Easy Probiotic Water Kefir Recipe

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Water kefir is a healthy fermented drink that tastes a bit like fruity sparkling water or a less-sweet version of lemonade. It's similar to kombucha, but without the caffeine. Because it can contain up to 40 different healthy bacteria strains it supports a healthy and diverse microbiome, clear skin, and overall health.

It's super easy to make and you can flavour it any way you like. Think pineapple, apple and ginger, plum, pear, grape, blueberry, .... It's also dairy and gluten-free.

I find probiotic foods (especially water kefir) so fascinating! I love how the grains grow over time (sometimes they double just from making one batch of kefir!) and I can see that they’re alive! 

Here is a simple recipe I use to make a batch of water kefir about once a week. Don’t worry if it sounds complex at first. After your first batch it will seem simple and you’ll quickly get the hang of it.

It’s not an exact science, and water kefir grains seem very forgiving. If you don’t get the measurements exactly right, it likely won’t be a big deal.

You also don’t need to sterilise your jars, although you want to practise good general hygiene and cleanliness of course!

INGREDIENTS

½ cup (about 3-4 tbsp) water kefir grains

8 cups filtered tap water

½ cup sugar (I use a mix of half raw sugar and half cane sugar)

¼ tsp molasses (optional)

⅛-¼ tsp baking soda (optional, but I like to add it as an additional step to prevent Kahm yeast)

2 lemon wedges

2 dried dates or prunes (or other dried fruit)

+

Fresh fruit or fruit juice

You’ll also need 2-4 big jars (I use these Kmart ones, or reuse old jars), and a thin kitchen/cleaning cloth or cheesecloth (I use some basic cleaning cloths like these).

DIRECTIONS

Step One:

1. Fill two of your jars with 4 cups of water each.

2. Optional: You can also add ¼ cup kefir water to each jar or use some of the sugar water that you keep your kefir grains in

3. Add ¼ cup sugar and ¼ tsp molasses to each jar, stir gently to mostly dissolve

4. Add ⅛-¼ tsp baking soda to each jar

5. Add ¼ cup (about 1.5-2 tbsp) water kefir grains to each jar

6. Add a lemon wedge and prune or date to each jar

7. Cover each jar with a thin kitchen cloth and secure with a rubber band

8. Leave out on the counter or in a warm spot for 2-4 days. The grains will start to “eat” the sugar (i.e. ferment it). You’ll know when to move on to step two when the water tastes slightly tangy and sour and not very sweet anymore.

Step Two (Second Ferment):

This step is what gives your kefir its flavour and makes it fizzy. 

1. Get your other jars ready (or use an intermediate container like a big bowl or measuring jug) and strain the water kefir. Discard the lemon wedge and piece of dried fruit.

2. Set the grains aside for now.

3. Divide up the water kefir evenly between two (or three, depending on how much you have) jars, and add 1-1 1/2 cups fresh, ripe fruit (or use frozen and thawed). Squash them a bit to release some of their juices. If you don’t have any fruit around, you can also use 1 cup of juice (I like this as a simpler option, especially during Winter).

4. Leave about 2 cm space at the top!

5. Put the lid on tightly and leave out on the counter or a warm spot for another 24 hours. This allows the pressure to build up. IMPORTANT: Make sure to release some of the built-up gas (“burp” them) every 8-12 hours by opening the jars briefly, so that they don’t end up exploding!

6. After 24 hours the fruit will have floated to the surface and you can either strain it out or leave it in (and even eat/drink it, if you like). Release the gas again and place your water kefir jars in the fridge.

7. I sometimes like to add just a splash of juice to my water kefir just before drinking it to give it a little bit of extra sweetness (not necessary though, and obviously healthier without the added sugar from the juice ;) ).

HOW TO STORE AND MAINTAIN YOUR WATER KEFIR GRAINS

You can store the kefir grains in a medium-sized jar in some leftover kefir water (or fresh, filtered tap water).

Feed ½ cup of grains with ½ tbsp sugar and ¼ tsp molasses (optional) in 1 cup of water. Store in the fridge and feed them about once a week (once the water tastes tangy/sour and no longer sweet). You can change out the water every 3 weeks or so. Or even better - make kefir regularly. That’s when the grains are at their happiest and stay healthiest.

Once they grow, obviously double the amount of water and sugar you store them in (e.g. feed 1 cup of grains with 1 tbsp sugar in 2 cups of water).

I hope this was helpful - if you have any questions or need troubleshooting advice, or anything else, please reach out. Happy fermenting! It’s fun :)