How to Make Water Kefir Recipe?

Kefir (pronounced KEH-feer) conjures the image of a creamy drink, known for its probiotics powers. Water kefir is milk kefir’s less popular cousin.

Water kefir is a fermented beverage made from water, sugar, and kefir grains. Although these are not actually grains but are called grains due to their gran-like appearance. Kefir grains are a colony of beneficial yeast and bacteria, supported by the process of turning sugar into lactic acid during the fermentation process.

Water kefir grains have the appearance of small crystals but are soft and gelatinous in texture. When properly cared for they can be reused indefinitely, and they can also reproduce allowing you to make a larger amount of water kefir if desired, or to give away to friends and family

water kefir recipe

Supplies needed to make water kefir

1/4 cup kefir grains

1/4 cup organic sugar as unprocessed as possible, such as cane sugar, rapadura, or sucanat work best due to they high mineral content. Do not use honey as it has antibacterial properties and it will damage the grains.

2 Quart size mason jar

3 Cups water preferably, no-chlorinated and non-flourinated. If you have a faucet or pitcher type of filter it doesn’t remove the fluoride, you can boil your filtered water for about 20-30 minutes. Or a preferred way of many water kefir brewers is to use reverse osmosis water and adding mineral drops to the water.

Mesh strainer don’t use a metal strainer. Since I haven’t gotten around to buying one I use a coffee filter over the metal strainer.

1 32 oz. glass swing top bottle

water kefir grains

How to make water kefir

In a 1 Qt mason jar dissolve the sugar in a a small amount of hot water and let it cool off (along with the rest of the water if boiling it) to room temperature.

Add kefir grains and fill with the rest of the water leaving about an inch from the rim if using the metal lids (or you can use a plastic lid with a silicone seal like this one)

Cover with an air tight lid.

Allow 24 to 48 hours for fermentation. 24 hours if the temperature in the room is very warm, 48 hours if the temperature is around or less than 72 degrees (but do not exceed 72 hours).

Let the jar “burp” a couple times throughout the day, by gently unscrewing the lid to let the gas forming escape, then tightening it again.

After desired fermentation time, set up a strainer and a separate container to catch the liquid.

Set up a second mason jar as in step number 1.

Strain grains from and add grains to the second mason jar.

Repeat steps 2, 3, 4, and 5.