir grains are different to water kefir grains.

    I'm not sure where you are in the world but you can search online for water kefir grains or get them from http://www.waterkefirgrains.com

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

    Yes, you can reuse them as many times as you need to. If you have excess grains keep them in the refrigerator. If you're reusing grains I would advise to cycle using the current ones with using ones that are in your refrigerator.

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

    Use them again! :)

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

    Thanks, Fran.

  • JackieV

    Wonderful! Can't wait to try it. How though, do you store the kefir grains until the next time?

  • Michou

    Sounds yummy Russell. Could I use water kefir grains with my favorite nut milk? No young coconuts here, but plenty of hazelnuts and… maple syrup ♥

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

    You just need a liquid with sugar in so water and maple syrup works. Nut milk isn't going to come out well, I would guess, it if it ferments it's probably going to go 'off'.

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

    Just keep them in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

  • AprilEriel

    Thanks so much for this Russell!

    Do you know if the extra kefir grains stay alive indefinitely? Do you need to feed them more maple syrup? How would you know if they were no longer alive?

    I'm excited to try it :)

  • Julie

    Hi Russell,
    Do you know of any way to get these to Canada?

  • Maslin2

    I live in Israel. There are no young coconuts available here. Can I use regular coconut water?
    Thanks!

  • Linda

    Hi Russell
    Do you know where I can get Water Kefir Grains in the uk?
    Many Thanks
    Linda

  • Jkoukis

    Hi Russell. My mother has been making kefir for a while and has an interesting method. She puts a dried fig in at the beginning. When the fig floats, this apparently tells you that the kefir has fermented. Thanks for the recipes above.

  • Joanne

    Also, can you use dr. martins coco water instead of fresh?

  • Michou

    Yickes! good thing I checked back with you this morning… Thank you!
    Next spring I'll try fresh maple water kefir.

  • Cylkev

    This post is FANTASTIC timing (recently got my kefir grains and also have some young coconut water to hand) Thank you so much!

    For kefir starter in the UK:

    http://www.red23.co.uk/advanced_search_result.p…

    Charlotte

  • Emanuela.

    I found this article a bit confusing, though I have used standard kefir grains before.

    Second stage fermentation – wonder why it's called that?

  • Lucy

    This is wonderful timing for me ! I tried making this with water kefir grains a few weeks ago and failed miserably. As soon as I get my grains, I will try again. Thanks Russell ! You're awesome for sharing so generously.

    By the way, I purchase my grains from http://www.kefirlady.com. She's really nice.

    Lucy
    Canada

    P.S. Sorry to digress, but just a thought…. I would love to take your home study course but can't afford the price…. perhaps if you were to segment the course and sell it by modules without having to commit to the whole package then it would make it so much more affordable and flexible.

  • marykalima

    THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT VIDEOS . I LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING THEM AND LEARNING SOMETHING NEW. THANKS BLESSINGS MARY RILEY

  • Mamoo

    Hi Russell,

    I love your recipes and your ebooks and hope to get more soon including your new one coming out.

    Other than making a drink are there other recipes that would use the kefir drinks. Also, my husband will not eat or drink coconut. I was wondering how much coconut flavor is in the drink? Is there another liquid that will work well?

    Thanks for all your wonderful recipes!

    Mamoo

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

    Kefir is best served just as a drink and on an empty stomach. The young coconuts don't have that distinctive coconut flavour you may be referring to, and it will be even less distinctive once made into kefir.

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

    Thanks!

    Be sure not to follow the instructions in that pack though as it tells you to heat the grains.

    They are also dry grains which I've never used before so it'll be interesting to see how you get on with them.

  • http://girlonraw.com/ GirlonRaw

    Hey Russell, what exactly is kefir? Thanks :) The grains I mean? Where do they originate from?

  • Alice

    Thank you for doing this, I am so excited to make my own kefir!

  • Lesley

    Thanks Russell. How much kefir should you consume in one day and in one week – is it something that you would drink a quart of daily

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

    I would start with a small glass in the morning on an empty stomach and then maybe another small glass in the evening.

    A quart would be too much for most people. It has quite a strong effect in 'clearing out', if you know what I mean, so drink just a small amount, at least to start with, and you'll feel the benefit.

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

    No one really knows where they originated from, all we know os that they're natural and not man made. They were first used in the mountains of the USSR by the people wanting to preserve their milk.

    You can't grow them unless you have some other kefir grains to start them with.

  • Alice

    You did not tell us were to get the donor grains.

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

    You can search online for water kefir grains, or buy them from:

    http://www.waterkefirgrains.com

  • Ljs7wave

    Hi Russell:
    I noticed you used a metal strainer to strain out your water kefir grains . . . I was told that that will kill your kefir grains . . . is this true?
    I've just received mine in the mail and can't wait to try it!!
    Thanks so much,
    LJ

  • LJ

    Oh, for all interested; I received my water kefir grains from http://fotvn.com.
    Smiles,
    LJ

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

    As long as you don't use a reactive metal like iron, aluminium, copper or brass (!) they will be fine – stainless steel doesn't react with them. I use a metal strainer and have healthy growing kefir grains :)

    If in doubt just use a plastic strainer.

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

    Thanks, LJ.

  • LJ

    Thank you Russell . . . for all that you do!!
    Smiles,
    LJ

  • healthyrecipes

    I'm in the same situation here in New Zealand, I'd like to know the same. Can we use regular (mature) coconut water instead?

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

    I would think mature brown coconut water would work as it's still quite sweet. the kefir grains need sugar to make the liquid into kefir.

  • LJ

    Russell:
    I'm out of town for a bit so how do we store our grains if not in use. Keep them in a glass container in the refrigerator or in the cabinet . . . in water or no?
    Thanks so much!!
    Smiles,
    LJ

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

    In the fridge in a glass container and not in water.

  • Darjux

    Hi!
    Wikipedia in Italian says that you can adapt milk kefir grains in 2-3 days (by using water and sugar) into water kefir grains, and in the process they should become transparent…
    Anyways, Wikipedia reveals another fact… that the kefir is slightly ALCOHOLIC, and we all know that alcohol is no good for you. Is there anything we can do to free it from alcohol?
    Thank you!

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

    Kefir is less than 0.5% alcoholic, which is a negligible amount. It's also not a distilled and processed alcohol or another type of alcohol like larger so doesn't have those risks associated with it..you'll never get drunk on it!

  • Kimethamk

    Can you reuse the kefer grains that you strain out of the water mixture?
    thank you,
    so excited to buy them as my store sells a quart jar for 12.99 :)

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

    You can reuse them indefinitely, yes.

  • AprilEriel

    Russell, I could just squish you!! I've had “figure out how to make kefir” on my to-do list for months, I wasn't sure how to get started so I keep putting it off. I'm on my 5th batch right now! I ordered the grains on ebay ($6), and they're really multiplying! They're almost like pets, it's like sea monkeys lol. Thank you thank you thank you! My baby girl LOVES it too :D

  • LJ

    Russell, I've made 5 or 6 drinks so far, but they are not fizzy . . . does that mean my grains are not alive? They came to me freeze dried, does that matter?
    Smiles,
    LJ

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