7 Things I've Learned From Water Kefir Making

It's been three weeks since I started making water kefir. The grains are growing and I can't give them away fast enough. I have a glass of cold fizzy water kefir with dinner every night. Water kefir making is a permenant second day routine for me now.

Here's what I've learned from my experiences.

1) Friends will be intrigued but only a minority will be genuinely interested in making water kefir.

I posted a picture of my water kefir jars and offered grains to my friends on Facebook. I got a lot of comments but only two friends asked for grains. Not many have heard of water kefir. For those who have, it's because they have allergies or food intolerances and they read on the internet that it's good for them.

My sister didn't like the idea of growing bacteria and yeast and drinking it. But then again, she's the type who won't have a steak cooked anything less than well done. A few friends found it too time consuming or too much of a hassle to keep the grains alive when not in use. But for those who have a condition to treat, that's reason enough for them to keep maintaining the grains. And they're not disappointed with the results.

2) You need to eat the grains or give them away if you don't want to waste them.

They grow like crazy. In the English summer they grow up to 30% in one day. I hate wasting them but they consume too much sugar. So if I can't give them away, I'll just eat them with a spoon. They're tasteless so it's like chewing on gelatine chunks. They go well in a smoothie. Or you could eat them Malaysian style with palm sugar and coconut milk.

3) If you ferment more than three days, it will taste alcoholic. 

I don't like to get it to that stage because it no longer tastes healthy to me. It's like drinking a Magners. It could be the taste you're going for in which case the longer the second ferment, the more alcohol the yeasts produce. Just don't forget to burp the bottles everyday or you can have a nasty explosion.  

4) Hands down, your digestion will improve.

I'm going to get TMI here. I'm a first thing in the morning person now. Sometimes after dinner too. My stomach is flatter and bloats less. Can't complain about that! If you have IBS, it worth trying out. Some people say it can cure your symptoms. Just make sure to slowly introduce water kefir daily to ensure your gut can handle the introduction of bacteria. If water kefir doesn't do anything for your allergies, it will surely improve your digestion. 

5) The grains do not like to be refrigerated.

I put my grains to rest when I had too many drinks. I put them in sugary water and kept them in the vegetable crisper. They were only there for three days and they weren't as active as they used to be. They also crumbled into finer grains. It will take a few more rounds of feeding to perk them back up again. 

6) Cheat-cordial makes a delicious and easy flavouring.

This is my favourite tip. Despite recommendations of using organic fruit or freshly squeezed juice in the second fermentation, I cheat. I add cordial. After all, it's mostly sugar and that's what the yeast feeds on. I use a delicious peach and lychee cordial from Five Valleys. You only need to add a tenth of the the volume of kefir and once chilled, it tastes like a gourmet soft drink. It fizzes well and tastes even better with thin slices of lemon.

7) You don't need narrow necked bottles for fizzy drinks. 

It helps but I've made do with recycled passata bottles and Voss water bottles. Anything tall and narrow gives the best fizz but heck, I've even made drinks in jam jars. They still work. The key is that they are airtight so don't bother shelling out for fancy flip top bottles unless you want to when recycled bottles do the job.